Greene and Kinney up, Walters and Stavinoha down

Josh Kinney

After a three week stint on the DL, Khalil Greene has been activated.

Greene was back in St. Louis on Wednesday but was not expected to be activated until this weekend. Manager Tony La Russa wanted to observe Greene go through an extensive workout before making any further decisions, but obviously liked what I saw.

Greene spent four games and logged 15 at bats in Memphis. He hit a healthy .400, had three runs, two doubles, and two RBI.

Greene hit the disabled list in wake of his very serious anxiety disorder that forced him to abuse himself. As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate as it is, Khalil will now man the hot-corner instead of shortstop. Due to Brendan Ryan and Tyler Greene’s success, Khalil agreed to move over to third.

KGreene seemed very relaxed when asked about the move and said he is “very excited to return”.

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Josh Kinney, P.J. Walters, and Nick Stavinoha also received news today regarding where they are going to spend at least the next week or two. Kinney was recalled from Triple-A affiliate Memphis and Walters is set to take his spot in the Minors.

For Kinney, this will be his second stint with the Big League club. He made three appearances with St. Louis earlier this season. Josh recorded 2.2 innings and allowed four runs while walking four. However, he has had some previous success in the Major Leagues.

Kinney had a pretty damn good start to his career before he needed his Tommy John Surgery. Kinney made a huge impact on that 2006 World Series team with an accumulation over 6 innings of three hit ball (no runs). That ’06 season was definitely his best. Josh threw over 25 innings with a 3.24 ERA and 22 strikeouts. Anything close to that would be a huge help in the ‘pen.

As for Walters, he is sent down to Memphis for the second time this season. Out of his grand total of six outings, Walters only came out of one without giving up any runs. That happened to be the only one-inning outing he has made thus far.

Walters will be a huge help to the 31-35 Memphis Redbirds who have definitely been on the raw end of these promotions. P.J. has 4.14 ERA as a Redbird, but has yet to settle in any one level. Maybe this move will be his last and he can find a groove as one of Memphis’ front-end-of-the-rotation guys.

Stavinoha has become one of the most loved guys in the city and in the clubhouse over the past few weeks, but is also packing his bags for Memphis.

Stavinoha proved he could handle MLB pitching when he belted in 10 RBI as one of the team’s bench players. In May, Stav batted .256 and was among the team’s best in most offensive categories.

Nonetheless, he just isn’t a starting outfielder yet in the MLB. And with a group of very solid outfielders, Stav found himself struggling with no room to play here lately. He is batting a mere .190 in June with only 21 at-bats with the return of Ludwick and Ankiel.

Nick’s clutch hits and key RBI will be missed to say the least, but all in all, you can hardly argue that Stavinoha is not at the level the rest of our outfielders are at.

Justin Hulsey
Cardinals Front Office

Cardinals Update 5/16

Colby Rasmus

It’s been less than a year since Brett Wallace was drafted with the Cardinals first-round pick, and he has bolted through the Farm.

The No.2 prospect Cardinal Front Office’s top-10 list was drafted with the 13^th pick last year and was sent straight to the A+ club in Quad Cities. With the MLB draft, a player can join the club’s system mid-season. So, Wallace was immediately the starting 3Bman for the Bandits. With Quad Cities, in 41 games, he batted nearly .330 with five home runs, 25 RBI, and a .418 OBP.

Wallace was invited to Spring Training this season and was designated to AA Springfield. He came out of the games slow but has turned it on lately, batting .400 in the past 10 games. Believe it or not, he actually smashed walk-off home runs in consecutive days. When Memphis starting 3Bman David Freese went on the DL this morning, there was no option but to bring the slugger up.

The lefthanded-hitting hitter has hit .281 with five home runs and 16 RBI on the season.

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We all know Colby Rasmus is notoriously well known for his slow starts. Just the switching of the months has brought Raz an extra 29 points on the batting average this season.

Rasmus has always been known for his five-tool potential. When drafted, he was described by a scout as a “35/35” type of player. Meaning, Rasmus has 35 home run / 35 stolen base potential.

Yet, in the first month, Rasmus’ power has been nearly invisible. He did have one towering shot against the Nationals, but that was it for the “35 home run” guy.

Well, if you were watching the Pirates game on Thursday, you saw every bit of that power when Rasmus drilled one into the Allegheny River. Then, last night, it was almost déjà vu. Rookie Colby Rasmus provided the lead with his second home run in as many games. His first career home run at Busch Stadium would have been a two-run shot deep into the right-field stands… except it, like the game, became unofficial with the rainout.

I have really been impressed with Rasmus so far this season. His patience at the plate, as a 22 year-old, is amazing. For example, Rasmus averages nine BB/9. While the guy he looks to steal a starting spot over, Rick Ankiel, averages seven per 9 innings.

All Spring, the coaches told Rasmus just to hit line drives. A player that has that kind of natural power like Rasmus does, often comes in and wants to impress by knocking the ball over the fence. Little do they know, that often results in strikeout after strikeout after strikeout.

Rasmus has NOT done that. Just the opposite actually. He has gone out there looking to fill gaps. In fact, 20% of Rasmus’ hits have been “line drives” per Fan Graphs.

Hitting a home run is the last thing on Rasmus’ mind, and that may just be the key in Rasmus’ power emergence.

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“I think St. Louis is tired of hearing me talk about what I need to do and what I don’t need to do,” said Wainwright, who has a 5.23 ERA in his past five starts. “It’s time for me to go out there and do it.”

Well, Waino sure did “it” today. In 8 innings, Wainwright allowed two hits and one run on seven strikeouts. He was lights out. While our piss poor offense could not score a single run for him, Adam had his best start in a very long time.

