Life On The Farm: St. Louis Cardinals (# 8)

After falling in the NLDS, was it all worth it?

Graduated To Majors: Nick Stavinoha (OF, UR), Colby Rasmus (OF, # 1), Shane Robinson (OF, # 28), David Freese (3B, # 9), Tyler Greene (SS, # 16), Jarrett Hoffpauir (2B, UR), Matt Pagnozzi (C, UR), Jess Todd (RP, # 4, now with Indians), Clayton Mortensen (SP, # 6, now with A's), Mitch Boggs (SP, # 14), P.J. Walters (RP, # 17), Chris Perez (RP, # 3, now with Indians), Jason Motte (RP, # 8), Luke Gregerson (RP, # 29, now with Padres)

The Rest Of The Top 10 (with quick commentary)
Hitters: BA-OBP-SLG, AB, HR-RBI, BB-K, SB-CS
Pitchers: G-GS, W-L, ERA, IP-H-HR-BB-K

2 - Brett Wallace: 3B
AA: .281-.403-.438, 128, 5-16, 18-34, 0-0
AAA (St. Louis): .293-.346-.423, 222, 6-19, 15-42, 0-1
AAA (Oakland): .302-.365-.505, 182, 9-28, 14-40, 1-1
Quick Take: The prizze of the Matt Holliday deal hit for more power then with St. Louis.

5 - Bryan Anderson: C
R: .313-.450-.500, 16, 1-2, 4-4, 1-0
AAA: .245-.293-.399, 163, 4-11, 10-42, 1-0
Quick Take: Struggled offensively in his 2nd crack at AAA.

7 - Daryl Jones: CF
AA: .279-.360-.378, 294, 3-29, 33-65, 7-4
Quick Take: Got to go to the Futures Game, but didn't have a great season.

10 - Pete Kozma: SS
Hi A: .315-.381-.384, 73, 0-8, 8-16, 1-0
AA: .216-.288-.312, 407, 6-37, 42-88, 4-2
Quick Take: Will try to master AA next year, as his custom is to typically struggle after a promotion only to start hitting when he begins the year there.

AAA: Memphis Redbirds (PCL)
Breakout Hitter: Allen Craig (# 26): .322-.374-.547, 472, 26-83, 37-92, 3-0
Disappointing Hitter: Bryan Anderson (# 5): Line above.
Breakout Pitcher: Blake Hawksworth (UL): 12-12. 5-4, 3.58, 73-61-3-20-57
Disappointing Pitcher: Adam Ottavino (# 22): 27-27, 7-12, 4.75, 144-141-12-82-119
Quick Take: Craig deserved a promotion to St. Louis, but didn't get it for whatever reason. Hawksworth got a promotion to St. Louis and looked to make himself into an integral part of the bullpen. Anderson struggled in his 2nd taste of AAA while Ottavino showed little command and will need to show something more next year.

AA: Springfield Cardinals (TL)
Breakout Hitter: Daniel Descalso (UR): .323-.396-.531, 288, 8-51, 31-41, 0-1
Disappointing Hitter: Arnoldi Cruz (# 27): .220-.281-.366, 404, 10-48, 34-85, 1-0
Breakout Pitcher: Lance Lynn (# 15): 22-22. 11-4, 2.92, 126.1-117-5-51-98
Disappointing Pitcher: Francisco Samuel (# 21): 52-0, 3-4, 5.66, 47.2-36-2-46-59
Quick Take: Descalso got a midseason promotion to AAA, where he had some struggles. Lynn broke out and narrowly beat out Trey Hearne (UL) for this honor. Cruz really didn't hit in his first taste at AA. Samuel got to go to the Futures Game, but struggled when he returned to Springfield.

Hi A: Palm Beach Cardinals (FSL)
Breakout Hitter: Shane Peterson (UR): .298-.367-.428, 285, 6-39, 21-52, 10-1
Disappointing Hitter: Jermaine Curtis (UR): .197-.301-.229, 314, 1-24, 34-52, 7-4
Breakout Pitcher: Nick Additon (# 30): 19-15, 4-3, 3.06, 79.1-69-1-37-66
Disappointing Pitcher: Brian Broderick (UL): 21-19, 9-7, 4.61, 109.1-136-4-17-64
Quick Take: Peterson was part of the Holliday trade. Additon was very good after looking good in 3 starts at High A to end last year. Curtis showed on base ability, but little else. Broderick showed a lot of pitching to contact with little strikeouts and that will likely will not be a good enough equation as he moves up the ladder.

Lo A: Quad Cities River Bandits (ML)
Breakout Hitter: Charlie Cutler (UL): .351-.410-.455, 242, 4-44, 24-25, 1-1
Disappointing Hitter: Niko Vasquez (# 18): .197-.295-.250, 208, 1-14, 28-58, 2-2
Breakout Pitcher: Matt Frevert (UL): 28-0. 2-1, 1.78, 35.1-25-2-10-44
Disappointing Pitcher: Gary Daley (UL): 32-10, 4-3, 6.93, 76.2-89-7-51-72
Quick Take: Cutler got a midseason promotion to High A, where he hit right around league average. Frevert showed a good strikeout rate for a reliever. Vasquez really struggled and got a demotion down to short-season. Daley showed a solid strikeout rate, but little else.

TK's Early 2010 Top 10 Prospects:
1) Shelby Miller: RHP
19th overall pick had a brief pro debut in Low A.
2) Lance Lynn: RHP
Sinkerballer may make debut next season.
3) Robert Stock: C
2nd rounder his .322-.386-.550 in R ball and got a brief look in Low A, where he will start next year.
4) Daryl Jones: CF
Toolsy outfielder needs to work his tools into more production.
5) Jaime Garcia: LHP
Bouncing back from an injury and should return to St. Louis next year.
6) Jon Jay: LF
Appears ready to be at least a 4th OF (.281-.338-.394, 505, 10-54, 34-64, 20-8)
7) Bryan Anderson: C
Will look to return to schedule and debut next year.
8) Nick Additon: LHP
Lefty looks ready for AA.
9) Pete Kozma: SS
Kozma is on a similar prospect trajectory to Tyler Greene.
10) Adam Reifer: RHP
Relief prospect showed good strikeout potential, but struggled in many other areas.

Dropped From Top 10: None

Final Overview: This system has gotten much weaker due to defections to the majors and trades. The 2009 draft yielded two very talented players in Miller, one of the top prep righties available, and Stock, a catcher who has always been highly touted even when at USC is at worst a major league prospect as a pitcher. This is another system that tends to produce everyday players that weren't highly touted, but this system will truly be tested and in need of some breakout players. An early to mid twenties system now.