Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Ultimate St. Louis Cardinal Prospect Show

Episode Date: January 30, 2025

Daniel Guerrero who covers the Cardinals for the St. Louis Post Dispatch and at STLTODAY.com joins us today! - Reset Reaction - Top Prospects - Catchers - Infielders - Outfielders - Sleepers 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! Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Super Bowl 59 is here, And there’s no better way to make every play more exciting than with FanDuel Sportsbook. New customers can bet just FIVE DOLLARS, and if you win, you’ll score TWO HUNDRED BUCKS in Bonus Bets. Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of Super Bowl Fifty-Nine. 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.

The Cardinals are attempting to put the spotlight on more of their younger players in 2025. And today we're going to talk with Daniel Guerrero from the St. Louis Post Dispatch about this movement and which players you should be keeping an eye on this spring. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcasts network, your team every day. Hey, there, Cardinals. I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm your host for Lockedong Cardinals, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, covering you. team every day. You can follow me on Twitter X at JD Sports Radio as well as the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals. We want to thank those of you who make locked on Cardinals your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcast and available on YouTube as well. So come on by, like, subscribe, comment, hit the notification button so you don't miss a single

episode because this right here is a show that serves Cardinal Nation and only Cardinal Nation and gives the best fans of baseball. All of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode being brought to you by Fandall. Super Bowl 59 is here and there's no better way to make every play more exciting than with Fandall sports book. New customers can bet just $5. And if you win, you'll score 200 bucks and bonus bets. Download that app today or head to fandole.com to get started. So the Cardinals continue to push the narrative that they want to let the younger guys play, that it's the time to let the youth shine in St. Louis instead of watching them walk out the door as they've done so many years previously and blossom with other organizations.

And to discuss this process and the guys that are going to make this move successful is Daniel Guerrero, who covers the team for the St. Louis Post Dispatch and at STL Today.com. Again, thanks for coming by, Daniel. How's the offseason been treating you? You doing well? Yeah, JD, thanks for the invite. Off season's been, I guess, kind of the offseason.

I mean, haven't been able to get out of the house much, you know, with the snows. no one ice and now rain rainy weather here in St. Louis. But yeah, things have been good. I mean, we're pretty close to getting down to Jupiter, Florida, for spring training for pitchers and catchers reporting. So, you know, it feels a little, little icy and cold right now. But, you know, things are going to be heating up in a bit. Yeah, I'm getting excited for this spring training. And, you know, some people are looking down on what's going on with the Cardinals right now. I tend to find different ways to stay positive about things and be excited about what they're trying to accomplish, which is letting some of these guys that, you know, maybe didn't get as much playing time as they wanted to over the years to now let them have some time at the big league level and make or break their name there instead of like, you know, having a cup of coffee.

And then if it doesn't work out, they end up going somewhere else. And then, you know, you know the names. You've seen them go other places and do quite well. instead of spending money on veterans this year, you know, on depth positions, specifically like they did with guys like Cal Gibson and Lance Lynn and Matt Carpenter and Brandon Crawford last year, they're going to allow these spots to go to some younger guys, we think. And it's been a little more difficult to accomplish this overall goal because some of the guys that have the trade value, maybe that the Cardinals wanted to move,

decided they don't want to. They've got no trade clauses. You've got Wilson Contreras and Sunny Gray. And I personally glad that they're still around because, you know, If you're going to have young talent, you're going to be made up of a lot of young talent. You know, those are the kind of guys that I do want to round them teaching them. You know, specifically, Sunny Gray, when you got young pitchers coming up, like, you know, you still got Palante, still young, McGreeby, Gordon Recep, O'Quin Matthews, obviously, who will talk about. I want them learning from a guy like Sunny Gray. But what are your thoughts on this reset so far?

Has the team done enough to allow the young guys with the proper runway, if you will, to show what they can do at the major league level and succeed in 2025. Yeah, I mean, it was an interesting pivot at the start of the offseason right with John Moseilock, you know, the Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III, you know, kind of talking about this reset and what it would mean. And, you know, it was made clear, as you mentioned that the immediate future for the Cardinals was going to be to let the young players have every opportunity at the major league level to have an opportunity to play.

