Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Position Battles Update! CF Is Interesting

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

Jeff Jones from bnd.com joins us today! - Phil Maton - Bullpen Battles - Offensive Issues - Masyn Winn - Who Starts In Centerfield? - Bench Spots Remaining - Top Prospects Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOSTLCardinals?sid=YouTube Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More 🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnMLB Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIO Follow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_Cardinals Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Wonderful Pistachios Looking for a snack that’s both delicious and nutritious? Get snackin’ and get crackin’ with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more. FanDuel Right now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) #ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With under two weeks remaining in spring training, we're going to be checking in with Jeff Jones today to get us thoughts on the Cardinals' newest acquisition. They're struggling offense and the ongoing position battles at camp. You are locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardals fans. I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm your host for Lockdown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on X at J.D. Sports. You can follow the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals.

We're also on YouTube. Make sure you like, subscribe and comment. Hit that notification button so you don't miss out on any of the new episodes of shorts that we drop. Also now available on TikTok and Instagram at Locked on Cardinals. Still trying to figure out how all of that works. But we're getting it. We're getting it. This is a show serving Cardal Nation and giving the best fans in baseball,

all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode being brought to you by Fandall. Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Welcoming in our good buddy, Jeff Jones, from the business news Democrat here today. You can find his work and subscribe at B&D.com. Had some time down in Jupiter, Jeff, with the Cardinals.

How are things with you now that you're back home? Going well, you know, hard to believe that we're only 10 days away from heading down to Memphis for that exhibition game there. And then the season going two weeks from yesterday. So winter is rapidly coming off the calendar, which is good news. At least we think. But as we discussed before we started this, we're like, it's all nice and sunny right now. And then we just know we're going to get creamed as soon as the season actually starts.

We'll find that cold weather again. It tends to work out that way. You were around the team in Jupiter for a bit when camp started. How were vibes at camp following what was a very unusual offseason for this organization? Yeah, you know, it was mostly a. quiet camp. I was down there for the first three weeks or so of workouts getting going in the first week of games and whatnot. And, you know, it really was pretty much business as usual. I think that, you know, the day that Nolan Narnato arrived to camp and then they had the next morning,

they had folks come out, had Moseilla come out, and then Nolan right behind them and sort of addressed the very large elephants in the room and what have you. That seemed to go well from their perspective. And so, you know, once you get through that, then it's pretty, it's pretty well smooth sailing from there. I think that, you know, they've been relatively lucky, I guess, knock on wood in terms of health thus far this spring, really only one significant injury, two, if you're including Jordan Walker's little setback here with the need. But otherwise, as they're coming down to it and kind of looking like the team that they thought they were going to have. So, you know, whether that's for better or worse, I guess, is up to your judgment.

But they have so far mostly avoided anything serious. Now, they had made any moves through free agency until yesterday. It was a big story. Oh, my gosh, the cardals haven't spent any money, which I didn't really have a problem with when you, you know, trust who the guys you have in your organization and you're just kind of elevating them. I don't have a problem. We don't like there were these massive holes. We're like, we don't have anybody to play these positions. This is crazy. But they brought in a veteran right-hander and Phil Maton to join the bullpen, which bullpen itself has been pretty good this spring. It was a strength for the team last year. And it appears that it will be again this year, as long as they stay healthy.

You can say that about most teams. But your thoughts on the signing of Mayton at this point of the spring and what he can add to the Cardinals' bullpen in 2025. Yeah, you know, Mayton's a guy they have a lot of history with, I know that Mosella Colder borders in Florida yesterday, that they tried to trade for him at times in the past. I know that they were engaged with him last winter before eventually he ended up taking a one-year deal with the raise and then the Cardinals dividend designing

in Middleton, a guy who is, you know, local, if we're going to stretch the definition of local, right? grew up in the Springfield, Illinois area, and Chadham, so like 80 miles from St. Louis. You know, I'm supposed to know if that counts as local. And, you know, yeah, a veteran reliever where you know what you're going to get, right? You can trust me time to be a guy who's going to take the ball, a guy who's going to provide you with perfectly cramulent relief endings

