The interesting thing about this kid is that, even with so little Minor league experience, he seems ready. In fact, I believe he’s by far the most MLB-ready prospect lower than AAA in the Cardinals organization. His defense has room to improve, but when you’re talking about his bat, there isn’t much you can say other than “wow”.

The big knock on him heading into the season was his power, but that has obviously improved as well. His 13 home runs and .471 SLG indicated there is some pop in that bat. He won’t be a 25 home run guy in the Majors, but I think 10-15 is reasonable. He’ll be a top of the order player that should always have a high OBP due to his great plate discipline and judgement.

The think that intrigues me the most about Carpenter, is what happens next year. First of all, will he be ready for his Major League debut in 2011? Freese is an injury waiting to happen and we are not very deep at third base in St. Louis. Freese is the only true third baseman of the bunch, and if he hits the disabled list yet again, does Matt get the call up?

I say give it a shot. I have never been a fan of rushing players to the big leagues, and I understand that this would be rushing him to the big leagues. However, he shows incredible polish. Especially at the plate. He’s an extremely mature player who very well could end up being a .300 hitter for STL in the future.

The other big thing that I wonder about is what happens when Zack Cox makes his way to AAA and eventually the Majors? I would hate to see either one of them traded, so I do not condone that whatsoever. The move that should be made is Zack Cox to second base. The Cardinals are obviously struggling in the middle infield department and Cox could be the savior. He has second base experience, so don’t think I’m just pulling this out of thin air. And if that is what the organization is planning on doing, he needs to start next season at second base. Not third. He needs to play one position and stick with it. He’s one of our top prospects and we cannot afford to mess around with him defensively.

In the long run, I honestly think we’re looking at a future Major League third baseman. A successful one. Mainly because his approach at the plate. It’s so refined, so impressive. By far the best in the organization, and one of the best I’ve ever studied. His approach reminds me so much of Scott Hatteburg’s, and that is saying an awful lot.

Keep an eye on this one, people. He’s flying under the radar as a prospect, but I can assure you that will not last long.

On June 2nd of this past summer, the St. Louis Cardinals agreed on a contract with Carlos Matias that is worth $1.5 million. Now, barely three months later, Matias finds himself shooting up the prospect lists.

Not many fans knew anything at all about the 17-year-old when he agreed on a deal with the Cards, but they soon realized how special this kid can be. This season, he pitched in 12 games (all starts) with the Cardinals Dominican Summer League team. In those games, Matias went 3-2, with a 0.76 ERA, 0.712 WHIP, and one complete game in 59 innings. He rocked a 4.3 H/9 rate, a 0.2 HR/9, 2.1 BB/9, 12 SO/9, and a 5.57 SO/BB rate. If those numbers don’t make your jaw drop, nothing will. For a pitcher that is barely 18, those numbers are remarkable.

Yet, while those stats are pretty amazing, it is his repertoire of pitches that makes every Cardinal fan drool. His high-90′s fastball is a true 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale. In fact, Baseball America said his fastball is “one of the best fastballs at any level of baseball.”

“He has outstanding control,” said Moises Rodriguez, the Cardinals director of international operations. “People tend to get excited when you see velocity in the high-90s, but he’s throwing upper-90s with excellent control.”

His stuff does not end there. Those that have seen Matias in person have called his mid-80′s changeup with sinking action above average, but his best secondary pitch is his 78-80 mph curve with late movement. Several months ago Ben Badler, who scouts international players for BA, indicated, “[Matias] might be the best pitcher any team signs this year on the international market.”

Many scouts consider Carlos to be the equivalent of a first-round draft pick, which is a huge reason why most believe the Cardinals Farm system is quickly being restored back to the state it was in before the trades in 2009.

Last year Matias reached an agreement with the Boston Red Sox for $160,000 but that was revoked after he failed an MLB investigation. Matias was suspended for a year after the incident, but that proved to be a blessing in disguised. He not only agreed to a contract worth more money, he also brought his fastball up about five mph during the layoff.

This was a concern in June when the Cardinals agreed to the deal, but according to B.J. Rains, “[Jeff] Luhnow said they completed a big hurdle and are very confident about getting Matias to the US in the near future.”

If you would like to watch video of Carlos Matias, head over to Rising Redbirds.

When Kozma was drafted as the 18th overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft, there were certainly a handful of critics. It definitely was not a “sexy” pick by the Cardinals, but he did have the skill set. Coming out of high school, Kozma was compared to the Texas Rangers shortstop, Michael Young. He has always been scouted as doing everything well, but nothing incredibly well. He has all-around average MLB tools, but no standout tool.

Jeff Luhnow, the Cardinals VP in Player Operations, says Pete Kozma has the potential to be a top 15 Major League shortstop. He fields his position well, he has decent power (10-15 HR in MLB), but has never finished a minor league season with a batting average over .300. That is odd because, when Pete was drafted out of high school, his best tool was hitting for contact. Ben Badler of Baseball America believes that Kozma could very well be a .270/.350/.430. If he can post those numbers on offense, and be a good defensive shortstop, that makes Koz a very valuable prospect.