I'm also, you know, the farm system overhaul has been a big part of that as part of the entire organizational reset. But right, when you look at sort of the roster makeup as it is, there are some, in a sense, sort of like roadblocks, right? That, you know, when you thought about the reset that maybe you're not seen at the moment, as far as avenues for the young players to play, cardinals set out to shed payroll this offseason

And part of that has, as John Roseluk put at Winter Warmup, you know, trading Nolan Aronado as priority one, two, and three that hasn't been able to get done. Obviously, there are other moving parts in a Nolan Aronado deal. I mean, he has a full no trade clause. Obviously, he has a saying where he went or he could end up. Alex Breggman's seemingly never-ending free agency saga. I mean, we've seen free agents kind of linger. And, you know, top guys, I mean, I think back to, you know, when like Bryce Harper and Manning were free agents and they weren't signed until, you know, the start of spring training or

when spring training was already had already begun. It's not to say Alex Bruegman's going to do the same, but I mean, there's, you know, kind of precedent for guys signing contracts laid into early into spring, I guess. And so, yeah, so obviously with Breggman still in the market, that kind of has an effect on, you know, Nolan Aronado suitors and play. places where he could land and places where he, you know, would approve a trade to. But right, but I mean, that that's something that, you know, if Arnado is still with the Cardinals, that kind of blocks the lane for maybe Nolan Gorman to move to third.

And in a sense, Donovan, Brendan Donovan moved second and Thomas to JCW to be kind of a utility infielder if he, you know, is on the big league roster during this year, which, you know, he should expect him at some point this year to pin the majors. Right. And then you look at the starting rotation, right, where you have, you know, Maas Michaelis and Sunny Gray guys who wanted to stay in St. Louis. You know, the Cardinals still, you know, at this moment, you know, have Stephen Mats and Eric Feddy on their, as a part of their pitching depth, you know,

and in that rotation. Andre Pallante is another guy who we saw shine, you know, really from Memorial Day to the end of the season, you know, kind of stuck in that rotation and was a bright spot for the cardinals down the stretch. But yeah, but when you look at kind of the physician, like especially on the infield side and maybe starting pitching makeup, you do kind of see a little bit of roadblocks in terms of the avenues for young players to play. I mean, things can obviously change as we get closer to spring training or even perhaps

perhaps during spring training. But yeah, but I mean, it's something that the Cardinals had set out to do and, you know, there still kind of feels like this kind of like almost. like there needs to be kind of this clear vision of like, okay, like where are the opportunity is going to be, you know, with with this current makeup. And if it changes, then obviously that kind of brings some clarity to the situation. Yeah, I mean, a couple of spots where you are going to see the young guys get the playing time, Jordan Walker in right field. Obviously, they're like, look, we're all in with you, dude. Let's go behind the plate

as well. You know, they're going to go young with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pahas as well with Wilson Contreras moving over to first base. You mentioned that with Aronado still being on the roster right now, it kind of begs the question, where does Nolan Gorman fit into all of this if Aronado is still on this team? Because the big question a lot of fans have, and myself is like, you know, I want to know which one of Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman are going to be able to get back to that level that the team needs and expects them to be as former top picks. And it looks like Walker is going to have more opportunities, just because of the position he plays where Gorman, we're not really sure. D.H.

But where do you put Alec Berliss in when that happened? So there's still kind of this jam up going on, which, you know, in some years, you're like, oh, it's great. You know, you got all these great players and stuff. But at the same time with the Cardinals trying to do what they say they want to do, it makes things a little bit more difficult. So we're going to jump into some non-raster invitees, which, you know, usually not something we focus on in St. Louis.

But this year is different, as we've mentioned. And the Cardinals have three top 100 prospects that are going to be there at camp. And I want to talk with Daniel about those guys. Plus, who are some other non-raster invitees that fans should highlight and keep an eye on this spring and Jupiter? We'll get into that next on Locked on Cardinals. Super Bowl 59 is here. One game, two teams, endless possibilities. And there's no better way to make every play more exciting than we

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as on Twitter X anytime you want your feedback is always welcome and encouraged. Obviously, you can find Daniel Guerrero, who is also on X, Twitter, whatever you want to call it these days, and is more than happy to get some feedback from you guys, covers the Cardinals for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He's at STL Today.com. Does great work. Joining us here today. And normally, when we go into spring training for the Cardinals, usually they brought

out a free agent or two that fans might be excited about. You had Sunny Gray last year. You had Wilson Contreras the year before that. But with the main focus on prospects in the organization this year, a lot of fans have probably never seen any of these guys play. They're not as familiar with their game outside of like a clip or two on the internet. So I want to talk about first the big three, as I like to call them. And then we'll go through some of these non-raster invitees that the Cardinals have coming to Jupiter.

But I want to get your thoughts on, you know, which ones fans might want to pay a little extra attention to while they're with the club this spring. We'll start with the number one prospect, JJ Weatherholt, first round pick out of West Virginia in 2024. He went seventh overall. Some thought he could even go number one overall at one point. He ends up falling to the Cardinals.

He'll be in camp, has been routinely rated as a top 25 prospect in baseball by many publications. What is it, Daniel, about JJ, that makes him a special talent and why fans should be excited about his future with Cardinals? With JJ, the thing that stands out, I mean, overall has lots of tools, but the thing that probably stands out the most is just his pure hit tool. I mean, his ability is bats of all skills. And I mean, I know people can kind of get a little bit like, oh, you know, they don't really buy into the advanced numbers or the stat cast stuff.