in the 6th, 7th, and 8th, and the cardinals are going to use him in that spot. You know, I think when you kind of look at the group that they had in camp already, the one guy who sticks out to me here is Nick Anderson in terms of being a guy who came in on a minor league deal, who has the league experience, and who just really hasn't quite gotten the results or shown the way they might have hoped thus far this spring. And so, you know, if that appeared to be a situation that maybe wasn't going to work out the way they were hoping, then Mayton allows them to backfill that and still be able to kind of rotate guys through from Memphis, you know, somewhat frequently. I think that we should expect to see this season a lot more frequent use. of the Memphis shuttle that maybe we have seen in years past.

And then there would be probably a bunch of guys. We're going to rotate up and down kind of as the season goes on. So when we look at what, you know, bringing Maton in and how that, how he fits into the group, you've got Hellsley as your closer. You've got Romero, Fernandez, Liberator, Mayton, King. So that's six arms that you got in the pen right now. If things had to end today, who has stood out to you? and how do you think the final spots of this bullpen will shape up?

Yeah, you know, so that leaves you with two spots, basically, for a group that includes Anderson, that includes Kyle Leahy, Chris Roycroft, Roder Emunios, and Riley O'Brien. So when you look at that group, you know, I think it's, I think it's fair to say that Anderson maybe is a long shot to make the team at this point. He's a guy who, if the Cardinals were to add him to the roster, he makes $1.1 million. he does have an out that allows him to shop around of the Cardinals so they're not going to add him. He can look around for teams who might want to and that he can choose to go there. And if he doesn't find one, then, you know, then maybe the Cardinals return to Memphis.

So I would expect him to kind of be on the outside there. Same view with Roder Ramunios, who's a guy who they have liked in terms of stuff. They claimed him up way between the Barlins this winter, a guy who historically has been a starter, but probably fits more into a relief role for the Cardinals. I think they kind of like the way that his stuff plays up in shorter outings, but doesn't have a lot of experience in that role. And so, you know, hard to read really to imagine how he fits into a big league bullpen, at least to start the season. So then you're talking about Leahy, Roycroft, O'Brien, and two of those three guys making the team.

And I think that, you know, when you look at usage, Riley O'Brien, I know you were asking about this yesterday. And I look into it, O'Brien is a guy who, as far as I know was healthy and as far as folks have asked about is healthy, but just hasn't really gotten, excuse me, any game appearances. and for a couple of weeks now. So probably an indication that they're not really preferencing he's playing time that much, and especially given that neither Leahy nor Roycroft has allowed a run yet this spring. You know, Leahy is a guy who they stretched out a little, who you can probably take to say three ups, 40 pitches,

if necessary out of the bullpen. And that's a role that they would probably have open, given that, you know, Matthew Libertor is more likely to see some leverage spots, I think, year and the early going. And so, you know, Leahy and Roycroft to me look like the guys who are going to grab those spots to start the season. Again, pending health, you know, it's a little less than two weeks before opening day. Things happen. Things can happen anytime.

Petri's break, right? But I do think that probably those are the two guys who are most likely to round up that group kind of here as we come down to it. Yeah, it's been a fun battle to watch these guys coming in. And, you know, it's always in spring training, you know, it's always you see these guys come in and later in games are not facing, you know, a lot of the big league hitters anymore. So sometimes you got to take what they do with a grain of salt. But it's been impressive. Specifically, Roycroft and Leahy, as you mentioned, guys have had great numbers. But they've been dominating too. It's not like they're just eking out their innings. Like they've been really, really good. So it's been fun to watch. And hopefully, like you said, health, very, very important, obviously in the bullpen. And if they can keep these guys all together and out on the field, it should be a good spot for the Cardinals this year. Should be another strength for them. Now, they're offense has not done much this spring. We're going to get Jeff's thoughts on their struggles so far and whether or not we should be getting close to hitting that panic button at all with opening day looming. We'll talk about it next on Lockdown Cardinals. March Madness is here and Fandul is giving