I believe his bat is still there, he’s not a lost cause, but he has had his fair share of tough times at the dish. In May of this year, Cardinal fans got a taste of the type of hitter Kozma can be. In 26 games, the young shortstop batted .327 with three home runs and 20 RBI. To put that into perspective, if that was his April in the Majors, he’d be on pace to drive in 124 runs.

The problem is, his consistency at the plate is sub-par to say the least. While his power numbers have improved, Kozma’a ability to find the gap has been questionable at best. The kid has very good tools, even on the offensive end, but just hasn’t produced like the club thought he would. Some blame this on management. Kozma was promoted to Double A-Springfield in only his second full minor league season. He was 21-years-old at the time and, with only 165 minor league games under his belt (in which he only hit .252), that could have been a little premature.

So far this season, Kozma is batting .234/.305/.357 with 44 runs scored, eight home runs, 43 RBI, and 10 steals in 88 AA games.

The potential is still there. Some have given up on Kozma, but I actually think he has improved a ton this season. If he can develop a somewhat consistent bat, and still play good defense at a premium position, he may just pan out to be the player we thought he would be in 2007.

This past week: 3-3
Behind another great start by P.J. Walters last weekend, the Redbirds took game four before losing the final game to New Orleans. The team then traveled back home to take on Omaha starting on Monday. The ‘Birds lost game one, won games two and three, then dropped the final game of the four-game set for a series split. Last night’s game against Oklahoma City was postponed due to a power outage in downtown Memphis.

Transactions: P.J. Walters was promoted to St. Louis from Memphis (4-2, 2.79 ERA, 63 SO, 61 1/3 IP in AAA), Allen Craig was optioned to Memphis from St. Louis (.139, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 36 AB in MLB), Ryan Ludwick was assigned to Memphis for a rehab stint (.273, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 264 AB in MLB), Ryan Kulik was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (7-2, 3.08 ERA, 45 SO, 76 IP in AA), David Kopp was optioned to Springfield from Memphis (0-5, 8.62 ERA, 12 SO, 24 IP in AAA), Evan MacLane was optioned to Memphis from St. Louis (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 0 SO, 1 IP in MLB), Fernando Salas was promoted to St. Louis from Memphis (17 saves, 2.10 ERA, 35 SO, 30 IP in AAA), Mark Hamilton assigned to Memphis from the disabled list (.296, 6 HR, 28 RBI, 115 AB in AAA)

Coming up: The Redbirds will finish up their series against Oklahoma City this weekend. There will likely be a double-header thrown in somewhere (Sunday?) to make up for last night’s postponed game. They will then travel back down to New Orleans for another four-game series that will go through Friday.

This past week: 6-2
Springfield had the best week that any of the Cardinals minor league teams have had in a while. They started off last weekend finished up the NW Arkansas series with a double-header on Saturday, which was spilt, and game three on Sunday. The Cardinals then were the host to Tulsa for a five-game set. Springfield took four of the five games to inch a little closer to the league leader. Last night, the Cards began another series with Northwest Arkansas by taking game one 9-8 in extra innings.

Transactions: Ryan Kulik was promoted to Memphis from Springfield (7-2, 3.08 ERA, 45 SO, 76 IP in AA), Arquimedes Nieto was promoted to Springfield from Palm Beach (8-5, 3.36 ERA, 65 SO, 99 IP in A+), Gary Daley was released by Springfield (3-11, 6.70 ERA, 62 SO, 88 2/3 IP in AA)

Coming up: There won’t be much traveling this upcoming week thanks to the fine people that scheduled Springfield to play NW Arkansas, Arkansas, then NW again to wrap up the month of July. The Cards will continue with the NW Arkansas series tonight through Monday. They will then take on Arkansas for a three-game set before facing off with NW again starting Friday.

This past week: 2-5
Palm Beach started the week with a loss to Lakeland and that theme stuck with them for most of the week. Thanks to a magnificant start by Nieto, the Cardinals took the first of four games against Brevard County. Palm Beach would then lose two before winning the fourth to earn a series split. The winning stopped there though as Tampa won Thursday and Friday night’s games.

Transactions: Deryk Hooker was promted to Palm Beach from Quad Cities (5-4, 2.83 ERA, 88 SO, 70 IP in A), Ryde Rodriguez was promoted to Palm Beach from Quad Cities (.274, 5 HR, 45 RBI, 274 AB in A), Ryan Jackson was promoted to Palm Beach from Quad Cities (.272, .366 OBP, 47 R, 302 AB in A), Ted Obregon optioned to Quad Cities from Palm Beach (.174, 11 R, 5 RBI, 69 AB in A+), Oliver Marmol was released by Palm Beach (.221, 19 R, 12 RBI, 104 AB in A+), Devin Shepherd was released by Palm Beach (.171, 3 R, 4 RBI, 35 AB in A+)

Coming up: The Cardinals will play the final two games of the Tampa series today and Sunday before heading to Daytona for a four-game set that will run all the way until Friday.