Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - GAME-CHANGER: Cardinals’ Trades for Alexander Frias, Josiah Ragsdale RECEIVE National ACCLAIM

Starting point is 00:00:00 We know how the fan base feels about the Cardinals trade deadline moves. Most people seem to like them. But how are they being viewed by people outside of the fan base and the organization? The results might surprise you a little bit. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:29 Hey there, Cardinals fans of J.D. Hafford. And today's episode is brought to you by Fanduel. Join all the action at Facebook. Vandal.com to play daily dingers and make your free pick on who's hitting a homer this MLB season. They say Louis Cardinals, they had a rough night with the sticks on Tuesday, which was predictable when you don't have Jordan Walker or Alec Berluson in the lineup. But Hunter Dobbins still look pretty good. So we're going to talk about that game later on in the show.

Starting point is 00:00:55 But that's not really the most important thing going on with the Cardinals right now. Yeah, I know you want to win all the games. But we're still kind of fixated on what you're. just happened at the trade deadline. And I want to start with what people outside of the fan base and outside of the organization are saying about the deals that Heinblum and the Cardinals were able to make on Monday. Now, if you don't remember, Dustin May, Jojo Romero went to the Brewers for two outfield prospects, Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale. Then it was Lars Newbar going to Arizona for their 2025 minor league pitcher of the year, Daniel Egan,

Starting point is 00:01:31 pitcher Sandro Santana, lefty, flame thrower. and a player to be named later. So we're going to go through some of the different sports outlets that have listed, you know, grades and ratings on how different trades went down and who was the winner, who was the loser and whatnot. So we're going to go through a bunch of these, okay, because I want you to get kind of a scope of what people are saying outside of what I say here at Locktown Cardinals, where, you know, we did our show yesterday and we enjoyed.

Starting point is 00:02:02 We thought there was a, we thought Heinblum did a great. job and when he was able to pull from Milwaukee in Arizona. So we're going to start with David Schoenfield over at ESPN. He did a column on the biggest winners and losers of the deadline was the title of this one. On his list of big winners, he he's got only the Dodgers as one as the big winner who got Scoobal who lost to the Cubs at his Dodgers debut on Tuesday night. Then under other winners, he's got the Cubs who I thought did a pretty darn good job reloading their pitching staff with Kevin Gossman and Clay Holmes and Braxton Garrett and Ryan Zepardon. He's also got the Padres, the Guardians, the Yankees, the Rays, and then he's got our St. Louis

Starting point is 00:02:44 Cardinals. And here's what he had to say about the deal. He said, of the teams, trading players, St. Louis president of baseball operations, Heimblum, did an excellent job, acquiring two potential impact outfielders in Alexander Friess and Josiah Ragsdale from the Brewers for Dust demand Jojo Romero and then a possible starting pitcher in Daniel Egan from the Diamondbacks for Lars Newport. The Cardinals makeover in a short time has been impressive as they now feature one of the youngest lineups in the majors with two stars in Jordan Walker and J.G. Weatherholt and now one of the more intriguing farm systems in the sport, Friass and Ragsdale both now fit

Starting point is 00:03:24 into the organization's top 10. And if you haven't checked the updated prospect lists at like baseball America or MLB pipeline. This is what MLB pipeline's got right now. They got Radio Rodriguez at number one, Liam Doyle at number two, Joshua Baez at number three, and now in number four, it's the 18-year-old Alexander Friass,

Starting point is 00:03:47 who looks like this if you're watching on the video. And then moving on, he's got Tanner Franklin at number five, Leo Berdahl at number six, Brandon Clark at number seven, Quinn Matthews at number eight, Gerangelo Sanger at number nine, and then at number 10, it's the 22-year-old Josiah Ragsdale. Scooting on down the list a little further, you're going to find Daniel Egan,

Starting point is 00:04:10 who was at number 17 on the list. I know I hate that this photo is like him kind of far away or whatever, but trust me, that's him. And don't forget, there is still a player to be named later in the deal with Arizona. Sandro Santana comes in at number 22, by the way, on the MLB pipeline, top 34, your St. Louis Cardinals. So some pretty impactful players that are now inside your top 25. Like forget the 30. They're in the top 25. They're in the top 22. So under the big loser for ESPN, he does have the Brewers listed there, who he frowns upon for not doing more to get scoble,