But when you look at just JJ's ability to make contact and then you look at the quality of contact, I mean, that really stands out for him. I mean, just this last year when he made that leap into pro ball, right, he gets to Palm Beach a little bit over a month after the draft. And just the ball is jumping off his bat. I mean, you look at the stack cast data and I think of the, I think it was 91 balls put in play that were at least recorded because not all minor league games have stat cast data. But of the 91, I think 50 were hard hit balls. And I think of those 50, I want to say like around like somewhere in the 40 range like had a. had exit velocities of 100 miles an hour higher, which, I mean, for somebody that young, for somebody with that sort of makeup, I mean, that, that's really strong for him. I mean,

that's really strong for anybody. And I mean, his hit tools, one of the best in minor league baseball. He's going to get every opportunity, as the Cardinals have said, to play shortstop and come to the system as a shortstop, stuck there with Palm Beach this last year. and sort of his brief time there. And yeah, I mean, he sort of has the profile of sort of a, like a versatile defender could play some second, could play some short. But, I mean, the fact that, you know, he's going to have the opportunity to play premier position coming up to the system is definitely beneficial. Just in the sense of, you know, if there comes a point where he has a positional change, I mean, having a shortstop kind of pedigree, shortstop background obviously provides a lot of a, of, foundation for him.

Yeah, you're seeing some teams like the Padres who just keep grabbing short stops. And then they, you know, that's usually a guy that has the ability to play in other positions, whether it's on the infield or the outfield. So taking somebody who's an athlete who can pull off playing shortstop is why, you know, guys like that. But yeah, right. And then, I mean, essentially, I mean, yeah, Padres are a really good example, right? Where you have a shortstop playing right field for them with Fernando Tatis Jr.

You have a shortstop playing center field for them with Jackson Merrill. Man, I mean, I thought Hassan Kim played a really good shortstop, and he was playing second base for a lot of times for them. Danny Machado also is kind of truly a shortstop and he's playing third base. So, I mean, yeah, there are a lot of tools within that position that, you know, if a guy can stick there, if he best to make the transition somewhere else. I mean, it seems a little bit more seamless than it would be for maybe somebody who hasn't had as much experience playing, you know, kind of that versatile defender role. As far as him playing shortstop in the future, obviously Mason wins there. And it brings up the idea like, you know, hey, kind of a crowded infield right now with Arnano still on the team. You've got when you've got Gorman, Donovan, C.C.

Do you think with Weatherhole coming up, do you think they need to leave him at shortstop? Or should he already be moving on to other positions of learning how to play a spot like second or third already at this point in his career? or do you think it's smart to leave him where he's comfortable right now? I mean, yeah, and then you have to also kind of consider, I think, the timeline for him to get to the majors. I mean, that obviously is going to be dictated by him and how well he performs. I mean, getting a look in spring camp, you know, his first big league camp as a non-raster invites. He, you know, a year ago he was gearing up for college baseball, you know, with West Virginia, and now he's kind of prepping for his first big league camp.

So obviously, it's a quick kind of. of leap in a pro bonn, a quick kind of a sense where he's at. I wouldn't say there's a need to switch positions at this point just because, you know, there could be more clarity on his timeline, you know, after spring camp seeing where he ends up to begin the year in the minor league system. So, you know, I wouldn't say necessarily that that would be the case. I mean, and then just thinking about like what we've seen recently with prospects coming up, Nolan Borman, and played a lot of third base and that was his primary position

before he ended up switching to second base, you know, when he got to, you know, around that AAA level, Jordan Walker also, I mean, obviously that his position will change from third base to the outfield was more about, obviously after the trade deadline in 2022 and kind of him knowing that he

is going to be part of the Cardinals' core moving forward. But obviously that didn't happen until he got to double A. So J.J. Weatherhill was only played in low I mean, we'll see where he starts the year. And I think as he nears the majors, that's when you kind of will start to picture, okay, where does he fall in sort of this puzzle?

But I think for now, I mean, playing shortstop at the minor league level and getting a ton of reps there is going to be beneficial just in general for him moving forward. And, you know, I don't really see a need to change that immediately unless, you know, he sort of accelerates his timeline based on his performance. All right. Let's move on to a couple of pitchers here, Quinn Matthews.

They're number two prospect. Tremendous here last year, obviously caught a lot of people off guard, honestly, on how dominant he was through A ball and AA, AAA, a little bit challenging for him at the end of the year. But he certainly caught the eye of a lot of the national media. He's among the top 50 prospects in baseball for a lot of outlets. Why is Quinn Matthews a talent to watch this spring? I mean, when you look at the strides he made last.

year. I mean, the velocity is the one that stands out the most. You know, put on, you know, I think added another 25 pounds to his frame. I mean, did that healthily through the Cardinal Strength Program as he kind of described it. And I mean, he was touching 97, close to 98 early on in the year. Obviously when you have that type of velocity and you have the control that he has, you have the change of that he has, I mean, that generates a lot of swing and miss. I mean, that'll help you move up the system. I mean, and you look at the strikeout rate, the swing and miss rate that he had.

