Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals SHUFFLE Up The Lineup With Very LITTLE Success -- Top Prospects SHINE In Minors!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Cardinals switch up the lineup to face one of the best left-handers in baseball, and the results were not good. 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. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Hafford, and today's episode is brought to you by Fandall during the tournament. Fandul is offering $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days.

Starting point is 00:00:33 So head to pandal.com to get started. On today's show, we're going to be going down and checking up on the farm. Down on the farm report, because now we got a lot of teams. It's not just Memphis that's in action. We've got a couple of the minor league teams that are playing. So we'll talk about them. We've got your three, I guess, stars of the game. Like, not really a lot of stars on the cardinal side of things from Friday.

Starting point is 00:00:59 But we start with the lineup that we saw in Friday's matchup against Fram. Valdez and the Tigers, okay? Because this is what everybody seems to be all worked up about. When the Cardinals released the lineup for Friday's game, it was the home opener for Detroit. The reception was overwhelmingly bad from fans who just hated the fact that certain guys were not playing despite having the day off on Thursday. People don't understand.

Starting point is 00:01:25 They're like, hey, why you just had a day off? Why are we not starting our normal dudes? trying some new matchups, trying to see what else they got. You know, the one surprise in the lineup, actually, was Mason Win. Mason Win. Mason, when it was in that car accident after the game on Wednesday, which there's a lot of good coverage from SCL Today.com. So I encourage you to go check those stories out about how Dustin May and Nolan Gorman and the trainers

Starting point is 00:01:53 and everybody came to Mason Wins aid. And, you know, he was good. But he felt good enough to play, which is great. Apparently he was nervous that he broke his thumb in the car accident, but I guess the x-rays were negative. So he was good to go. And he did leave the game later on, like late in the game due to some hit tightness. But after the game, Ali said that, you know, he was good, just some hip tightness.

Starting point is 00:02:19 Mason was also batting leadoff, was not in the cleanup spot because JJ Weatherhole was out of the lineup, which was the first thing that got people all worked up. that's one of the names it was omitted that had the fans all grumpy, was that JJ was not in the lineup. Yvonne Herrera was catching and batting second. Burley was at first and third. The cleanup spot, third baseman Ramon Urius, or Urius.

Starting point is 00:02:45 To put it lightly, fans hated that. That's putting it lightly, hate. Batting fifth, right field, Jordan Walker, sixth and deaching, Joe L. Pozo, second base, he had Thomas and Jacey, and in the number nine spot. was center fielder Victor Scott. So no Weatherholt, no Garmin, against the lefty Valdez, which is understandable because Ali said he wanted to get some of these regulars a day off.

Starting point is 00:03:10 Now, everybody had a day off. I understand that, but he also wanted to get him a day off from when there was a game. Valdez is really good, all right, despite what transpired last year in Houston and, you know, did he throw at his catcher on purpose and crossed up the signs? still a very good pitcher. There's a reason why Detroit went out and spent a bunch of money on him. So the thought was, why not see if any of these right handers can do anything against him? I mean, you hadn't even seen Pozo and for me and get a batch yet. So, you know, you got to try these guys out and you got to see what they can do.

Starting point is 00:03:46 It made sense to me, but sadly, it didn't work. They didn't do anything against Valdez or any of the pitchers that Detroit sent out there. They got shut out by a score of four to nothing. Man, it's just five hits. team, all of them were singles and they struck out of Ferris Bueller nine times. The Cardinals were also hitless and five in bats with runners in scoring position. They left nine runners on base. It was a bad day if you were a Cardinal hitter.

Starting point is 00:04:12 It was the second consecutive game that the Cardinals did not have an extra base hit. That's not good, which, you know, when you win, you tend to say, you know, it happens. But when you lose, it's like, come on, boys. Do you even go to the gym and left? Can you put some pop in the ball? The grouping of Urius, Walker, Pozo, Fermin, O for 13, O for 13. O' for 13. Urias was 0 for three with two Ks.

Starting point is 00:04:39 Clearly, the cleanup spot in this order has been cursed by some sort of devil woman because whoever bats cleanup sucks. They just can't do anything. They're put in the cleanup spot to be a contact hitter, and they can't make contact. They keep striking out. The Cardals have gotten jack spit from the cleanup spot in the order. Pozoin for me, and like I mentioned, getting their first-it-bats,

Starting point is 00:05:04 going 0-4-6. It looked like they were getting their first-it bats in the regular season. 0-4-6. Win, Herrera Burleson, Sejacy, and Victor Scott were the guys that had the singles. Herrera, Burley, and Sejacy added some walks in there. But that was it, man. It was rough. It was not fun to watch.