Starting point is 00:04:47 which I agree with. And that's kind of the heat that the brewers are taking in this deal for, is that, you know, they have this incredible farm system. And they're able to part with those two guys to go get Dustin May and Jojo Romero, no offense to them. But, you know, he's like, they could have topped the Dodgers offer, but chose not to. And I'm in the same boat. I agree with that. Like, you know, you had a chance to go with Scoobel and Ms. as your one-two combo. And instead, you went and got Dustin May and Joe Joe Romero. I mean, okay. Cardinals benefit, which is great for us here in St. Louis. We don't mind. He also did separate grades for each deal for the Milwaukee deal he gave the Cardinals an A, saying the Cardinal sign made to a one year, 12.5 million

Starting point is 00:05:32 dollar contract that have now flipped him into two intriguing outfield prospects who were posting big numbers of the minors. Neither ranked in Milwaukee's top-in prospects, but that's a testament to the Brewers. Minor League depth, not a knock on Friest or Ragsdale. Free us, an 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic in 441 and 32 games in rookie ball. Or in a quick promotion to low A, where he's hit 236 with four home runs and 28 games. He held his own as one of the younger players in the Carolina League has flashed exit velocities as high as 170 miles per hour. So there is big power potential there. And when we talked to Tyler yesterday, he brought up that, you know, he's had these crazy exit beelows,

Starting point is 00:06:14 which, you know, tell you that there's a lot there. And then with Ragsdale, he says, meanwhile, he is tearing up the minors after being drafted in the seventh round last year out of Boston College. Left-ended hitter like Friest, Ragsdale's hitting 316. 441 581. That's a slash line with 19 bombs and 31 stolen bases between high A and double A credit the Brewers for helping Ragsdale unleash his power after he hit just five home runs and 56 games for Boston College. Both are legitimate high upside prospects, two of the better talents who will be traded on deadline day. Well done. Heim Bloom. Now for the Arizona deal, he says, hey, president of baseball operations, Hyme Bloom, he does it again. Egan was Arizona's number

Starting point is 00:06:59 prospect according to ESPN number five via MLB.com. His numbers don't look good at double A. Amarillo with a 4.95 VRRA and 18 home runs in 87 innings. But Bob Gibson would have a tough time pitching an Amarillo. That's something that Tyler brought up as well as that Amarillo apparently is a horrible place for pitchers to throw. He says Egan does have 109 strikeouts deploying a mid-90s fastball, good curb ball and slider.

Starting point is 00:07:23 He has to improve against lefties who have slugged 554 off of him. So he needs to continue developing his split. as an off-speed weapon. Meanwhile, Santana is an undersized, a lefty reliever with a mid-90s fastball and a sweeping slider. He's reached AA where he's got a 0.57 ERA through 11 outings. Now, everything there from the ESPN side of thing sounds pretty darn positive for the Cardinals. And, yeah, a lot of places give the Brewers crap for not going out and being more aggressive. But as far as what the Cardinals were able to get done with Milwaukee and

Starting point is 00:07:59 this deal. The ESPN people seem to love it. They seem to love it. Now we're going to check in on grades from places like CBS Sports and Yahoo and Bleachian Report and the Athletic. One of these wasn't quite as high on things as the rest of the guys are. And kind of for a pretty stupid reason, in my opinion. So we'll get to those coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Locked on Cardinals is brought to you by Fanduel. Baseball fans, if you think you know who's sitting home or today, Fandual is giving you a free chance to call your shot with Daily Dinger. easy to play, just make a free pick for who you think will hit a home run in their game. If you're right, you'll receive a profit boost to use on your next bet for a chance at extra winnings.