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I get paid instantly. You will too. There's no waiting around. So visit fandle.com and get in on the college hoops action all tournament long. Thanks for making a lot. Tom Carle's your first listen every day. Leave your comments on YouTube as well as on X anytime you want that feedback. Always welcome and encourage. Make sure you guys give Jeff a follow on X. Also, you can follow his work on the business who's Democrat with us at B&D.com. And the Cardinals' offense as a whole, Jeff, has been, I mean, I'm abysmal. It's been ugly this spring. There are 30 teams of Major League Baseball and the Cardinals are dead last. Among all of them in batting average, are now hitting under the Mendoza line. They're at 198 as a group. They're last and hits, 23 less than the Mets,

And our second to last in OBP, slugging OPS, ironically in front of the Mets, who we know have studs, Lindoor, Soto, Alonzo, Viantos. The list goes on and on. This isn't what fans wanted to see from the offense after it being such an issue last year. So what do you make of these slow starts? Is it something about getting used to maybe things that they're learning from new hitting coordinator, Brand Brown? What's going on with guys like when and Donovan and Arndon?

Aronado and such a slow start so far. You know, I guess the thing you're supposed to say is that pitchers are ahead of hitters this time and year. That doesn't necessarily, including one of the Cardinals have, you know, like the worst offense in baseball in spring, right? You know, things are all measured relative to each other. Yeah, I think it would be fair for it to be a concern, you know, how much of spring is real, how much of spring is going to refluck that happens in regular season.

You know, the joke has always been that spring numbers don't matter except for the ones that really matter. and it's hard to tell the difference until you I kind of have foresight, right, or have hindsight to look at those things. So, you know, it's not ideal. It's not what you want. I don't know that there's necessarily any kind of like direct threat

or any kind of commonality you can draw between all these players and kind of the early, nearly spring struggles, or I should say, the full spring problem is not that early anymore. And, you know, you got to hope that when the regular season gets underway, that they'll turn, they'll flip the switch and it'll turn around a little. Otherwise, yeah, I mean, it's reasonable.

to be concerned because the thing that this team couldn't do last year was score runs. And the thing that really can't do less far this spring is score runs. You know, perhaps it is indicative that it's not always the hitting coach's problem, that sometimes it's the hitters, right? We're going to have, we're going to have to see. You know, there's not, I wish that there was a better explanation then, yeah, they're not hitting and we'll see what happens when the season starts. But these are the guys they got.

You know, they're not going to run out and we'll all of a sudden find a different group of hitters here sometime in the next two weeks. So they're going to figure it out. or they're not. And if it's not, then he could be a long summer. I mentioned that, you know, Mason Wynn has had a really tough time getting going this, this spring so far. Most people are like, well, you know, he's going to be all right. But there is that soft or slump thing that kind of pops up from time to time on people. Any concerns with Mason when going into year number two?

And is he really the right guy for the leadoff spot? Or is it, should it be somebody that, like a large new bar who seems to, take a few more pitches and likes to work the count a little bit more. What are your thoughts about that? You know, I don't, I don't know that Mason is necessarily an ideal lead-off hitter in terms of how we think about on base percentage right in and kind of that table setting aspect. I guess the counter is that there's not, the Cardinals don't really have enough offensive depth that you would want to see there instead. And if you were to move when out of the lead-off spot, where does he go? You know, it's probably somewhere like eight because you would assume that

the center field or whoever, and that ends up being as likely hitting nine. And so if it's, if it's win hitting eight, then you're bumping guys kind of up behind him, which means that probably you're talking about Nolan Gorman in more of an RBI spot than kind of the low pressure spot. He seems like we're going to start the season in now. And is that the best way to go about it? You know, I don't know. I think that overall I'm open to all kinds of different conceptions of how Wyman

construction should go. I think that Newt Park could handle lead off. I think Brendan Donovan can handle it. And I think that Winn can handle it. you know, Mason obviously helped him down relatively well throughout the season last year. And in his case, you know, you would hope that some of the slow start is just going to be chocked up to whether he's working on particular things or maybe trying to alter from his approach that he's now getting back to, you know, we'll see. I wouldn't be overly concerned about win as of yet just because you have seen him perform at the big league level at a certain level. And, you know, if he were to go from, say, being a five-win player last year to a three-and-a-half win player this year, that wouldn't be like the biggest shock in the world, right? But it would probably, you know, it would hurt them. You know, they would not, they would not obviously be as good with Mason win as a three-and-a-half win player as a five-win player. But that would not be the sort of like huge drop-off that you'd really be concerned about. So we'll see. I would expect that Mason will probably start there to begin the season, but who knows how long that's going to last.

