Redbird Droppings: AFL, Roster Updates, Ohtani, Matt Holliday
Today we go over the stats from the Arizona Fall League, update the Cardinal roster moves, check in on Shohei Ohtani, and find out if Matt Holliday is interested in the bench coach position.
Arizona Fall League Stats
The Arizona Fall League is nearing the end of their season, and the Cardinals have to be happy with the progress their players have made. The team sent 4 pitchers and 3 hitters to the prospect league. Here are the players and how they are doing.
| Player | G | W-L | W% | IP | H | ER | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
| Tink Hence | 7 | 0-0 | .000 | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1.42 | 0.95 |
| Kyle Leahy | 7 | 0-0 | .000 | 10.1 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 14 | 13.94 | 2.32 |
| Ryan Loutos | 6 | 0-1 | .000 | 11.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3.27 | 1.18 |
| Connor Thomas | 4 | 1-0 | 1.000 | 17.2 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 1.53 | 1.08 |
Hence might be the top prospect in the system, even though he hasn’t pitched above A Ball yet; he’s also being limited in his appearances since he’s still pretty raw. Thomas is making a name for himself with those strikeout numbers; he’ll be creeping his way up prospect rankings this winter. Leahy and Loutos are both there to see tougher competition; Leahy has struggled while Loutos is doing decent. It is worth noting that traditionally the AFL has been a hitters league, so take the struggles with a grain of salt.
| Player | Pos | G | PA | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | K | SB/ATT | Avg | OBP | SLG |
| Pedro Pages | C | 10 | 36 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 0/0 | .206 | .222 | .382 |
| Jordan Walker | OF | 16 | 68 | 13 | 16 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 19 | 1/2 | .276 | .353 | .535 |
| Masyn Winn | SS | 15 | 57 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 7/8 | .311 | .456 | .378 |
Pages hasn’t been considered much of a prospect, especially in a system that has Andrew Knizner and Ivan Herrera ahead of him. Walker is legit, although he’s got work to do before he’s deemed the right fielder of the future; he’s spent less then a half a season in the outfield, plus he needs a little work on pitch recognition (see 28% strikeout rate). I say he’s up by the next All Star break. Winn is a step behind Walker; Winn is a plus fielder with a plus arm at short, but he needs to work a little more with the bat. He won’t generate much power, but he’s getting on base really well as evidenced by having more walks then strikeouts. I put his ETA as late next year, but he won’t be a regular until 2024 if the Cardinals don’t sign a long-term option at short this winter.
Roster Updates
A few moves have happened the last few days. More procedural at this point, but Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are officially retired.
The Cardinals also removed Kramer Robertson and Kodi Whitley from the 40-man roster; neither cemented themselves as part of the future. In fact, Robertson had 2 stints with the Cardinals in 2022, with waiver claims by the Braves and Mets sandwiched between the stints; he’s a light hitting, defensive first infielder who is down on the depth charts. Whitley looked promising back in 2020, but never really found his footing in the Majors. Neither has the service time to become free agents yet, so they could be added back onto the 40-man in the future. I’ve updated my Salary Matrix with these moves.
The last note is the Super-2 status has been set for 2023 according to Ronald Blum; players with 2.128 years of service time will receive an additional year of arbitration. This won’t impact the Cardinals this year, although former-Redbirds Randy Arozarena and Edmundo Sosa will head to arbitration this year.
Market Closed
As we sit and wait for the hot stove season to start up, one name that probably won’t be available is Shohei Ohtani. As of right now, the Angels have no plans to discuss the 2-way player. Cardinal fans are dreaming up scenarios to get Ohtani, but it won’t be happening yet; I could see that changing before the trade deadline if the Angels are out of contention.
Matt Holliday, Bench Coach?
One popular name in the bench coach search is Holliday; the former slugger has been vocal about coaching/managing in the future (he’s currently a volunteer coach for Oklahoma St right now). Holliday has confirmed his interest in the position, but notes the Cardinals haven’t reached out yet.
I originally thought it’d be a few more years until we see Holliday join the coaching staff; his son Ethan is a high school baseball prospect who is expected to be drafted in 2025, like brother Jackson, who went first overall to the Orioles, this past summer. I though Holliday might stick it out to watch Ethan, but with 2 more younger kids, Holliday may not wait for all of them.
I really don’t expect the coaching questions answered until after the World Series.
Around the Web
- Redbird Rants ranks some candidates for the BC position; I don’t think Molina will be an option.
- Is Masyn Winn the elite shortstop the Cardinals need? Viva El Birdos looks at the prospect.
- Cards GM predicts next season’s infield.
- Some What Ifs? from the Cold Wire.
- Just Baseball considers the Cardinals a landing spot for Chris Bassitt.
- Read the Cardinals statement on Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan winning the Gold Gloves.