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Starting point is 00:09:13 Alec Burleson, not in the lineup on Tuesday night. Okay, hit three home runs on Monday, not in the lineup on Tuesday. Should be back in the lineup against the right-hander, Will Warren on Wednesday. Something to think about. Something to think about. He's, you know, kind of enjoying the short porch there at Yankee Stadium. Daily Dingers gives you another reason to pay attention before. that first pitch. So are you ready to play your game today? Join the action at fandle.com.

Starting point is 00:09:38 That's fandle.com to play dayday dingers and make a free pick on who's sitting a homer. Play ball and swing for the fences on Fandle, an official partner of Major League Baseball. Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals your first list of the day. Thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. Now continuing with the trade deadline grades from different outlets. We'll go to CBS Sports next. CBS Sports had a group of people putting their grades together. And when it came to the Cardinals, the grade was a B plus from Dane Perry who says, maybe you slightly dinged the Cardinals for selling core contributors while within reasonable range of contention. Okay. But this was always the plan under

Starting point is 00:10:23 first year lead executive Heinblow. They did exceptionally well with their return in the trade that sent Dustin May and Jojo Romero to the Brewers and in the deal that sent Lars Newport to Arizona. They got a pair of strikeout arms who could be in St. Louis sooner, rather than later B plus. B plus is what he gave. Did I not say the plus before that? It's B plus. last time I checked the B plus. Pretty good, pretty good. Closer to an A than a regular B. So I'll take that. Bleacher report gave the Cardinals an A for the Arizona deal saying that right hander Daniel Egan was the number nine prospect on Arizona's top 10 list in Bleacher report's latest update and with a six four frame and three quality offerings. He's got a chance to be a

Starting point is 00:11:06 the rotation starter with improved command. Lefty Sanrio Santana's got a 188 opponent's batting average and 70 strikeouts in 46 of a third innings between high A and double A. His slider is a true top of the scale pitch, giving him potential closer upside. So you love to hear that. And for the Milwaukee trade, they gave the Cardinals an A plus, actually. All right. A plus saying that this is a fantastic return for the Cardinals for a pair of rental.

Starting point is 00:11:36 arms. And it's not out of the question to think that both guys could be part of their top 10 prospect list to begin the 2027 season. Well, they're already in the top 10. Maybe they're talking about their particular list, but they're in the top 10 of them will be pipeline. Alexander Friot, they give the stat line again, a 441, 518, 678 over 32 games in rookie ball. Forced his way up, the latter to single A is an 18 year old while Josiah Ragsdale has already reached. AA has a 1.022 OPS and 42 extra base sits and 31 steals in his first full professional season. All right. So that's a good one. Yahoo Sports's Jake Mence gave the Cardinals a B, saying the Cardinals have played better than expected this year. But the Heimblum-led front office had zero delusions about their World Series chances.

Starting point is 00:12:25 Shipping out fan favorite Newport or free agent after 2027 was a tough but necessary pill to swallow. And it wasn't easy. And if you watch the video from Newport saying thank you to the fans, like, that's why we love the guy. We love him. We still love Newt. And it sucks that Arizona won't be back in town this year because it would be really cool to be able to give him a standing ovation like he deserves.

Starting point is 00:12:49 We'll get him next year for sure. But if there's a season. But that's why it was tough. Like nobody has any ill will against Newpar. They wish he could have stayed healthier throughout his career. But when he was on the field, he was one of the field. he was one of our favorites just because of the way he played the game and the energy he exuded. And he gave a crap, which is really what we want to see from a lot of these guys.

Starting point is 00:13:10 He goes on to say here that Egan is an interesting arm, a well-built righty, a well-built, excuse me, well-built righty with a zippy fastball and some feel for spend. The card's new pitching dev group surely thinks they can coax more magic out of him. Santana is an enticing relief prospect. The return for Maine Romero, two rentals, was even stronger. Ragsdale has real helium and 19 minor league tail. this year. Free us is a ways off, but has a cathedral ceiling. So you'd love to hear all of that being talked about as well. Now we get to Jim Boat at the Athletic, who gave the lowest grade