he didn't start there to begin last season and kind of worked his way into that spot, uh, in part by default. So we'll, we'll sort of see how the rest of the offense goes or doesn't and, and how he fits into that broader context. Are you somebody or maybe what's your opinion on, uh, is Ali somebody? Does he like to keep it where the, the lineup doesn't move that much, would he prefer it to be that way? Or is he somebody that you think is okay with moving guys around here and there and just kind of going with the flow each week? You know, his lineups have been relatively static in the time that he has taken over. Some of that is personal and some of that is sort of his preference.

I think the one thing that you've seen the Cardinals do pretty consistently, especially since the introduction of the three-better minimum, is to try to alternate right-left as much as possible. I know that the one thing that they try to keep an eye on in terms of wildlife construction is missing, like, obvious runs, right? Obvious lanes that you would see a reliever shift into. So, for example, that probably is why you would. wouldn't see like Berluson, Newtbar Gorman hitting four, five, six, right?

Like a run of lefties like that, but you can easily neutralize late in the game, much more likely to see somebody like Herrera higher up in the lineup just to break that up. And so, you know, in terms of construction, that probably is the thing that they are most focused on, is making sure that they're going to be flexible enough later in games, that they're not going to be kind of easily taken over by an overwhelming bullpen piece. The battle for center field obviously has been something that has been a big story and fun to watch, really, because you know, you've seen Lars New Park getting some work there.

But the real battle that has been on the minds of people has been the Victor Scott the second versus Michael Siani. Victor has clearly been the better player this spring. It's an obvious thing so far this spring. But obviously Siani was up in the major leagues all season last year and did so well in centerfield defensively. offensively we know that's not his strong soup but the boys like him. Ali likes him. And if Victor ends up winning this spot, and let's say Siani goes down to Memphis, even if he's on the club, is Victor in danger of being on the bench too much where it would

make more sense for Siani to actually be that bench player instead and let Victor play every day at Memphis, of course, if Jordan Walker is healthy, which is why you're starting, getting to see them play a little bit more with Jordan not in right field and Lars can play out there. But when Jordan's healthy, is that something that we should keep an eye on here if like, would it shock you if Siani made the team over Victor? It would not shock me if Siani made a team over Victor. I will say that if Victor does win that job outright. And you're right. I mean, clearly if you're, if you're just gauging it on this spring's performance, right? Like it's not, it's not close. Victor has obviously won that job on a

performance front over Siani. That being said, I think if Victor makes the team and Victor is the opening day center field, then he's going to play. And that is going to have some downstream on other guys, right? And this ultimately is sort of the push pole, this whole situation. I know that I've written about this. A lot of folks have written about this sort of all throughout spring is the fact that Nolan Aronado is still here means that Nolan is at the second or he's the DH.

And on days when Gorman is at second, where D.S. with Gorman is at second, Donovan is in left. And if Donovan's in left and Walker is healthy, then Newt Farr is in center. Or if Gorman is the DH, then maybe Burleson's not in the lineup. If Donovan is in second and you're talking about Newfar and center and Urban Newpar and left and Scott and center and Walker and right. All of these permutations sort of flow from that third base spot. Now obviously, again, this is a better team that wins more games with Nolan Aronado at third and then pushing things down the lineup, right? But this is what you get when you're not able to free up the spot that you play.

to free up. There's there's simply not enough innings for all of these guys to get all of the reps. And so, you know, there have been, there were a couple of things throughout the spring that when Ali Marmola was asked about them, he would either just not want to answer the question or he would make reference to that being, you know, a bigger discussion with more people in the room, right? And this conversation about Scott and Siani is going to be one of those. That's a more people in room conversation. Because the question for the Cardinals has to be, okay, if Victor Scott does win the job, what happens when his start of the season looks like it looked at the start of last season?