I mean, it's obvious, it's a lot of, you know, I think when you look at sort of the, sort of like those baseball card numbers, the traditional like ERA and innings pitched and, you know, whip and all that. But then when you look at the advanced stuff, right, when you look at just kind of how much chase he was getting, how much swing and miss he was getting, that is extremely promising for somebody who went from, you know, kind of being a little bit. bit lower on the radar to now, like you said, being in sort of that national spotlight as a top 100 prospect. I think when you start to think about Quinn Matthews, I mean, I think the thing that probably

excites fans the most and, you know, maybe the organization is just how quickly he's moved through the system, right? I mean, this is a guy who didn't pitch at all in professional baseball after the draft in 2023. And then, as you mentioned, by September, he's pitching in AAA. There's sort of this thought of like, man, is he going to be able to crack the majors in a year? Obviously, it didn't happen. I think there was a little bit of, you know, just sort of the natural sort of a wear and tear of the season. I mean, velocity dipped a little bit. But, I mean, when you throw as many innings as you as he did, you know, that's going to be natural.

And for a guy who's in his first year of pro ball, I mean, that's something that you kind of can, you don't knock him for. I mean, that's something that just comes with the nature of the season. I think one of the things that, at least Olli Marmol, manager, Ali Marmol pointed out during the winter warmup that stands out with Quinn Matthews is sort of his mentality and his makeup and, like, having this sense of knowing who he is and knowing what makes him successful and not. And as all he put it, I mean, like almost like not caring, like not caring with like his, the outside. like perception of him. Like he knows what he needs to do to get the job done. He knows kind of who he is and, you know, is going to go out there and sort of have this sort of like bulldog mentality on the mound and, and have this competitive edge to him that really stands out.

And I think makeup is kind of one of those intangibles that you don't really find in a lot of guys or, you know, it varies from guy to guy and to have that and sort of have this mentality of like, as Quinn Matthews has sort of described in the path, that he's. he's going to go out and, like, he's working his way to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals and help the St. Louis Cardinals win. I mean, everything that he's done already, right, where he's baseball America minor league pitcher of the year, Cardinals minor league pitcher of the year, top 100 prospect. Like, all of that is, sure, it's cool.

He thinks it's cool, but, you know, his ultimate goal is to end up in the majors and end of helping the Cardinals win games. So I think there is this, like, fortified mentality that he has, where, you know, he's, he has a goal to be successful in the majors. And, I mean, sure, all this other stuff is cool, but, you know, he, he, you know, kind of sees the vision of, you know, what the bigger, the grander scheme of things is. Yeah. And I love that winter warm up where he was like, look, everything was great last year.

And then September sucked. And I'm so motivated to show everybody that that's not who I am, what happened to be in September, which is great, you know, you know, fans still talk about. When you bring up mentality, you know, how Chris Carpenter was when he would take the mound and what his goal was. And it wasn't about the accolades and whatnot. It was winning. It was beating his opponent. And that's kind of the vibe I felt from Quinn Matthews at Winter Warmup where he was very much motivated and wasn't concerned about all the other stuff around it.

He was like, look, I'm just ready to be better than I was in September. I could care less about what happened early on. So good stuff there. On sheer talent, and we know it takes usually an injury or two, and you mentioned Quinn Matthews first year going into pro ball and whatnot. But sheer talent is Quinn Matthews ready for the major leagues just based on talent, maybe not physically or whatever that may be the other things it may be. But talent-wise, do you think he's ready?

Yeah, I mean, I think he has the control and the stuff that you would like to see at the major league level. I think it's funny that you mentioned that, you know, the Quinn, how he kind of used the season and all in September. I mean, September was only four starts in AAA. But when you look in the entire body of work, it's like still this strong season. So it's like I think there was a little bit of flashes during his AAA stay that you saw like even with the innings

that he built up, even with sort of the miles that he, you know, the travel, literally the travel miles and all the, you know, all the different. like outside factors that come with like yeah yeah moving yeah yeah having to drive basically you know from florida all the way up to to Memphis i mean sort of this roundabout way but it's like like with with everything that came with that year i mean there were still flashes of him in triple a where you where you saw like okay this is the gwin matthews that we saw in palm beach this is the quinn matthews we saw in peoria and the one we saw in springfield and you know

he's arrived in Memphis, obviously there are going to be growing pains at every level. They're going to be growing pains getting introduced to somewhere new. And sure, I mean, there were some, like I mentioned, there were some flashes where he thought, like, okay, like he's not that far off from the majors. I think, like I said, is controlled the velocity he's added on his fastball really good well for him. The change up, I mean, is one of his strongest secondary pitches. and he talked about his curveball being one that, you know, that they feel like he's worked on. And I think there are the tools there where, you know, we could see him in the majors sooner rather than later.

