St. Louis Cardinals: Early Spring Returns on Pitching

ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 21: Junior Fernandez #44 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium on August 21, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 21: Junior Fernandez #44 of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches during the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium on August 21, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images) /
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JUPITER, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 19: Genesis Cabrera #92 of the St. Louis Cardinals poses for a photo on Photo Day at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on February 19, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 19: Genesis Cabrera #92 of the St. Louis Cardinals poses for a photo on Photo Day at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on February 19, 2020 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Genesis Cabrera

Cabrera is a flamethrowing lefty who made his debut last season. He has electric stuff, a terrifying fastball, and no sense of control. Cabrera was originally signed by the Rays and came to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Tommy Pham trade.

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Although the numbers don’t show it, Cabrera actually showed out well in his first Major League stint, culminating with a spot on the postseason roster. Striking out 19 in 20.1 innings while also walking 11. He mainly pitched out of the bullpen, registering two starts vs 11 bullpen appearances.

Cabrera’s problem has never been lack of stuff. That much is obvious while watching him pitch. His control, however, leaves some to be desired. Thus far into spring, he’s struck out six in 4.0 innings, while also walking two. His WHIP is 1.50, which represents an improvement over his 1.67 mark last year.

I feel like I haven’t stressed this enough. These results are in a VERY small sample size. I’m merely writing on what I’m seeing, and I’ve been seeing good things from Cabrera. In a recent outing, Cabrera threw a curveball to a left-handed batter who dove out of the box. That pitch broke into the strike zone and left the hitter looking silly.

Electric pitches like that make every Genesis Cabrera outing a must-watch.