He was clearly overmatched, should not have been in the big leagues, couldn't really hack it at the plate. He looked better when he came up at the end of the year, but still looked a little overmatched. Now, again, he's had a really good spring. Does that matter? It depends on who you ask him, depends on what it looks like. So I don't know that they necessarily totally know them. themselves yet. And Jordan Walker's health is a big part of this. They have not given any indication

thus far that Walker won't be ready to start the season. In fact, I believe, you know, at latest check, Walker is expected to get it back into game action maybe as soon as Sunday. So, you know, if Jordan Walker's in the lineup on Sunday and he's full go, then okay. But if he's not, and this starts to drag out and it looks like Walker might not be healthy to start the season, then you have a very different sort of way to look at this. And, you know, you do have a spot opens up, right? Like that, that creates a situation where you can have Gorman at second and Donovan and left and Burleson V.H. And you have enough space for all these guys if Walker's not available to you. If he is, then you're going to have to make

some choices. And that's what it's going to maybe boil down to, is it better to have Scott in the lineup and center and one of Burleson or Gorman on the bench or Siani to be a guy maybe who's on the bench and create that opening in And I don't, I don't know that they really know the answer to that question yet. Yeah, I just, because I want to prepare fans are going to be like, are you kidding me? If Victor Scott doesn't make this team, it's not because he hasn't done anything right. It's because they don't want to sit him on the bench. And that's the whole thing is they want him to keep playing.

And he will have that ability to do that at Memphis, where with Walker coming back, like, it's just, it's a numbers crunch. And like you mentioned, it's all kind of a trickle-down effect of them not being able to find a deal that worked out for them between O'Noranato and another team. So that means we've got some other interesting battles to talk about with the bench spots, which has been fun as well because, you know, the main guys, you mentioned how many guys that they feel are already starters. Who do we get on the bench?

You've had, you know, Luke and Baker, Jose Barrero comes out of nowhere and is impressing people. You've got Michael Hellman, who they made the deal with the twins for, Jose for me, Thomas and Jacey, Matt Coperniac. All of these guys trying to find a spot. lot on the Cardinals bench and there's only a couple remaining. So we're going to get Jeff's thoughts on how he thinks those battles will unfold. And which of the top prospects have impressed him the most so far this spring?

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brings you a daily blend of humor in baseball, keeps you updated on all the teams during spring training. Find locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. Jeff Jones from the Business News Democrat with us talking Cardinals. You can find his work at B&D.com. All right, Jeff, looking at this roster. You've got Herrera and Paixas as you're catching duo. You've got Wilson at first. You got Gorman Donovan at second.

When it's short, Nato at third. Newt, Walker, Burleson, the Victor Ciani thing going on, which doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room on this bench. But we've had some bright spots this spring, some guys to think about a little bit, guys competing like Luke and Baker and Barreiro and Coperniac. Who has stood out to you so far? And what direction do you think the Cardinals will go with? assuming Walker is ready for opening day. So you're looking at a bench with four spots on it, right? You get 13 position players, nine are going to be in the lineup.

Of those four spots, one of them is going to be whichever catcher is not catching that day. So that spot has their Herrera. One of them is going to be whichever position player is squeezed out on a given day. So is that Burleson, is that Gorman, is that maybe Donovan, whatever, right? So those are those are two of the spots. Again, assuming that Walker is healthy for opening day that are going to be filled. that leaves you with a backup infielder and then a backup outfielder and or bat. And so I think that when you look at those spots, one of them is going to be a choice between

Fermine and Barrero and Michael Helman. You know, Sejacy is a guy who in much the same way they're going to want to bat to Riftr Scott. I would expect Sejacy to start the season in Memphis. I would, you know, without an injury in the next two weeks, I don't think there's really a path for Sejc to make this team. that against him in the case since the open camp with Illinois and Otto, frankly. And I think that, you know, they're going to want him to get the event.