Starting point is 00:13:46 that I saw that he in all the places I was looking at that I did, because I didn't buy a subscription to all of them. Like, I'm not going to go out there and do that. But Jim Boatner at the Athletic gave the Cardinals a B minus, Jim. What? Here's what he says. This is how he explains it, that the Cardinals' best trade was the one they made with the Brewers that landed them both Ragsdale and Friots, which quickly improved their farm system. They also trade a new bar, which should open the door for top outfield prospect Joshua Baez to be promoted. Timeout real quick. I know people were upset that Baez didn't get called up right away. And we already explained this to you. So if you're in every day here, you probably know what I'm going to say. But for those of you who might be new,

Starting point is 00:14:28 the reason being is that if you wait just a few more days, you can call Baez up, and then he won't surpass the rookie parameters of like playing time. And that means he'll still be a rookie next year, which means if we do have a season, he will be up for a rookie of the year honors if he does what we all think he might do. It also allows him to stay in the minor leagues next year so that if there is a work stoppage at the major league level, Joshua Baez isn't locked out.

Starting point is 00:15:01 He gets to play in the minor league still. All right? Make all the sense of the world, right? Got it? All right. Time in. Here we go. It says here, St. Louis is building for the future.

Starting point is 00:15:12 This is Jim Bowden still. St. Louis is building for the future and had little interest in trying to help this year's team win over the last two months of the season, which was disappointing to me. So, Jim Bowden decided to give the cardals a B-minus because he was disheartened. disappointed. I guess he's disappointed that a team under 500 coming off their worst month of the season and trying to restock the farm system, didn't want to trade away valuable prospects who may not even help them win to go get guys that maybe help them sneak into the third wild card if they're lucky. Like they're probably not catching, they're not going to catch the brewers, probably not going to catch the Cubs. I would imagine, I don't even know who's ahead of them right now. Is it, is it Philly now? Who's like, who's ahead of these guys right now? Either way, they're probably not going to catch that me either. So it was the third wild card is where you were looking at.

Starting point is 00:16:07 So Jim Bowden is bummed out that that's the path the Cardinals chose, even though I would say 98.5% of Cardinals fans saw the writing on the wall and understood why the Cardinals decided to sell. Now, things have gone better. So it's the Phillies. All right, Phillies. So Cubs are the number one wild card right now. then it's the Phillies and then the Diamondbacks Cardinals are four games back right now.

Starting point is 00:16:32 So like, whatever, Jim Bowden. You can get bad. It's fine. But he's disappointed in that, whatever. But in a separate write-up, because this isn't the only person that writes for the athletic, and a separate write-up about the grades of, you know, just the trades themselves. The Cardinals got a B-plus for the deal with Arizona, while the Diamondbacks also got a B-plus. So they thought it was a good trade for both.

Starting point is 00:16:54 Then for the deal with Milwaukee, they gave the Cardinals an A, saying it won't. spark headlines like the Baltimore, Boston deal surrounding Adley Rushman, but St. Louis did really well here for May and Romero, snacking a pair of prospects moving swiftly up the rankings this year. And you got to love that. You got to love that everybody that I have seen has been very pleased what the Cardle's return was. They've been a little bit down on what Milwaukee got. People seem to like the fact that the Diamondback's got New Park because everybody's got respect for New Park. But it feels like to me that this has been a winning situation for the Cardinals. So I think two thumbs up.

Starting point is 00:17:41 I'm pleased with it. I think most of our listeners are pleased with it. Let me know how you feel in the comment section down below because I want to get some Cardal confessions to read through for the rest of this week. So let me know what you think. Did Heimblum do enough in both trades? were you expecting more people to be traded? Did you expect more prospects to be coming?

Starting point is 00:18:01 Some people did. You know, we talked about guys like Burleson being available. And Yvonne Herrera were going to be available. What if Andre Palante became available? So none of those guys got moved. Did that disappoint you? So let me know in the comments section. And we'll hit up some of those later on this week.