And that obviously depends based on, you know, what he does to kind of dictate his own timeline to the majors. Moving on to the number three prospect, a name that we're very familiar with because he's been with the organization a few years now. People forget that he, you know, he came through in the Alec Berlinson year and the Mason win in Jordan, I'm going to get 10 teen kits coming through. Another guy on most top 100 lists had some injuries last year, which cut his season short. But when he was on the mound, he was quite good. Winter warm up, he said he'll be a full go this spring. Appears to be a very strong talent.

The real question that I think a lot of people, least the ones I get, is he a reliever? Is he a starter when he eventually makes it to the major leagues? Where do you think he falls? Yeah, I mean, a lot of it is dependent on his health. Right. I mean, we've seen him, as you mentioned, he pitched this, you know, we saw him do well this last year. We saw him do well in 2023 as a starter. And that's something that, you know, if health holds up, I think Tim Kents is, you know, he's obviously as a top 100 prospect. And he is sort of that kind of blue chip starter starting prospect that, you know, a lot of organizations would like to have when you look at the stuff, when you look at, you know, obviously the fastball to change. of slider curveball. But when you look at the way, as I say pitchability, the way he knows how to attack hitters, the way he mixes his repertoire together and kind of knows how to work that through, you know, as we've seen him get deeper into games, I think that's been something

that's shined. It's been sort of this gradual buildup. I think there's been a lot of caution with him, right, because when you have that caliber of a prospect coming out of high school, coming out of pandemic year in 2020 and into pro ball. There was going to be this sort of gradual buildup, especially being him getting into pro ball, you know, 17 or 18 years old, right? You're not going to him, you know, a teenager, you know, a 100-inning workload after, you know, only pitching a handful of innings in his final high school season. Yeah, we saw that in 2022. He kind of had this, you know, three inning max in Palm Beach. You know, he nears 100 in 20, 23 between high A and AA and you saw that.

You know, you saw him get deeper into games here in his first career win. That was something that, you know, he had on his mind just because, you know, he hadn't been able to pitch enough innings to qualify for a win. And then we saw this year. I mean, he pitched six, seven innings with Springfield, you know, when he got into that, you know, kind of second month of season. and unfortunately injuries held him back in the second half. There was a lot of start and stop.

I mean, with his buildup, and that's something he acknowledged that, you know, he's ready to kind of put in the past and, you know, refining the mechanics and kind of do what it takes to stay healthy for a full year because he knows that, you know, that's what it's going to take to be a starter at the major league level. So, I mean, I guess, like, I mean, yeah, he's had the starters track, but a lot of it's going to be dictated on just kind of how,

healthy can he hold up and is he going to get enough innings to show that, you know, he can be a starter for full season. I mean, he's going to come into this year as a starter and highlights that, you know, kind of upper minor, upper, the depth at the upper minor league's level. He's already on the 40-man roster so that puts him a step closer to the majors. And, you know, with enough innings, I think he will sort of tell us, you know, as as spectators of the sport, you know, what type of pitcher he's, where he falls in sort of that pitching formula. The Cardinals are rolling with Herrera and Pahas behind the plate at the major league level as their top two catchers.

Contreras will shift to first to hopefully stay healthier and keep his bat in the lineup even more because he's been really good as a Cardinal hitting wise when he's been in there. But the Cardinals have another catcher in the system that it has opened up some eyes in Jimmy Crooks, who was their minor league player of the year this year, big year offensively 321 11 dingers 62 ribby he's doing that in 90 games at double a springfield and i know everybody's wondering great can he throw anybody out because we can't throw anybody out at the major league level who were trying to steal bases and the answer was yes this past year throughout 33 percent of would be base stealers i'm going to assume he starts of memphis this year but how close is crooks to becoming a major league ball player after his monster 2024 campaign because we know how injuries can happen to guys behind the plate. So how close is somebody like a Jimmy Crooks? Yeah, I think it feels a little closer than maybe we might expect. I mean, starting at Memphis is sort of the, what's kind of waiting for Crooks. I mean, Jimmy's kind of have a clear path at being the starting catcher for the Memphis Redbirds this year. I mean, we've seen what he's done through his first, what would be,

first two full seasons of the minors. I mean, had a full stick. in 2022 or 23 in Peoria, full stay in double A last year in Springfield. And everywhere he's gone, I mean, he's been able to hit everywhere he's gone. I mean, pitchers have really jelled well with him. I mean, even just thinking back right now about Team Kent's. And when he was talking about Jimmy Crook's at Winter Warmup, you know, described Jimmy as kind of this gritty, like, baseball player. I mean, this kind of true, like, baseball player mentality and personality that he kind of represents.