You know, not that this is necessarily a giveaway of anything, but the spring breakout game was on the TV over here to my left. And Thomas, JC is playing in that game, right? Probably an indication that they're not necessarily getting him ramped up for the big league season, probably where he is pointed. And so you're talking about Vermean, Ferreiro, Helmut. All those three, I think Barrero was. probably the player they like the most at the moment. I think that he is the superior defender

at short behind Mason win. He has the most experience in center. He is probably the best athlete of the three. He has not hit like at all in the big leagues. It has the most of the experience of the three, but has not hit. His most recent big league season with the Reds eventually got sit down with like a 43% strikeout rate. Now that that's like that's unplayable, right does that matter necessarily if he's going to be a bench guy when you're talking about maybe one start every 10 days you know maybe maybe five at that's a week probably less than that even it may it may not matter all that much and you know the cardinals have said that they're not all that concerned uh about a full-time backup for mason win win himself you know told me that he

his goal was to play 162 this year so we'll see what that looks like uh you know we'll see if his body holds up well enough for him to do that so that decreases maybe some of the need for a shortstop. That being said, Barero is clearly the superior short stuff of the three, and the Cardinals' history with Vermin tells you that they're not very interested in letting Vermin play short. He's got zero winnings there in the regular season in the big leagues, despite playing there a ton of AAA. So I think that Barrero probably is slightly ahead there. Now, the other thing is that Barrero is not on the 40 man and the other two guys are. Cardinals tried to clear a spot for Phil Mayton. That was Bailey Horn getting designated for assignment.

That stands out to me because the other way they could have cleared a spot would have been to move Zach Thompson, who has a lap strain to the 60 day IL. Because just by just by virtue of the calendar, you know, Thompson's going to have a full month of shutdown followed by a full month of build. He's like, it's going to be a 60 day entry, right? So there's really nothing left, nothing lost by putting Thompson on the 60. The fact that they didn't either says that maybe he is doing a little better than we think, or that they were anticipating needing a 40 man spot later in spring and that they're going to, going to use it for that, which would be Barrero. So we'll see. You know, again, if I were to, if I were to bet on a guy today, it would be on Barreiro.

But that is a spot where things could change relatively quickly as it come down to the wire because the other thing you remember, too, is that other teams are going to cut guys, right? So it's entirely possible that somebody springs loose from another organization as we get down to the wire here in camp that they like better than those three. And you would see somebody from outside kind of sees that spot. You know, I don't think that any of the three has had the kind of spring where you would say, okay, one of these guys for sure has to be on the team. That's not the case to me, right?

Like, I think Barrero was the guy that probably is ahead in that race, but not so much that he, you know, that they wouldn't look outside if there were somebody obvious were to pop up. The other bench spot, you're talking about either Baker or Perniac. I think, frankly, it's just going to be Baker in part because when you look at kind of all of the power threats they have that have to be in the lineup, you know, again, Burleson, Gorman, Donovan, because you're all left-handed hits,

right. Raker is a guy who hits from the right side who can be your DH against a tough lefty, who can pinch hit for guys late in game. You know, you can flip Burleson or Gorman with a pinch hitter late in the game and in the right spot. There's also, frankly, like, no one gets anything out of Luke and Baker

going back to AAA. Like, there's just, there's nothing there for anyone. I don't know what good it does anyone for him to go back to Memphis. He had another 35 homers. You know, he's like, 28 years old, he's been three years in AAA. It's enough already. If that's going to be the case, then they should just move on and be done with it. And I think that they're much more likely to

have him kind of on the bench as just a right-handed bat. You know, does it help him that he can't play a bit each other than first and even first is kind of iffy? No, but you know what? It's a bat and a bat is a bat. Keperniac has for sure helped himself this spring. And I think that, you know, Keperniak has helped himself to the extent that that's a guy who, who you could really see with a future at this club, if not a guy who maybe is ever gonna start for them, but can definitely be a useful bench piece. I would expect him to make his debut this season,

has done everything he could have asked for him in spring, really. I just think in terms of how the roster math breaks down and the fact that he also hits left handed, like all the rest of those guys, I would say that's probably call it 80-20 Baker at this point with a week and a half up in spring. That's, I'm written for Lucas too. It's for all the reasons that you mentioned.