Starting point is 00:18:18 Now, the Cardinals did have a game on Tuesday. After out bombing the bombers on Monday, they decided, nope, we're not going to put allegations. Burleson in the lineup. Jordan Walker got scratched and they still kept Burleson out of the lineup on Tuesday and predictably the offense suffers. But there was some shining moments in here by Hunter Dobbins who proved yet again that yes, he does belong in the big leagues. And we're going to talk about this game coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. A big thank you to our friends at Amazon for this limited break, this back to school season, spend less on your kids with Amazon. Now we all know how

Starting point is 00:19:01 crazy the back to school shopping experience can be it starts with a few items on the list and suddenly you're shopping for supplies clothes lunch gear tech and about 10 other things that you didn't see coming it adds up fast like when it's 9 p.m. the night before school starts and somebody suddenly remembers bing they need folders no books markers and apparently 12 other things nobody mentioned until now nothing gets the heart rate up quite like emergency school shopping I'm convinced Primes delivered tomorrow before a 7 a.m. feature was created exclusively for parents in this moment. So remember, with Amazon's low back to school prices, just spend less on your kids. Because every dollar you don't spend on them is a dollar you haven't spent on that.

Starting point is 00:19:46 Shop back to school at Amazon and spend less on your kids. Thanks again for making Locked on Carle's your first listen of the day. Thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. So after hitting five home runs, after blowing six to nothing, leading and coming back and scoring 13 runs in total against the Yankees on Monday. The Cardinals' offense came crashing back to Earth with a two to nothing shutout loss on Tuesday. Now, at the beginning when the lineups were released, Alec Berlinson was not in the lineup,

Starting point is 00:20:21 but Jordan Walker was. Jordan Walker ends up being a late scratch due to some right knee inflammation. They said during the game that if they needed him to pinch yet, he was probably available to do that. He's listed his day to day. They're hoping, you know, it's something that'll just require a little bit of rest. Hasn't been hitting all that great either. Anyway, so maybe that's something that's been bothering him for longer than maybe the last 24 hours.

Starting point is 00:20:45 I don't know. I don't know. But it made sense to keep him out of the lineup. There's no use in pushing somebody who's injured. But Alex Burleson, from all accounts, was not injured. And he was coming off arguably the biggest night of his life as a big leaguer. historic three home run night at Yankee Stadium and was not in the lineup simply because they were facing a lefty, which is something Ollie has done this year.

Starting point is 00:21:12 Now, there have been games against lefties that he obviously started. And I know, Alec Berlinson has not done well against left-handers this year. He's been really bad. Batting $199 against them. I think it was three home runs of 15 RBIs all season long. It has been pretty pretty. Although we hit lefties pretty good last year, this year it's been a struggle. But at the same time, at this point in the season, and after watching him do what he did on Monday,

Starting point is 00:21:37 you saw a guy hit three home runs. How do you not play him in the next game? How does that happen? Did he just need a night off maybe? I don't know. I haven't seen any comments from Ali about it. I assume it's just because he was facing a lefty. And then when Jordan Walker came out of the lineup, I was like, well, maybe Burley will come in now because they need the thumb.

Starting point is 00:22:01 Nope. Nope. That didn't change. He stayed out of the lineup. So your two big thumpers that have been your best hitters all year. Out of the lineup. So seeing them struggle to score runs in this game, not a shocker. But I'm sorry if I got a guy who's hitting three home runs, I'm letting him, I'm putting them in the lineup the next game, whether he was supposed to have a day off or not. And I mentioned this in my short. It kind of reminds me of like a hot goaltender in, hockey. You know, when you get a guy who has a shutout, you usually reward him to give him a start in the next game, even though it was supposed to be the other guy's chance to start. You got a shut out, you get rewarded. Didn't happen here. But instead, it was a Cardinals lineup without those two guys, and they get just six hits in the game. There were multiple moments in this game, though, where the Cardinals threatened. And every time they hit the ball hard, it went right at a Yankees defense. like it was very frustrating and I'm sure the cardals were frustrated because it's not like they weren't

Starting point is 00:23:07 hitting the ball well they did uh sixth inning was a there's two real big ones where this happened sixth inning seventh inning uh you have a walk to jj you get a single by yvon herrera it's runners on first and third with two outs and Jose Vermin lines out to left field after an eight pitch at bat it was a great at bat by Jose Fermin and he lines out to win the inning like hits it on You put that thing, you know, 20 yards left or right, and it's a base head. It's scoring at least one. And you got a different ball game. But unfortunately, right at the left fielder, Elliot Ramos ends the inning.