when you look at just for sort of his development, the Croix's bats of all skills, I mean, or one aspect where he showed really well last year. And then just overall, right? I mean, the consistency from month to month last year for Jimmy was there. I mean, even battling through injury, I mean, he had a broken finger at one point in the year,

hamstring injury, another point in the year. And, you know, didn't miss a whole lot of time and found ways to stay on the field, and that's something that, you know, he took into his offseason of wanting to be available, I mean, be as available as possible, as, you know, as the cat, I mean, as starting catcher for a team. I mean, he knows kind of what that entails and the role and the value that a catcher has. But, yeah, when you look at sort of his timeline to the majors and how close he's getting, I mean, he is pushing that kind of major league timeline. I mean, he's, He's close.

I mean, and I think one of the things that will kind of help kind of bring some, I guess, kind of provide a better sense of how close he is is what he does in Big League Camp this year. This would be his third Big League camp, but his first really where he's going to get, you know, a good look. I mean, you know, a lot of times they bring in a lot of young catchers into Big League Camp because, you know, pitchers need to throw poolpins and, you know, somebody needs to catch those. And, I mean, even Oli Marmold mentioned at winter warmup that, you know, Jimmy Croix is somebody that he's kind of eager and excited to get a look at because, I mean, he's expected to kind of get a closer look and a more extended stay in a sense,

a bigger role in Cardinals camp this year than he had last year. So, I mean, I think once you see kind of what he does and kind of how he adapts to seeing a bit more big league pitching and, you know, kind of gets more at bets in grapefruit league games once games start up. Then, I mean, I think we'll see, you know, just how ready Jimmy Crooks is, but I don't think we're too far off from seeing him at the major league level. Obviously, like he's mentioned, that depends on injury and, you know, if guys are able to stay healthy with kind of of the Cardinals catching tandem at the major league level. But, I mean, if they need somebody to fill that, you know, provide a injury or placement or somebody who, you know,

is going to get a look at the majors. I don't think Jimmy's that far off. All right. We're going to have more with Daniel Guerrera here in just a moment. We're going to talk about infield. We'll go to the outfield. We'll go to the pitching staff. And then we'll wrap up with some sleepers.

The Daniel is going to let you in on for the upcoming spring training at Jupiter, Florida. We'll do that next here on Lockdown Cardinals. Thank you again for making Lockhexon Cardinals. your first listen today for your second listen. Find Locked on MLB with our baseball guru Sully who brings you a daily blend of humor and baseball keeping you updated on all the teams this offseason, including our Cardinals.

You can find Locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. Daniel Guerrero, who covers the Cardinals for the St. Louis Post Dispatch and at STL Today.com. I encourage you give him a follow on Twitter. Make sure you check out his work with the Post Dispatch. Always great insight, specifically on prospects and minor league players and stuff that, you know, that maybe you're a nerd watching a podcast podcast or listening to a podcast right now in

in January, the end of January. So this is a big time interest for you with the Cardinals and where they're going and what their their motivation is for 2025. So these guys are quite important. So we're going to talk about the infield, non-raster invite teams, Daniel, JJ, obviously talked about them already. Jose Barrero, who came up with the Reds, but floundered in the big leagues, Cesar Prieto, guy that they got in the Jack Flaherty deal with Baltimore, Jeremy Revis, and R.J. Yeager are your non-raster invitees.

Out of that group, not named Weatherholt, who is somebody that fans should maybe pay attention to this spring? I would say, I mean, I think when you look at in terms of guys who could be nearing the majors or, you know, appearing at the majors this year of that group, I mean, Barrero and Prado obviously are ones. I mean, Brero has major league experience was, I think, the Reds opening day shortstop a few years ago. But I think Prado is one that, I mean, has had some good showings in AAA the last couple of years. I mean, he's had flashes of consistency with his bat. I mean, he fits that mold as, you know, some of the guys that we mentioned before is kind of a versatile infielder who can play a few different spots. Got a lot of playing time at third base this last year for Memphis, spent some time in the Dominican in Winter League this year, I think playing with Aki Las Sibayneas, which is Yadier Molina, the team that he

managed. So, I mean, when you kind of think about somebody who doesn't strike out a whole lot, somebody who showed some flashes of added power in the past in the past couple of seasons, I mean, Paredo is that guy. And he hasn't had a, you know, isn't on the 40 man, I think is rule five eligible this winter, which would mean that, you know, if, you know, if he's not added to the 40 man this year, he would need to or else would be eligible for the rule five draft next, yeah, you know, in December. But I mean, even before we get all into, you know, next offseason, I mean, but when you look at this year for Pareto, when you look at kind of opportunities for young guys, he's one of them who might fly under the radar of somebody who could

fit that role of giving you a young guy a chance to get some reps at the major league level, we've seen them hit with consistency in Memphis. We've seen them show really strong bats of ball skills. And I think those are a couple of traits that are, you know, I think exciting for some fans because, you know, obviously power and power comes to swing and miss, but I mean, for somebody that's able to put the ball in play consistently, somebody who kind of knows who he is as a hitter,