Starting point is 00:05:25 I didn't enjoy this game at all. It was pretty boring. Team just could never come up with that big hit. And, you know, that was really the big story of the game. You know, the pitching wasn't that bad. They just couldn't get anything going. And hopefully this, this hip issue that Mason Wynn is dealing with is not something that's going to linger. But he said after the game that, you know, this soreness actually isn't even related to the car accident,

Starting point is 00:05:51 but is because he was overdoing it in the batting cage. is trying to figure out a way to get out of this slump that he's in, said he recently hit for two and a half hours straight. What? That's crazy. And he said he needs to learn to be able to back off from doing that. I'm shocked that coaches let him do that. That's exhausting.

Starting point is 00:06:12 Have you ever gone to a batting cage and hit for maybe 30 minutes straight? Two and a half hours? That's bonkers. Like your whole body's going to be worn down. Hands? like, I don't care if you got batting gloves on or not. You're going to get calluses and your hands are going to be sore. Arms, back, legs, obviously.

Starting point is 00:06:33 That's not a great plan. So whoever allowed Mason Wynn to have batting practice for two and a half hours, shame on you. Let's not do that. Mason Wyn also said that he expected to miss at least Saturday's game because of the hip soreness, which is the right choice. Don't need to push things this early and have it. cost you more games later on in the year. Jack Flaherty, our old friend Jack Flaherty is scheduled

Starting point is 00:06:59 a pitch against his former team. Dustin May is set to go for the Cardinals. It is weather permitting. Apparently there's going to be a lot of rain in the area of Detroit throughout Saturday. So we'll have to keep an eye on that, whether they start on time, where they get delayed or postponed altogether. We'll find out. I would assume if they do get this game going, we'll see more of a normal lineup. JJ should be at the top. He came in the game later on Friday. So it's not like there's something wrong with him. So he should be back. Yvonne Herrera's probably going to be deaching.

Starting point is 00:07:28 Burley, not sure what they'll do it, clean up. Maybe they scoge Gorman up there to go lefty, lefty, back to back against Flaherty. Walker's to J.C. Church, Victor. I know people are kind of down on my guy Nathan Church right now because he's had some pretty bad at bats. Admittedly, they've looked pretty bleh. But he's a really good left fielder. And, you know, hopefully that he can get things going in the right direction again like he

Starting point is 00:07:51 did during the spring. and, you know, the defense is always something that you need that as well. So there wasn't a ton to get excited about in this game, as I mentioned, over and over. So getting three stars, not exactly the easiest thing to do, but we'll try. So we'll do that coming up next on Lockout Cardinals. The tournament is about to wrap up. Always one of the best times of the year. You got the bracket challenges, you got the buzzer beaters, you got the upsets.

Starting point is 00:08:25 David versus Goliath. We don't really have that going on in the final four here. We got a two versus three and then a one versus one in the final four. But it's still a good time year after year. And right now, Fandle is giving new customers a new way to get in on the action until the nets are cut down on Monday. Final four weekend, Illinois, Yukon, Michigan, Arizona for Saturday. I just, I went with Arizona from the get-go.

Starting point is 00:08:49 So, of course, I'm just going to stick with the Wildcats. Best part about this tournament is that with Fandul, you get up to $300, back in bonus bets every day for 10 days. And that means 10 chances to stay involved throughout the entire tournament, mix it up however you want. You want to go game picks. Cool. Futures.

Starting point is 00:09:05 Even same game parlays for bigger potential payouts. Now that you're down to just three games left and the men side of things, like you could really put some cool stuff together. It's perfect for the tournament because every day there's something new. Different matchups, new storylines, more ways to get involved as the bracket unfold. So visit fandal.com to sign up today. That's fandle.com. to get in on the action.

Starting point is 00:09:31 Thanks for making Lockdown. Cardinals your first list of the day. Thank you for making Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. Baseball is finally back in a celebrate. We're giving you a full free month of the Everyday Club for free. Free. F-R-E-E.

Starting point is 00:09:45 You ain't got to pay nothing. Go to Lockdown, s-Cardels.com. Use the code, finally. F-N-A-L-L-Y. You unlock every episode. It's going to be ad-free. You get access to our private listener group chat. Just tap the link in the show.

