Physical Description: Displays outward leadership qualities, the type of catcher that's very involved in the game. 60, 200 More so, hes one of the reasons they promise to remain good. He showed an ability to pitch in longer stints and eventually moved into the rotation in 2021. Do I expect this every year with our first pick? Level swing, handles the bat well. Also, at the end of the evening, we expect to add comments by Flores, so please check back here. Pitched as a swing man that's earned rotation spots based on performance. Take the next step and apply TODAY! Baker finished the year with a 2.11 ERA and 120 strikeouts. Graceffo is the third college right-hander selected in a row, with all three having a similar profile, although Austin Love has better pure stuff than Mills and Graceffo. Physical Description: He looks smaller than the listed weight. Adjusting to offspeed pitches will go a long way in improving his offensive stock. This general lack of defensive promise will put more pressure on Holgates bat, which will need to be his carrying tool. Above-average depth and plus command. The left-hander played for St. Louis from 2004-08, appearing in over 200 games as a relief pitcher. Fastball: When I saw him in game he was mostly 91-92, but the swings the fastball was getting showed that their must be some deception. We get a lot of emails, letters and calls from people interested in becoming a scout. Graceffo is able to manipulate his slider in a way that makes it look like two distinct pitches. Utilizes an inverted windup. The Cardinals will be returning almost the same team in 2023. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. Timed at and around 4.39 down the line from the right side. On the high school/college dynamic: With the new CBA, the depth of your draft is going to have to come from college players, because most high school players wont sign for under $100,000. Scouting Director: Randy Flores Ballpark: Busch Stadium III Attendance: . Interesting guy with a range of outcomes as wide as anyone on this list. More than enough arm for anywhere on the diamond. Walks hurt him more than missing over the middle of the plate. Plenty of room for growth on his lanky frame. Keeps his hands out front. Now available, The Cardinal Nation 2021 Prospect Guide is back for a fourth year. Or our development guys just might say so-and-so needs more time. Physical Description: Long limbs, but the frame is filled out. He falls off the mound hard towards first base. Cardinals took a shot on the untapped potential. Every bit of 231 pounds. It's his go to breaking ball to get strikeouts. He will need to make enough contact to consistently tap into his power. Control: 40 | Command: 30. Mike Antico is the first hitter the Cardinals have selected since Ryan Holgate in Competitive Balance Round B. Average grade because I'm assuming some growth occurred here. During graduate school he was USCs Pitching Coach (2013), worked as a college baseball analyst for ESPN and Pac-12 Networks, and founded a sports video technology company. Osvaldo Tovalin, 3B At times this can lead to him being off balance and pulling his head off the ball. In the general flow of the draft, Flores said the Cardinals pivoted after the comp pick of Holgate, their third player taken of 11 overall so far. Tough at bat for lefties, potential bullpen floor if he can't start. Coaching Staff. Grade: 50, Slider: More horizontal break than the curveball, obviously, and he will pair it off the fastball. Average build that lacks physical projection, already has solid frame. It's an athletic delivery that will require him to stay in shape, and I don't project that to be an issue. Lacks first step quickness. Jack Ralston - Scouting Report. Wide base at impact. He also walked (17) more than he struck out (16) in 2021, but he did not do much of either. Grade: 55, Control and Command: Tough year for him. The 2020 Cardinals overcame an outbreak of COVID-19 and a prolonged quarantine to reach the playoffs for a second consecutive year and post a 13th consecutive winning season. On communication and analytics: We spend a lot of time and energy baking-in or combining things like performance data with scouting opinions. Linda Brauer. Correa pleaded guilty . Every now and again Ill delve into the data if Im curious about something, but my responsibilities are more to interpret the data than to be a day-to-day doer of the data.. To be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following criteria: Intern positions last for set periods of time. Must be enrolled in an accredited institution and have an academic status of junior, senior or graduate level, Minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale preferred, Successfully pass pre-employment screenings, Available for the entire term of the internship and is for school