too because it's like it just feels like I got nothing left to prove down in triple list. You're either going to use me or get me out of here or something because, you know, we heard those discussions that maybe he might go overseas or something to play so that he can play every day. So I'm rooting for the guy. I couldn't agree more with that. I feel like the only thing hurting Coperniac is that he's left-handed. You know, if he wasn't, if he was a right-handed hitter, he'd probably have a better shot at this. But that's the way things are. So, but it's good that there's you know, competition for all of this, which is, in my eyes, it's been very entertaining to watch so far this spring, and I've enjoyed it thoroughly. Questions about Michael McGreevy.

People are getting a little antsy about this because it appears that the Cardinals are going to lean towards having Stephen Matts in the starting rotation. And I brought up the idea, you know, the thought that, you know, if you had McGreevy in the rotation, that would be all righties, too. That's like no change where it would be a lefty. So as much as I want to see Michael McGreevy pitching in the rotation at the major league level. It may not be the best plan for for the team moving forward. And especially when you got Matt's injury history, I mean, to have McGreevy ready to go and not be in the bullpen. It might be the smartest and safest move.

What are your thoughts on McGreevy starting at Memphis despite having a really good spring? Yeah, you know, the Cardinals at least have said that McGreevy is going to remain as a starter, right? So the one place you're not going to see it as the big league bullpen. I think that's the right choice. I think that you're going to need. You're always going to need more than five starters. Again, you know, I've said that's a bunch, but they have not in like waking memory, have they had a spring where they got through the entirety of spring with all of their anticipated

rotation healthy. Maybe this is going to be the first time. That's the case, and that's the case. And they're not going to have a spot that's open for Michael McGreevy. He'll open the year of Memphis. You know, McGreeby is set to start tonight. There's a night game in Port St. Lucy against the Metskrievee is the starter there. It would not be like the most stunning thing in the world for him to get the stuff.

start tonight and then to get sent out after tomorrow morning just as a way to go big dog you pitch great now go to minor league camp and work through it um you know the other the other variant on that would be if they do move stephen to the bullpen and slot mcgrie into that spot i don't think that's very likely to happen uh in part because when you're talking about a four lefty bullpen or like three and john king goes to memphis that you know that's possible but i don't think that probably is the best use of everyone um and it also puts you in a spot where if you were to need you Matt's later on in the year to start, with him in particular, I would not trust the ability to bounce from short to long, right? That probably seems like not a great idea. So I think that,

you know, again, health being what it is, that probably McGreevy just opens as the start, as the ace in Memphis, you know, probably even starts that exhibition game into Mondays for Memphis, right? Maybe he's the starter for the Redbirds in that game. It's sort of, you know, whatever, welcome to the congratulations. Here's your, here's your big appearance type of deal. But yeah, he's shown well. He has shown a continuation of the success that he had at the end of last year and kind of the good appearance he had since after he was called up. And I think that that has to be reassuring for the Cardinals because we kind of look at his, you know, career path to the minors to this point, it really wasn't great until last season when he kind of figured out that cutter

and figured out that kind of the spike on the sinker and all of a sudden look like a much different version of himself. And so if those changes are going to be durable, then that's a guy who you can probably look at as, you know, a mid-rotation starter by the end of this year. It just puts him in a spot now or unfortunately on opening day, it's difficult to see a spot for him. Yeah, I mean, there was a lot of like, you know, the B word talk about him as a first round pick. It was like, is this guy kind of a bus? Because it just hadn't clicked that. And then, lo and the whole last year, things just went whoop. And it all started working out. out from McGreevy, which is a development is a development is not linear as the kids say.

Yeah. Speaking of prospects and stuff, we did get a glimpse of the future this spring with guys like Quinn Matthews and J.J. Weatherhull, Tinkins, Toccoa Roby, obviously opened up a lot of eyes, finally being healthy and being able to pitch in front of people. Who impressed you the most out of, you know, this group of top prospects for the Cardinals? And who do you think is the closest to making a major league debut here in 2025? Obviously, health is a big thing. You know, who's going to get moved in what?