Starting point is 00:09:59 Don't use code finally and claim your free month. So three stars. Now that I've had a chance to think about it, in a game that you lose and you get shut out, maybe we're just going to say these are the three guys I want to highlight. These are guys that I was paying attention to. Maybe did something good. Number one, despite the loss, I want to show some love to our guy, Michael McGruevy, six no hit innings in his first game.

Starting point is 00:10:24 We knew that was unsustainable. But he was solid in this one as well. It wasn't like he had a really tough game and he just got beat up on. He did get dinged for a two-run homer by Dylan Dingler, a hanging, breaking ball, and it happens. And the third run against him came across after he left the game. And it was Justin Brule, who couldn't get either of the two left-handed guys that he was brought into face, couldn't get him out. McGreevy throws 75 pitches, but I understood the move, like when Ali came out to get him, you know, had he faced one or two more guys, anyways, he's going to get to like 85 pitch.

Starting point is 00:11:00 He's not going to pitch anymore after that anyway. And, you know, you had the two lefties coming up and you're trying to keep that third run from scoring. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. Brill faced Carpenter and Green. They both hit singles. Didn't work. Didn't work.

Starting point is 00:11:16 Justin Brul couldn't get them out. So, but not a bad outing by Michael McGreevy by any means. At Detroit office, if you remember last year, they were a pain of the butt last year for most of the season. Remember they got real cold. old at the end of the year. But through like 100 games, they had the best record in baseball.

Starting point is 00:11:34 If I remember correctly, it was like them. And then like Milwaukee was right on their heels and ended up passing them. But remember Detroit was like amazing, amazing. And they got a good offense. They got, it's another one of those offenses just puts bats on balls, man. They just, that's what they did against Michael McGreevy. And it worked enough.

Starting point is 00:11:56 They got enough in only four runs is not a ton. It's not. But when your offense is doing nothing, four runs seems like a gigantic mountain. It's like Everest. Number two, let's go with Jordan Walker on this one. All right. Now, here's the thing. He was hitless.

Starting point is 00:12:12 See what I mean. It's tough to get three stars. But four at batts, over four. The batting average is falling to 217. He's over his last 10 with five strikeouts since that big game against Tampa Bay on the 29th. Since then, he's won for 13 overall. since that game. I was asked by a listener if I was starting to worry about him. And I responded saying that, you know, no, not any more than I was already at the beginning

Starting point is 00:12:37 of the season. Like, I'm not going to freak out about Jordan Walker having three really bad games. The guy's got talent. We've seen some improvements for the last three games. He's looked a lot more like the Jordan Walker. We've been used to the last couple years, which is not good. So hopefully he can get back on track again. What he did do that was super positive. And he's been doing it for most of the years so far is playing good defense. And he had this amazing throw in this game from right field, two outs, blooper into right field, Javi Baez on second base, former Cub, and Jordan Walker guns him at the plate in the third inning, just an absolute hose was clocked in at over 100 miles per hour to the plate

Starting point is 00:13:22 on the throw. I think it was 100.6 miles per hour, like just a cannon in right field from Jordan Walker. That was one of the reasons why moving him to the outfield made a lot of sense. He's got that long reach. He can cover a lot of ground. He is fast for his size. And of course, he's got this arm. So making him an outfielder made a whole lot of sense. We didn't realize it was going to take as long for him to get used to things. But so be it. But he's looked a whole lot better in right field this year. So that's been a positive. And if we can get that bat to come around, be more consistent. Solid player we would have out there. Number three. Three, Gordon Grossefo and Chris Roycroft.

Starting point is 00:14:01 These are the guys that finished up the game in the eighth and the ninth innings without allowing a run. Gricefo has made three appearances since being called up for the injured Matt Pushard. And so far, he's thrown two and two-thirds innings and hasn't allowed to run or hit. Nothing. He walked two guys on Friday. They didn't score.