credit. Physical Description: Has a stocky, well built frame that will help him endure the tough life of a catcher. Fastball: Sits 91-94; likely nudges a bit higher in short stints. Then, the other side of the equation is that our big-league staff is so good at incorporating younger players into the mix and putting them in positions to succeed. Ultimately, what you need to do is develop a feel for scouting. Graceffo has been a starter for Villanova since he set foot on campus. He's going to get challenged at the big league level though. Baez is one of the youngest players in the class, which seems to be an early trend for the Cardinals. His power will come from the lower half though, and his hips fire very well. Long Beach State He has been the Director of Scouting since August 28, 2015, overseeing all aspects of the scouting department including the amateur draft. True development test. The three. Like previous selections Joshua Baez and Ryan Holgate, Tovalin profiles as a power corner player. Shows good barrel control and an ability to use the whole field, but still hits his fair share of grounders to the left side. Not a strong fielder. The people putting the pieces together are a big reason why. Grade: 45, Arm: While the glove can play anywhere, Robertson's arm is not as strong. The Cardinals had more than two dozen staff reductions on the business, ballpark, and baseball sides of their operation this week as they near the final month of their fiscal year. Slows the arm down considerably and the tradeoff is modest arm side run. The defensive side of things might just be good enough to give Rodriguez a chance in the big leagues. Grade: 50, Slider: Tough pitch for lefties due to arm slot. Despite the low velocity everything is set up off the fastball. Antico was not known for his power throughout his college career, but he did hit 10 home runs and 16 doubles with Texas. Kantrovitz's background is atypical of most scouting directors. He can hit all types of pitches but will need to cut down on his swing-and-miss against breaking pitches. Tool plays up due to his high IQ and ability to get the ball out of his glove quick. Physical Description: He's filled out his tall frame well. Will throw it for strikes. It might be limiting for us if we stick to a rigid strategy that is not data-driven. Thats money that our GM can allocate to another area, or a more abundant, cheaper, position. I think he manipulates it a bit, adding and subtracting from the pitch's depth. Obviously, you dont want to start too far down the defensive spectrum and thats why a lot of teams focus on up-the-middle, but if you think the bat is something you cant find in an up-the-middle defender, you stretch that line of thinking. Overall: Kruczynski attacks hitters north and south, which makes him a good fit for the modern game. Hit: Starts with hands high, with circular gyrations at about the ear level. His progress has been outstanding so far. This is high for the college ranks, but it did not hinder his ability to hit for average. Lots of other moving parts, a long arm action and some spinal tilt as well. Assistant General Manager & Director of Scouting. Prater and organization have to find that consistency. Overall: The Cardinals do very well in developing arms from Latin America. Trent Baker, RHP Modest leg kick as he steps into the pitch. Simple drop and drive delivery that allows him to drive up and over the glove side. (Reuters) - A former scouting director for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team pleaded guilty on Friday to criminal charges over a breach of the computer network of the rival Houston. Most scouts already regard the fastball as a plus pitch. Control: 45 | Command: 40. Hopefully a switch to the bullpen unlocks a tick or three on the fastball. Overall: Mostly two-pitch swingman type with some upside should command improve, neither fastball nor slider project as big league bat-missers, with enough strikes there's a solid bullpen future here in a middle/long relief way, maybe a 6th starter type if the command comes along. The pool amount for this pick is $906,800. In 2018, we introduced employee empowered committees that focus on employee engagement, employee recognition, and diversity and inclusion efforts. Overall: He's a defense first backup catcher for me because I'm not confident in the power emerging. Defensively, Baez played center field throughout high school. In his senior year of high school, the right-hander threw around 85 mph on his fastball without a developed breaking ball. Pitch does have some life on it and he's able to throw it for strikes. On its own can be a plus pitch, but can play down due to lack of another significant offering. When his front arm is overextended, he runs the risk of getting beat by inside fastballs or offspeed pitches. At times, its