Best and Worst of the Spring

For the Cards, there weren't bound to be too many shocking additions this Spring. This Spring was more about, questions.  And the Cards have a ton of them.  Starting pitching health and depth, the infield minus the greatest player in the game, and if a pretty large, old man can still patrol right field.  Lots of questions.  Here is who stepped it up this Spring for the Birds, and what it may mean:

The Arms

Kyle Loshe: There is no way around it this year, the Cards can't afford to only have four everyday starters with the great Waino out.  Loshe has to be healthy and has to step it up.  This Spring, he showed he may be getting back to form, posting a 1.88 ERA and pitching the 2nd most innings on the team.   Very good signs there.  But with Loshe, you've got to be cautiously optimistic.  Can he return to his career year form and be the solid middle rotation guy the Cards now desperately need?  I think yes.  I think this is the year he legitimately gets it done.  It's all mental with Kyle, and a good Spring is a huge mental boost.  

Kyle McClellan: We've all seen what we're getting with Kyle.  As a 5th, he is respectable enough for every team, especially in the NL Central.  But this Spring, Kyle came out with something to prove, and did.  Posting a 0.78 ERA and a lot of innings, K-Mac was the only pitcher to upend Loshe.  I don't expect anything near this obviously this year, but its very reassuring he's the man for the job.  I'm also optimistic for K-Mac to fill the role well now that he has a solid position in the rotation.  Bouncing between the bullpen can't have a great effect on your mentality, so hopefully a stable role brings stable numbers.

Jaime Garcia:  Earlier this year I predicted a slight regression for Jaime from last year's numbers.  His Spring didn't hurt my argument.  With an ERA near 8.0 and a K/BB of 1, he was less than impressive.  Now, this is warm up time.  It's his first time coming back from such a long season.  It's new.  I really like his stuff and he got a lot of movement and misses on his pitches last year.  He hasn't quite had his stuff this year, but needs to simply be what he was last year.  If so, I'll be pleased.

The Bats

Skip:  The Card's had one of the worst middle infield combos in the league last year, and the replacement of B Ryan with The Riot might not be the answer.  But Skip had a very promising Spring.  Leading the team in BA, Skip has to get back to taking the ball to left and getting on base for the big boys.  He needs to bat .300.  There really isn't a way around it if this lineup will produce.

Allen Craig: A lot of people were very high on Craig last year, and with a possible platoon in right this year, he stepped up this Spring.  Craig has produced at every level in his career, and in his second trip with the big club, he's showing signs of maturing this training season.  Expect to see TLR trying to get Craig in at a lot of positions if he transfers this over.

The Riot:  I believe my initial reaction to the Theriot pickup was, and I quote, "Are you kidding me?  Ryan f***in Theriot?"  Welp, he didn't exactly subdue my fears this Spring, batting .180 and showing no signs of any real offensive production.  Losing, in my opinion, one of the greatest fielding SS currently for Theriot, means this guy has to bring some offensive.  I don't expect a line of .300 and 50 hrs, but he needs to get on base consistently.  Be pesky.  Be David Eckstein, if even a little worse.  Please?

Under the Radar

Over the past few years, the Brain Trust has become particularly interested in the minor league system and player development.  Let's face it, in the past, the Cards haven't excelled here and currently rank 29th in minor league prospects.  But there is some hope.  If you're a regular reader, you'd notice the Stl Post's obsession with Matt Carpenter's Spring. There's nothing not to like.  He batted .333, had 3 triples, hit the ball hard.  Plus, 3rd continues to be an issue for the Cards.  Maybe he gets a call later this year?  In that same boat, is Dan Descalso.  Playing 2b, another big need in many's opinions, this kid could also get a call up this year as well.  He's got a solid bat and mediocre power, but provided more of an argument for himself this Spring with a solid performance.  Expect him up in mid-late season also.

Finally, Fernando Salas and Bryan Augenstein both provided great bullpen arms this Spring and it was a true toss up to make the team (which Augenstein won).  Look for Salas to be back this year, as he's got the stuff and potential to be the Card's next set-up man or even closer.  Finally, I know he only pitched 3 innings, but Shelby Miller continues to impress me in my limited time seeing him.  

Final Verdict

After Waino went down (and really every Spring), the goal is to not get hurt.  The Cards are actually in better shape than most here.  Freese and Berkman avoided anything major.  Loshe and Carpenter seem fine.  The Brewers currently have Greinke, Marcum, Hart, and McGhee on their injury report.  The Reds rotation is seeing issues with Cueto, Baily, and Arroyo.  Overall, the Cards did exactly what they needed to do the rest of this month. Stayed healthy.

Thanks for reading.  Go Cards.