I mean, that's definitely kind of an exciting player to watch. Moving on to the outfielders. The team has got former first round pick, Chase Davis, as one of their non-raster invitees. Nathan Church is here. Brian Torres and Ryan Villade coming to camp. Davis, obviously, the name that stands out. But what can you tell us about this group?

Yeah, I think one of the, or a couple of the guys that stand out there, too, are Nathan Church and Brian Torres. I mean, both of them spent this last year in Springfield, you know, I'll help that Springfield clubs at a franchise record in wins with 79. I mean, Brian Torres was the Texas League batting champion. I batted, you know, around 320. And this was, and last year it was his first year in affiliated pro ball for the first time since I think 2021. He had spent a couple years on playing independent ball and, you know,

had an opportunity to play, you know, in the Cardinal system and showed what. I mean, he was that reliable leadoff hitter that Springfield really benefited from. I mean, played just about every day for them and hit just about every day for them. And Nathan Church, when you look at his year, I mean, what he did in the fall league is something that you kind of have to take note of. I mean, he kind of had a little bit of a slow start, but has a strong finish there. I mean, and, you know, he's somebody who doesn't really rank as kind of this high prospect, but when you look at an opportunity to go to the fall league in itself, I mean, for a team to send you there, obviously that shows value, that shows that they want to get a good look at you and kind of see how you adapt to a new environment.

So for him to do that and then also get a non-raster invite to spring training, I mean, he's somebody who, you know, is, him and Torres are guys who kind of candidate or kind of, candidates to compete for outfield spots, you know, that's AAA level in Memphis. You know, and, you know, who knows what they can do with the non-roster invite. I mean, kind of, you know, see if they make the most of it. But yeah, there are a couple of exciting guys in that group. We're talking with Daniel Guerrero from the St. Louis Post Dispatch. You can find his work at STL Today.com as well.

Going through some of the prospects, some of the ones that maybe haven't heard so much about. And we're going to get you familiar with them because they could be a important pieces for this team moving forward may not be the guys that impact the roster at the major league level in 2025, but still guys that are part of this organization. And if the youth movement is what they're going to stick with, then these guys are going to have a role in this. The pitching staff, obviously a big spot. Everybody talks about pitching. You can't get enough pitching. They've got 10 different guys who are non-rosster invitees. Some you might recognize. Some of them you won't. We've already talked about Quinn Matthews in full detail.

Well, 2023 minor league pitcher of the year. Max Rajik is also going to be on at camp and part of the non-raster invitees. What's the story with Max and his development since winning that award? Yeah, I mean, he sort of had an up and down year in Springfield. I think one of the bigger things that I heard him is just kind of adapting to those Texas League ballparks. I mean, that's something that's natural with a lot of guys. you know, the ball tends to carry out there more. I mean, that's why you see a lot of power numbers for certain guys.

But yeah, but I think this will just be a big year for Max Rajick to just kind of get back on track to what he was doing in 20203. You know, he had a healthy year, but, you know, just had some issues with just kind of limiting kind of power from opposing guys. I mean, I think that's going to come with just growth and development. in professional baseball. I think that's something that, you know, a lot of guys have to adapt to. And I, you know, last year was a big learning year for him at a new level. You know, coming to spring camp, I mean, last year he had a couple of innings in Great Foot League games and, you know, was somebody who, you know, was just eager to take every opportunity that they gave him. And I think this year will kind of be the same for him to

kind of get on the right foot for a kind of a bounce back year for him. Other names, again, some you'll recognize, some you won't, Ian Biddell, Alex Cornwell, Michael Gomez, Andre Greeneo, Cooper Jerpy, O'Donier Mosqueda, Edwin Nunez, Drew Rom, of those remaining names. Who are some of the ones that fans should pay attention to a little more closely than others? I mean, there are some really good names on that list. I think Cooper Drip is one of them, right? We saw him a little bit in spring training last year.