Starting point is 00:14:18 But there is an odd stat out of the time that he's been up in the three appearances. He still doesn't struck anybody out, which is a little weird. But he's not allowing people to. score and that's that's the goal is to keep it from crossing the plate so good job again for gordon grecipo and then our guy chris roycroft you know horrible luck with the soft contact hits in those first few appearances specifically against Tampa bay where swinging buntz they had to have three or four of them against them it was unbelievable and then the last game he gets into he gets hit by a comebacker and kind of throws him off keel and he ends up walking a couple guys so to see

Starting point is 00:14:55 Chris Roycroft come into this game, throw a clean inning, get a strikeout. That was a sight for sore eyes because I know they think they got something with Chris Roycroft. Like they believe in him and they're like, look at this guy. Like we can do something with him. We can mold him into something that is going to be effective. Like we can do this. And to see like how much movement he's had on the sinker, which was causing those crappy infield hits, if you can get those. to just miss the bats altogether instead, he would be well off. You'd be pretty pleased with what you've seen from him so far. But when you go look at the stats, you're kind of like,

Starting point is 00:15:34 it looks like he's terrible still. But it hasn't been quite as bad as the stats look. But it was good. It's a positive step forward for Chris Roycroft, and that's a good thing, right? Memphis Redbirds, they just keep trucking along. Peoria was in action on Friday night, And so was Springfield.

Starting point is 00:15:56 Got a heck of a debut from one of the biggest pieces of that Brendan Donovan trade with Seattle Mariners. We'll talk about all of these guys. Coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals. What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robin Hood prediction markets. Now, it's not you against the house. It's you participating in a live market.

Starting point is 00:16:22 You can buy or sell your positions live. You can do it all game long. Use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter because Robin Hood prediction markets changes the game. It's people moving the action. So in momentum shifts, you can move with it. I always knew the game, but never had a dynamic way to apply this knowledge. Now I can actually take part live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator.

Starting point is 00:16:47 Play by play. You decide. Trade every play with Robin Hood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robin Hood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps, trading involves significant. to get risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivatives LLC, a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. Workplace chaos. Deadlines are

Starting point is 00:17:12 stacking up. The inbox is overflowing and you got that one position. You still need to fill it, but you haven't found the right person yet. So when the pressure is on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsored jobs is going to help you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for. Specific. skills, the right experience, living in the right location. So you're not just hoping that that right candidate just happens to stumble across your post. You're going to find them. And here's a stat that says it all. In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide. So if you are hiring,

Starting point is 00:17:47 do the smart thing. Spend last time searching a more time interviewing candidates. You check all of your boxes with Indeed sponsored jobs. Less stress, less time, more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos. That's a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsor job credit to help get your job that premium status it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now. Support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed. Sponsored jobs. Thanks for making Lockdown Cardinals. Your first listen of the day. Thank you for making

Starting point is 00:18:31 locked on the number one sports podcast network we got you covered whether it's baseball football basketball hockey we got it all covered you know we're going to have a lot of draft stuff coming up and the uh the locked on football guys like the NFL guys they're amazing the college people are amazing it's a great network so uh go go check it out like go to other teams and see what else they offer um but i appreciate you being here uh let's talk about about the minor league guys. Memphis Redbirds. They're still undefeated. They're still undefeated, you guys. Seven and oh, after a five to four win over Norfolk on Friday, left fielder Matt Caperniac continues to be a key contributor for this team. Smacked his first home run of the season,

Starting point is 00:19:18 finished the game two for four with that dinger and an RBI. The D.H, Bly Madris, went to one for two, one for two with a, or is it madras? Bly Madras. I think I always said it. Did I say it? I say right. Anyway, one for two, home run, walk, sack fly, two runs scored, two ribbies. Solo blast in that third inning was his first long ball as a Redbird. So congratulations to you, Bly. Center fielder Colton Ledbetter also had an RBI. Sack fly in the fifth hasn't been very easy for Colton so far early on in the season. So good to see him contributing. Nelson Velazquez, our guy Nelly. How about this? Finally, he got his first hit of the season was so good in the spring, gets the bad news that he hasn't made the Major

Starting point is 00:20:02 League club, goes down to AAA and just ice cold, just frozen. And finally, gets that first hit of the season. He added a walk and a run as well. So good to see Nelly, hopefully, turning things around. Leo Bernal, minor league gold glove winning catcher was playing first base on Friday. Also one for three with a double, a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. He's now bad in 364. your starting pitcher was the veteran Bruce Zimmerman. He allowed two runs on five hits. He didn't walk anybody. Struck out nine over six innings pitch.