According to Wainwright, the problem was identified after his previous start. The flaw, Wainwright believes, was a change in his release point when he pitches. He had started to pitch with his arm too high, which was affecting the movement and location of his pitches – especially his fastball.

Other than that, as a fan, I could not help to notice how many fastballs he did throw… or did not throw. Waino has thrown his fastball less and less from year to year throughout career. Before today’s start, he threw it 51% of the time this season. Last year, he threw it 53% of the time and 56% in 2005.

Today, however, was WAY different. Through the first two innings, 27 of Wainwright’s 32 pitches were fastballs. Now you may think that is to much… but Wainwright was virtually perfect. 

As Wainwright pitched more and more fastballs, it sure did seem like he became the player we have been used to the past couple seasons.

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In other news: 

Chris Carpenter aims for early-week start
Brendan Ryan activated, Boggs sent down
Todd Wellemeyer sucks

One Ryan Faces Possible DL, Another Eyes Return

Brendan Ryan

Just when we thought we were going to get it all together, get healthy, and get back on our streak we were on when Carp went down… As soon as we get excited for Carpenter’s potential start next week… As soon as Brendan Ryan says he will be back with the club this weekend… Ludwick dives for a ball that results in a pulled hamstring.

Just our luck, right? Just another day in the life of a Cardinals fan? Doesn’t it seem like we have these crippling injuries every single year? Heck, every single month so far. It is frustrating and heartbreaking.

Now, technically, Ludwick is not on the DL yet, but it will come. It was a pulled hammy, an injury that more times than not puts the player on the disabled list. I type this as the game is going, so I have not even heard what LaRussa or MO have to say about it. However, it did not look good when he was trying to stretch it out. I wouldn’t even go that far actually… He tried to work it out, but immediately grabbed his thigh in pain. SO, I hope I am wrong, but it is very likely that Ludwick gets DLed.

In the case that Ludwick is “sidelined” for a couple weeks, what do we do? Most people would look at it and think, “Well… we lost an OF… we wanna keep at least four OF on the roster… so bring up an OF!” Not necessarily. Let’s not forget that we have a natural outfielder playing second base right now. With Ludwick out, we basically have three options. Any way we do it, I think we have to keep up Robinson. He had another hit tonight, so that is consecutive games with a hit, and there hasn’t been a AAA player hotter than Sugar Shane.

The option beyond the naked eye that I kinda like lies in prospect Daryl Jones. Jones is an OF, he is young, he is actually in double-A ball right now, but I think he is ready. Jones has been dominating so far this season in AA with a .325 average, and I think it is a real possibility that he could jump AAA and be brought up within the next few days.

Stavinoha is another guy that I like, he has done well so far this year, and he had a good chunk of MLB ball last season. Stav only batted .193 in 29 games last year, so that isn’t exactly bringing attention to him. BUT, when young players make their second round at the MLB after a bad first, it is usually much much better. They learn on what they need to improve on to take their game to the next level, and they simply mature with more Minor League play. Hey, the dude has 25 RBIs this season, and that is very hard to ignore.

If MO wants to counter with bringing up another OF, and he doesn’t like Jones skipping AAA, then there is no doubt in my mind it will be Stavinoha. I would say this is the least likely scenario out of these three, but I wouldn’t say it’s a bad one.

Those two are good, young players, but if I was the man calling the shots, I go a different direction. That is David Freese, who has already had a taste of the MLB this season. I think Freese was a little sidetracked at the beginning of the season, when I saw him on the news every night. His story is great and all, but I kinda think he was riding cloud-9 a little too hard. Lafayette’s own Freese had a hot Spring, he made a spot on the team, and I think he may have been wrapped up in all the love.

When he was demoted within the first month of the season, it could have been a wake up call. When he comes back, don’t expect all the hype. Hopefully, fans would treat it as a normal call-up and not give him a freaking standing ovation with his every at bat. Let’s let the dude play baseball. For a young player, it is hard to handle 45,000 fans standing up for you… all while you are trying to get a base hit. With bringing him up, Schumaker will be starting in the outfield, Thurston will move to a full-time second base, and Barden will start at third with Freese sprinkled in as well.

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In other news, and there is some good news, Brendan Ryan is on his way back. He should be activated this weekend, which is GREAT. If you remember, Ryan was just hitting his stride when he was injured. He had a string of about three straight games with outstanding plays, and had just smacked a ground-rule-double right before getting injured. He will certainly help out in the infield that is currently WEAK without him. The way Khalil is playing right now, Ryan should definitely start over him. Ryan is a better defender, and so far a better hitter. Why would there be a debate? Well, knowing TLR, Khalil would likely get just as much playing time.

With Ryan coming back, we need to send a brother down. We currently have two shortstops on the roster, and three would be too much if we were to send down somebody that isn’t at SS. So, Khalil or Tyler?

Khalil has been pretty decent all of his career, he is proven, we know what we are going to get with him, it cannot get any worse than what he is at right now, and at some point a 6-year vet outweighs a rookie prospect. Khalil is actually starting to heat it up right now. In the past 10 games, he has brought his average up 16 points. He has six hits in the previous five games, and has had at least one hit in all of those five. He is batting .235 right now, and Tyler is just struggling. It really isn’t a debate, but I figured I would justify my decision a little.

I’m just saying… IF I was John Mozeliak, I would keep Robinson in St. Louis, promote David Freese, and send Tyler Greene back down to Memphis.

(Again, this is all based of if Ludwick gets DLed… which is highly probable.)

Justin Hulsey
StLDieHard24@gmail.com
CardinalsFrontOffice.wordpress.com