helpful to have a feel for how much our scouts need to like a player with, say, a poor performance track record, in order for him to be in our draft wheelhouse. His control took a hit this year but it was also the first time in his professional and collegiate career that he really struggled. Like the rest of the pitchers that the Cardinals have selected, Ruiz gets good arm side run on his fastball. Grade: 50, Control and Command: Plus command of the fastball and curveball, average command of his other offerings. The right-hander finished his final collegiate season with 86 strikeouts and just 13 walks in 82 innings. The bat must take a jump to the next level for him to be considered for a semi-everyday role however. Active Depth Chart 40-Man Non . The power is no joke. The Cardinals will likely be able to save money on their string of college pitchers, which should free up enough money to sign Alec Willis to an over-slot bonus. Grade: 45, Power: Over the fence power is limited to the pull-side, but his swing doesn't produce natural loft. Bats: Right These committees help with creating an atmosphere of inclusiveness, positive reinforcement to employee performance and creating working conditions that encourage employees to commit enthusiastically to the organization's goals and values. Potential to be a future plus pitch as he adds strength. Inclusion involves respecting individual differences and capturing the advantages they provide. Shows an uncanny IQ at the bag. Its not a new idea, but if we play our cards right and draft a future mid or top of the rotation guy, for example, that would save our club quite a bit of money on the free-agent market. Making contact is the key here. Low and inefficient spin limits the success of the pitch. The right-hander throws four pitches a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. Control: 55 | Command: 50. Extremely pull heavy. 2022 MLB Draft Scouting Report for RHP Landon Sims. Bats: Left August 11, 2021. Id guess having a background in analytics influences the way I look at assembling a staff, but at the end of the day, Id prefer not to have a department where we all think the same way or have the same set of experiences to draw upon. He has a good solid frame that's well developed. Will drop a plus change then follow it up with a non-competitve version. Direct Sales Representative (DSR) Program: Provide eligible students with meaningful projects and assignments that will assist them in making career choices and provide them with valuable work experience. Has some nice fade to it. This gives him a profile similar to last years first round pick, Jordan Walker. Arm can also put him in right field for a short stint, but again, you don't want him out there. Maxed out physically and considerably old for a prospect. It seems that the Cardinals are looking to replenish their minor league pitching depth with college pitchers in this draft. Baez fits the profile of a power corner outfielder with Baseball America giving him 70-grade power and a 70-grade arm. We want to figure out how its going to save us the most money down the road and be the most productive for us. All rights reserved. He's too advanced for the lower levels and is a dark horse candidate to pitch in the big leagues as soon as 2021. Won't steal any bases either. The St. Louis Cardinals are committed to building an inclusive organization where we not only have a diverse workforce, but a culture where diverse ideas and opinions are shared. Gets above average spin. His best change to be a big leaguer is by way of a slider heavy approach in the bullpen. Also note the below qualifications required for the internships program before applying. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. The 21-year-old did have a high strikeout rate in his junior year, striking out at a rate of nearly 19%. Carson played some third early on and we were pleased with his progress there, but the more we got to know him, the more we felt like he had the special intangibles, as well as the raw physical tools, where catcher might be a good long-term fit for him. The 21-year-old slugged .705 in his final collegiate season in 2021. The pool amount for this pick is $144,600. This is strong velocity for a fastball, which when commanded well, should give Love a solid pitch. The native of New Jersey profiles as a centerfielder in the professional ranks due to his speed. Capable of bumping up to 94. Overall: Nogowski debuted with the Cardinals in 2020. Students may complete multiple internship opportunities with the St. Louis Cardinals; however, no student may be an intern for more than one year. The St. Louis Cardinals partner with a number of local organizations that focus on diversity and inclusion as well as participate in programs through MLB and MiLB that support diverse and inclusive workplaces.