Starting point is 00:20:34 Both runs in the outing scored via solo home runs. But that's cool. Just more depth with Bruce Zimmerman down there at AAA when he could be kind of like that Stephen Matt's guy if things go well. Ryan Fernandez pitched a perfect eighth struck out one. Ian Biddell gets his second save of his professional career and the one run ninth inning. It got a little sketchy there at the end, but they hang on and win. They had beat Norfolk on Thursday, 6 to 2.

Starting point is 00:21:02 Blaise Jordan had two home runs in that one. Brian Torres, Joshua Baez, each had multi-hit efforts on Thursday. The starting pitcher was Richard Fitz. He was great. Two runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and five and two-thirds. Skyler Hale, Scott blew it. They combined a strikeout four and three-and-a-third scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Starting point is 00:21:22 I know there are fans because they're hitting me up. the comments and stuff that are ready to see some of these guys get called up and take over for guys like Chris Roycroft up on that big league club. But you're going to have to pump the brakes a bit because with the Cardinals being where they are as far as rebuilding and everything, they're not going to do that yet. They are going to see what these guys can do at the major league level first. They're going to leave these AAA guys alone to, to play together.

Starting point is 00:21:56 And eventually they'll start shuttling people when the schedule starts to demand it. You know, right now you're getting a days off on Thursday. So there's no need to really, you shouldn't feel too stressed barring any like crazy blowout games or something like that. So they don't need to do it yet. But, you know, they'll start that shuttle. If someone's performance becomes so dreadful by the end of April, maybe somebody gets moved around, you know, an injury.

Starting point is 00:22:23 injuries happen from time to time. But for now, I don't think you're going to see many moves. So begging for them to send, you know, church for me and all these guys down and Roycroft down and bring all these. It's not going to happen yet. It's just not. But it's a hell of a start for the Redbirds. And I love that they've got that going for them at Memphis.

Starting point is 00:22:43 They'll be back at Auto Zone Park on Saturday to continue their six game series. I think it's game four of that series is where they'll be at against Norfolk, first pitch is going to be at 105 St. Louis time. Springfield Cardinals also got their season underway on Friday and number five prospect, Gereangelo Sanger got the start and he was dazzling in this one, five and two-thirds innings allowing just one hit, no runs, two walks, seven strikeouts as they win their opener 10 to one. Dakota Harris batting, I think he was in the number nine hole two, grand slam and a three run homer from the number nine spot, not too shabby dude. Then at Peoria, it was all chiefs. The Peoria chiefs got underway. They went eight to two.

Starting point is 00:23:28 Your number three prospect, Raniola Rodriguez, clubbed his first home run of the year. That was a two-run shot. And another piece of that, Brennan Donovan trade also showed up. Number 18 prospect, Tai P blasted a three-run dinger. So a lot of good stuff there from the offense. And then your number 11 prospect, according to MWB pipeline. Tanner Franklin got the start for Peoria on that one. Three and two-thirds innings struck out nine in three and three and three. Two third settings. Nine. Only through 62 pitches. He was hitting triple digits with the fastball. Apparently, he was sitting comfortably around 95 to 97. A lot of people are excited about Tanner Franklin, as they should be. And you should be excited about all these young guys. And, you know, this is the first year where here at Locked on Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:24:13 I'm really going to pay a lot of attention to what is happening in the minor leagues because of where the Cardinals organization is, you know, you're going to want to know what all these kids are up to. because these guys are the future. You know, when our, you know, I, you know, I covered J.J. Weatherhold and stuff last year and kept an eye on things, but, you know, the system is so much better now. There is so much talent down there. And it's just not ready to come up to the big league club, but they're all doing their stuff down there together. And off the good starts, especially Memphis.

Starting point is 00:24:46 Seven and Oh, congratulations to that. Thanks for making a lot on cartels your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on X at L0 underscore, Cardinals. You can also find us on TikTok and Instagram, Locked on Cardinals, like, subscribe on YouTube. If you never miss an episode, don't forget about that every day or club. Get Locked on Cardinals ad free, plus members only Discord access and more. Full free month still available using the code finally at a locked on STL Cardinals.com to join the club. For those of you on video, I'm going to send you over here to our first ever 24-7 National Lockdown Podcast Network YouTube channel.

Starting point is 00:25:19 On the audio side, make sure your second listen is Lockdown MLB. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We'll see you on Monday on lockdown carcass.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals SHUFFLE Up The Lineup With Very LITTLE Success -- Top Prospects SHINE In Minors!

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.