We saw him get to AA last year. Command was something that was a little bit hit and miss just with the walks. But when you look at the swing and miss capabilities and the way he uses that slider and kind of that secondary stuff, I mean, he gets a lot of strikeouts. I mean, just him staying healthy will be big this year. Hasn't had a couple of healthy seasons to begin his pro career. but he's shown when he when he's on the mound he is really effective and i mean he's definitely somebody to keep an eye on i think and jerr gurnia is somebody who cardinals fans can keep an eye on i mean

he is kind of like a um a power reliever i mean has you know you know mid to plus 90 or upper 90s basketball velocity um another somebody who throws a hard slider that gets a lot of swing and miss with um ian bedel is another one that comes to mind i mean the cardinals I mean, he comes back into the Cardinal system. I mean, after being unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, last two winners, this will be his first chance at Bigley Camp. He had his first opportunity at AAA level last year. And same thing, another guy who kind of the big inning heard him.

I mean, I remember talking to him at some point during the summer last year, and, you know, kind of explained that, you know, some of his troubles were, you know, a single walk and a three-run homer that followed it were kind of the things that hurt him. And you look at the kind of home run rate and some of those, how those innings heard him. I mean, that bloated his ERA. But, you know, he's been able to get kind of the in the innings, make up for the innings that he missed with his first two years in pro ball because of Tommy John surgery and the setbacks that came with it.

I think another name that might fall under the radar. But is somebody just to kind of keep an eye on to see, you know, what opportunities they get and how they do with them. I mean, he came in as a, he kind of had a reliever's workload, his first few years in pro ball, but was a starter last year in AA, somebody who has just a ton of velocity, but, you know, still doesn't have sort of the control for it.

And he's shown flashes where, you know, when he's coming out of the bullpen, I mean, he can be a lights out reliever that can give you multiple innings. As a starter, I mean, obviously, you know, being a starter and kind of having to develop that third and fourth pit, You know, those were some of the growing pains there last year for him that led some of the issues with walks and just the issues with command. But I think him coming into this year at 23 years old, somebody who kind of has that makeup of being that back end reliever with plus stuff, seeing kind of the track that he's on in spring training and kind of the looks that he gets, I think will be a little bit telling of, you know, what's in store for him this year. But he's definitely somebody who's off the radar, but I think kind of stands out as being a player. that, you know, might surprise you down the road.

All right. And last but not least, combining all these guys that we have talked about, plus guys who are already on the 40-man roster. And I'm talking about people like, you know, Tocco Roby or Matt Svonson, Sim Roberts. Who are the top wild card names or sleepers, as we like to say, like in the fantasy world? Who are some sleepers among all of them that you think might be able to surprise some people this year with the impact that they'll make on the major league roster, or not just at double A or AAA, but somebody who could pop up into the major leagues this year and surprise them, folks. Yeah, that's a good question.

Just because, like, you don't really know what's in store for you during the, you know, a major league season, right? Injuries are natural and they're going to happen. That 49 roster depth, that's where it's huge because that's the kind of first pool of players that you, you know, teams typically pull from. And I think when you look at the pitching side, I mean, Sam Roberts is a good name. because, I mean, he, during winter warm up, he talked a lot about, you know, just kind of his pitch mix and how he learned that he doesn't need to show everything to hitters to be successful. You know, he knows just kind of like just kind of on the mental side and approach side at pitching. I mean, he felt like he kind of bought into that of like, okay, I need to show all four my pitches to get this guy out, or as opposed to thinking in the sense of like, okay, like I know what this guy's weaknesses are and I'm just going to attack that. I think he's somebody who, you know, was limited last year by injury, but comes into this year with kind of that, you know, kind of a matured mindset, eager to show that he can stay healthy, eager to take advantage of those kind of the lanes

that they're going to give to young players and wants to push through that ceiling. I think Ticoa Robi is also another one where we haven't seen a whole lot of him in the cardinal system. and I think in terms of seeing somebody who I wouldn't say like I wouldn't use surprising in a way because I don't think there are any there are a whole lot of doubts on Toccoa Robi's ability but I think just in terms of like when it comes to seeing somebody to get familiar with him and seeing who he is I think Ticco Robi is one of them who whether he's in AAA or you know pops up at the major league level because he's on that 40 man roster. and, you know, is kind of pushing that major league timeline. I think just seen him and seeing getting a better sense of like, okay, like this is a quality of pitcher that he can be. I think that's going to be something that fans could gravitate towards, you know, if he stays healthy.

All right. Well, thank you for making Locktown Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on Twitter X at L-1-D-Sport Cardinals and at JD Sports Radio. You can like and subscribe on YouTube and help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. Daniel Guerrero, you are awesome, dude. to have as much knowledge as you have about so many players among the minor leagues. It's incredible to me.

Make sure you guys are giving him a follow on Twitter X and make sure you're reading his work at STL today.com. Or just if you pick up the post dispatch, you can still do it that way as well. But we hope to check in with you very soon in the near future as we get closer to opening day as things start to figure their ways out. And some of these young guys end up becoming major league players for the St. Louis Cardinals. but I appreciate your time as always, Daniel. Yeah, thank you, Judy. All right, and thank you guys for joining us here today.

You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. We will see you guys next time on lockdown cardinals.