Starting point is 00:23:46 Seventh inning, Nelson Belasquez leads off the inning. I thought it was gone off the bat, hits the wall. He gets a double. Got's third base with one out on a ground ball to the shortstop. So he scoots over to third and Blaze Jordan's up and rips a, an absolute rocket down the line and it goes right at the third baseman 102 miles per hour off the bat absolutely tattooed it right at him two outs nathan church comes up been swinging a hot bat rips one right at the first baseman 105.4 off the bat garcia who's not really known for his

Starting point is 00:24:25 defense snags it steps on first nelly gets stranded at third base two missiles off the bats and they just don't find holes. Eighth inning, they had the bases loaded. Pahez got a single. Brian Torres walked. You get a ground out by JJ to advance the runners, but Yvonne Herrera strikes out. Ollie goes to Burley off the bench,

Starting point is 00:24:49 but after throwing him two pitches, they're like, nah, intentionally walk, which you could see coming from a mile away. You knew they were going to do that. And that puts a lot of pressure on their pitcher, obviously, David Vednar, who came in the game. but I'd rather face Nelson Velasquez and Alec Berluson any day all day.

Starting point is 00:25:07 So, and he strikes out on three straight splitters, wasn't even close to touch the ball, that end of the inning. So they had their opportunities. They had multiple chances where they hit the ball extremely hard and it would go right at somebody, which was pretty frustrating in a two to nothing ball game. And stuff like that happens and the game's like, you know, five nothing, six nothing. You're not as upset about it. But when you hit at that, you sting the ball and it just goes right into somebody's glove. like, ugh, so frustrating. But that's baseball, right? A hundred Dobbins, by the way, got the start.

Starting point is 00:25:38 Two solo blast gave him up to the juniors, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the rookie George Lombard Jr., who was making his MLB debut. Something really crazy, too. So Lombard hits a home run in his debut in major leagues against the Cardinals. And then I think his younger brother was playing either Palm Beach. I think it was Palm Beach is who he was playing. He also hits a home run in that game. So kind of crazy. They both went yard in their debuts at the different levels. But yeah, he looked really good at shortstop, too. So it was pretty impressive debut by him.

Starting point is 00:26:12 But Hunter Dobbins was good, man. Outside of the two home runs, he allows four total hits in the game, walks three, strikes out four. He belongs here. He does. And I think he's proven that throughout the season when he's gotten the spot starts. And I think he deserves the next start. Quinn Matthews got sent down so that they could bring up

Starting point is 00:26:31 Caleb Ferguson, who also didn't look too bad in his one and two-thirds innings, made his cardinal debut on Tuesday night. So just no offense, man. It's hard to win when you don't score. So hopefully things will be better on Wednesday. Andre Palante will get the start in game three against the righty Will Warren. 605 St. Louis time is the start time. And Alec Berlinson should be in the lineup with the righty on the mounts.

Starting point is 00:26:56 They cannot believe he did not start him. Anyhow, thanks for making a lot. on Cardinals, your first list in every day. You haven't. Please give us a follow. If you haven't done this already, give us follow on X at LO underscore Cardinals. We're on TikTok and Instagram.

Starting point is 00:27:09 We're at locked on Cardinals in those spots. Like, subscribe on YouTube, obviously, as we push for 15,000 subscribers. We're less than 100 now. So we're almost there. For your second list to check out locked on MLB game night, every game every night until the World Series champion is crown. Local analysis, but on a national scale, you can find MLB game night on the locked on MLB YouTube channel or wherever you listen

Starting point is 00:27:30 to podcast. You guys are the best fans in the business, best fans of baseball. How about Adam Wainwright sticking up for the Cardinal fans against the barstool dude the other day. God bless you, Adam. Anyway, you guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - GAME-CHANGER: Cardinals’ Trades for Alexander Frias, Josiah Ragsdale RECEIVE National ACCLAIM

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