But who do you think looked the most right? So the guy that impressed me the most out of that group was to kill a Robe, just because I hadn't had the opportunity to see him really throw that much healthy, right? Pretty much since the Cardinals have acquired him from Texas at the deadline in 23, he has been on some sort of shortened, modified, whatever kind of program. And for him to be free and easy and just kind of let it eat this spring looked, I thought, fantastic. And they had one of the most sort of overwhelming appearances of any starter that I saw on camp this year and a guy who, you know, you watch him throw, you go, oh, like that's, okay,

I get it, right? Like there are some guys where you watch and you can listen to how the ball hits the mitt when it comes out of their hand, but how my ball sounds in the air even. And it's like, oh, this is different. Like, okay, I get it. This is what the stuff plays up to. So Roby is the guy that jumps out. Now, which of those guys is most likely to be closest to the big leagues, it's probably Matthews just by virtue of, you know, his age and where he's at physically and kind of in his path in development, his ability to hold up to, you know, a major league workload, right? Like that's the guy who, again, I would expect Matthews to make his big league debut at some point this summer. I think that's very likely to happen. And definitely is the guy who is, you know,

polished and calm and understands what's expected of him and understands how to do the work. It seems to me at least day in and day out. So nothing, nothing discouraging out of this spring for Quinn Matthews. I just think that, you know, the stuff that Takalorobe was able to show now that he's healthy really kind of jumped off the page. Yeah. And he, his stuff, it's like the stuff of a bigger guy than he is, too, because he's, you know, 6'1. He's not like this massive guy. But when you hear, like he mentioned the hit of the mitt and stuff, you know, like it thumps like he's 6'5, 240 out there. And, man, he's got an arm. Keeping him healthy. He's obviously. been the problem. So looking forward to seeing him even more this year. But the best way I would

describe to Phil Roby is, you know, the facility in Jupiter is set up. There's a spot where there are six catching mounds and then there's a fence. You know, the catcher set up right in front of the fence is right. And the media is able to sort of stand basically right behind the fence. Like I can stand almost where a home plate umpire would be during a game, right? Maybe a foot further back, but really pretty close to it. But with a fence between me and the baseball, which is very helpful. And I can remember standing back there and like watching Jordan Hicks throw a bullpen, right? And you can hear the ball moving through the air in a way that is unusual. And Roby's got that same sound, right?

Like the ball will hiss and sizzle through the air out of Toccoa Roby's hand in a way that it does not for most guys. And that is like that is the kind of like capital S stuff that's really hard to teach. Well, we're looking forward to seeing all these guys hopefully progress and make their way up to the pros this year. I want to make sure you guys are following Jeff at J.M. Jones on on X. Make sure you guys are signing up at B&D.com and subscribe so that you guys can see all the work that Jeff Jones does over at the business dues Democrat. I appreciate you. Any stories coming up that you're working on that you want to let people know about? No, just two this week. We, you know, discuss the filmaton signing and sort of how that kind of runs

downhill as well as what the Cardinals should expect to be having to deal with. Now that now that Albert Poohulls and Yadir Malina have kind of made public their desire to manage. I think next week we'll be sort of running through, okay, what does this team look like if things go well? What does it look like for things to go badly? And then, yeah, like I said, a week from this coming Monday, I will be in Memphis for that exhibition game between the Cardinals and the Redbirds. And then two weeks from yesterday, 13 days from now is opening day at Bush Jania. So we'll be up there trying not to freeze and then enjoying some ball. Also, stay safe in that weather that's going on in St. Louis today, brother.

Let's stay safe. Yeah. Thank you guys for making Locktown Cardinals for first list. Every day if you haven't already, give us a follow as well on Axe at Eleanor underscore Cardinals into JD Sports Radio. TikTok at Lockdown Cardinals. Like, subscribe on YouTube, help the channel and our love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Lockdowns.