Cardinals Farm Report
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Adron Chambers Center Field AAA-Memphis Redbirds 23-years-old Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 5’10” Weight: 185 lbs Drafted by the Cardinals in the 38th round of the 2007 MLB June Amateur Draft |
| Just like every Saturday here on i70baseball, the Cardinal Farm Report spotlights one of the prized Cardinal minor leaguers. This week, it is Adron Chambers, the fastest player in the Cardinals organization.
I have studied just about all of the Cardinals prospects and this kid sticks out as one of my favorites. After a slow start to the season in Double-A Springfield, the 23-year-old speedster has stepped it up and has made his way onto the Memphis Redbirds roster in only his third minor league season. So far this year, Chambers is hitting .277 in 292 at bats with a .379 OBP, 59 runs, 5 home runs, 28 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. What should excite everybody about this guy is his speed. It’s truly remarkable. I know 12 stolen bases in 91 games doesn’t exactly jump out at you, but this kid is the fastest player in the Cardinals system. There is simply no doubt about it. When Chambers was in college his 40-yard dash time was a breathtaking 4.29. Think about that for a second. To put that number in perspective, Tennessee Titan’s running back Chris Johnson (fastest player in the NFL) runs a 40-yard dash in 4.24 seconds. Usain Bolt? 4.22. In Chambers’ second season in the minors, he legged out 16 triples. In 2009, that number would have been tops in the majors. When asked about his speed, Chambers explained, “I can hit the ball, but my speed is what’s going to get me through. I’m more of a Carl Crawford type of guy.” While Crawford may be a stretch, Juan Pierre or Nyjer Morgan with a little more power is very realistic. I’d project Chambers to be a .285, 85 runs, 30 stolen bases type of MLB player. Last time I checked, that is very respectable. Chambers is not going to hit for power but has the speed and range needed to player center field in the bigs. He has good discipline and patience at the plate and, because of this, draws a lot of walks. In other words, he’s your prototypical leadoff hitter. He’ll always have a high on-base percentage (.374 OBP in last two MiLB seasons) and he flies when he does reach base. With Colby Rasmus in St. Louis, the Cardinals already have their center fielder of the future, but Chambers should be a useful component of the Cardinals’ future plans in some capacity. |
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| MiLB WEEKLY ROUNDUP | |
| AAA-Memphis Redbirds | |
| Record to date: 62-52, second place in the PCL American North, 3 games behind Iowa.This past week: 4-3 The Redbirds started the week off with a win against the first place Omaha Royals but then dropped the final two games of the series. Then Memphis traveled to Las Vegas and let’s just say their luck turned around very quickly. In the first two games of the four-game set, the Redbirds won by a combined 27-10 score. Game three was another slugfest, but the Redbirds were on the wrong end of a 12-10 score.Transactions: Evan MacLane was activated from the 7-day DL and assigned to Memphis (6-7, 4.29 ERA, 65 SO, 121.2 IP), Nate Robertson was assigned to Memphis, Andrew Brown was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (.282, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 252 AB), Francisco Samuel was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (7 saves, 3.08 ERA, 33 SO, 26.1 IP), Fernando Salas was promoted to St. Louis from Memphis (18 saves, 2.53 ERA, 38 SO, 32 IP), Allen Craig was promoted to St. Louis from Memphis (.322, 14 HR, 76 RBI, 283 AB)Coming up: The Redbirds will finish off the Los Vegas series tonight before heading to Reno for another four-game series. Memphis will then come home for the beginning of the Colorado Springs series on Friday. |
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| AA-Springfield Cardinals | |
| Record to date: 21-20 in the second half (59-52 overall), third place in the TEX North, 4 games behind NW Arkansas.This past week: 5-3 Springfield started the week by taking three of five games from NW Arkansas behind great starts by Nick Additon and Brian Broderick. The Cards did not, however, have similar success at home against Arkansas. Game one didn’t go so bad as Arquimedes Nieto got his first AA win of the season. Games two and three did not go Springfield’s way and they ended up losing the series. The Cardinals took game one of the Tulsa series last night. Transactions: Ramon Delgado was promoted to Springfield from Palm Beach (1-2, 1.57 ERA, 53 SO, 51.2 IP), Francisco Samuel was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (7 saves, 3.08 ERA, 33 SO, 26.1 IP), Kyle Mura was released by Springfield (0-2, 7.04 ERA, 3 SO, 7.2 IP), David Freese was assigned to Springfield for a rehab stint (.296, 4 HR, 36 RBI, 240 AB) Coming up: The Cardinals continue their series in Tulsa tonight in game two of four. Then on Wednesday the Cards look to take down Corpus Christi in a three-game set. |
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| A-Palm Beach | |
| Record to date: 20-19 in the second half (59-46 overall), second place in the FSL South, 1 game behind Bradenton.This past week: 4-2 St. Louis’ Advanced A affiliate started the week off by winning the first two games of the Clearwater series before losing the third game. The Cards got back to winning ways on Tuesday for the series-win. Wednesday marked the first game of the Dunedin game, which Palm Beach lost 11-9. Thursday’s game was rained out but they came back on Friday for a 6-2 victory.Transactions: Jesse Simpson was promoted to Palm Beach from Quad Cities (3-2, 2.87 ERA, 68 SO, 59.2 IP), Ramon Delgado was promoted to Springfield from Palm Beach (1-2, 1.57 ERA, 53 SO, 51.2 IP) Coming up: The Cardinals will start off this week with the fifth and final game of the Dunedin series before playing Bradenton and St. Lucie, both in three-game series. |
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| POSITION PLAYER OF THE WEEK | |
| Nick Stavinoha, RF, Memphis | |
| .650 AVG (13-for-20), .700 OBP, 8 runs, 3 doubles, 2 home run, 9 RBI, 1 walk | |
| Now that Jon Jay is hitting just about everything and Allen Craig has appeared to figure it out at the major league level, there really isn’t much need for Stav in St. Louis. On the season, Nick is hitting .486 with two home runs and 9 RBI in 30 at bats. | |
| PITCHER OF THE WEEK | |
| Scott McGregor, SP, Springfield | |
| W, 7 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts | |
| This was certainly McGregor’s best start of the season. It’s been an up and down year for him, but he was bringing it this week. This season, McGregor is 3-3 with a 4.14 ERA and 32 SO in 50 innings. | |
Justin Hulsey covers the Cardinals for i70baseball.com and his blog, Cardinals Front Office, that is also dedicated to Cardinal baseball.You may follow him on Twitter @JayHulsey by clicking here.
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