Hot Stove: International representation may bolster ’12 Nats
Current, former Naturals wrap up winter ball stints

SPRINGDALE, AR – In the first four years of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ existence, their roster has been dotted with Latin American players representing Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and even Brazil. While that is no doubt a diverse group, the 2012 Naturals may have to hang a few extra flags.

Cuba, Panama, and Curacao could all find themselves represented on this season’s Naturals’ roster as Northwest Arkansas attempts to cover all of its international bases with respect to baseball-playing nations. The quartet of potential Naturals is led by a pair of intriguing Cubans – left-handed pitcher Noel Arguelles and outfielder Yem Prades — who spent their first full seasons in professional baseball together last season at Advanced Class-A Wilmington, and also includes Panamanian reliever Yeliar Castro and Curacao-born utility player Sharlon Schoop.

Royals fans may remember Arguelles, who Kansas City GM Dayton Moore signed to a $7 million contract prior to the 2010 season. Perhaps due to fatigue related to helping the Cuban National team, Arguelles didn’t make it out of Arizona that season but finally got on the field last year with Wilmington. The southpaw got off to a fast start, allowing just two runs over 17 2/3 innings (the Royals limited his innings) in his first four starts, good for a 1.02 ERA. Though he was shut down for the season after reaching 104 innings in early August, he finished his first professional season with a 4-5 record and a 3.20 ERA. Perhaps more importantly, he allowed just 93 hits and issued only 24 walks in those 104 innings and held opposing hitters to a .245 average.

Arguelles doesn’t possess the raw stuff or radar-gun lighting abilities of a higher-profile Cuban defector that came to the United States around the same time (Cincinnati Reds’ Aroldis Chapman), but at well over $20 million less of an price tag, he represented a younger investment and perhaps a better play. The 6’3”, 215 pound lefty will be just 22 on Opening Day, when he should take his low 90’s fastball and complementary breaking pitches into the Naturals’ rotation.

Prades was even less hyped than Arguelles coming from Cuba. He defected to the Dominican Republic in 2008 and was signed in April by Rene Francisco, the Royals’ Special Assistant to the GM/International Operations. The 23-year old outfielder was assigned to Wilmington in May and was fairly consistent at the plate, batting .289 with four homers, 11 steals, and 24 RBI’s in 80 games, holding his own in the pitching-oriented environment the Blue Rocks play in. Francisco was quoted on a blog site that Prades, who’ll turn 24 during spring training, has “above-average tools.” Between that and serving as a companion for Arguelles as they continue their assimilation to professional baseball in the US, expect those tools to be on display in Double-A this year.

Castro may not be familiar to Naturals fans but would be familiar with Moore and Francisco, who both worked for the Atlanta Braves when the right-hander signed out of Panama on July 2^nd, 2004. Fast forward to 2011 – Castro became a minor league free agent, and the Royals, with several ex-Braves front office staff members still familiar with names they signed out of the international market, gave him a contract. A countryman of Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera, Castro strikes out a batter or more per inning – 44 in 39 innings across three levels in 2011.

Lastly, Schoop is a versatile player who can play all four infield positions and the corner OF positions. Should he end up on the Naturals, he’ll be the first player of Dutch heritage to play for Northwest Arkansas. Schoop spent the first part of his career in the San Francisco Giants’ organization and batted .243 in portions of three seasons in the Eastern League, but has the potential to offer Naturals’ skipper Brian Poldberg tremendous versatility – last season he played 34 games at shortstop, 25 at first base, 11 at third base, and three games at second. Like big league outfielder Andruw Jones, Schoop is a resident of Willemstad, Curacao, a baseball-appreciating nation that sits in the middle of the South Caribbean – typically soccer-loving countries.

Naturals/Texas League Notes

Managerial Notes: Between the announcement Monday that Brian Poldberg and his entire staff will be returning to Northwest Arkansas and last week’s announcement by the Corpus Christi Hooks that they’ll have a new skipper (Keith Bodie) again in 2012, the Arkansas Travelers and Frisco RoughRiders are the lone two teams yet to name their field staffs for the upcoming season. The Naturals will open the season on a six-game road swing that starts against Bodie’s Hooks on April 5^th in Corpus Christi.

Winter League Report

The Winter Leagues have wrapped up across Mexico and the Caribbean…

Puerto Rico: Rey Navarro (Crillos de Caguas) wrapped up his season in the league with hits in four of his last five games to finish at .187 (14-for-75). He did have a homer and 11 RBI’s… Irving Falu (Indios de Mayaguez) had a solid campaign in Puerto Rico, batting .284 with 13 RBI’s in 41 games… Angel Sanchez, teammates with Falu, had a stellar winter league season, batting .293 with a homer and ten RBI’s as he preps to compete for playing time with the Houston Astros this year…Mario Santiago, having completed a stint in the Dominican Republic that saw him go 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in nine appearances for Tigres del Licey, now has re-located back to his native Puerto Rico and joined his usual club, the Gigantes de Carolina. He made four starts for that club and finished allowing just two runs in 23 innings, holding batters to a .222 average.

Venezuela: Mario Lisson (Navegantes de Magallanes) got more playing time than ever before in winter ball and carried his solid average and power production from the Naturals’ regular season with him, batting .279 with 11 homers and 29 RBI’s. He’ll hope that translates into a push for a spot with Triple-A Omaha this spring…Former Natural Ernesto Mejia (Aguilas del Zulia) cooled off late in the season to finish at .262 with ten homers and 49 RBI’s, which led his team…Manny Pina (Bravos de Margarita) sees mainly defensive duty only for the Bravos, and he finished with a .128 average in 18 games.

Dominican Republic: Manauris Baez (Estrellas de Oriente) finished out a stellar winter league season, making ten starts among 11 appearances and going 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA… Willy Lebron made one more appearance late in the year for Licey and finished with a 2-3 record and 3.28 ERA, fanning 22 in 24 2/3 innings… Kelvin Herrera (Leones del Escogido) completed his stint in winter ball after 12 outings, having allowed just one earned run and fanning 15 while walking four in 17 1/3 innings pitched…He was teammates with Everett Teaford, who finished his winter league season with five starts, during which he went 1-1 with a 3.04 ERA, striking out 29 batters and walking only three in 23 2/3 innings. Elisaul Pimentel (Leones del Escogido) made eight appearances out of the bullpen with a 2.70 ERA, striking out 12 in 13 1/3 innings of work…Naturals’ southpaw Andrew Dobies (Toros del Este) really struggled in six appearances as a lefty specialist, allowing five runs in 2 1/3 innings of work. Edgar Garcia (Tigres del Licey) made just two appearances and had a 5.40 ERA.

Mexico: Federico Castaneda (Tomateros de Culiacan) had an up-and-down season in the Mexican League and completed his year with a 1-2 record and 5.75 ERA in 25 outings, although he displayed a great strikeout to walk ratio of 24-8 in 20 1/3 innings…Royals’ minor league Rule 5 acquisition Thomas Melgarejo (Aguilas de Mexicali) finished with a 3.57 ERA in 26 appearances. Marlon Arias, a southpaw signed by the Royals in December, played in both the Dominican and Mexico and pitched to a 2.08 ERA in 13 appearances between the two stops.

These teams and respective leagues will play the round-robin Caribbean Series which takes place in February just before early reports for Major League Spring Training.

Transaction Log: Former Naturals’ pitcher Barry Bowden, who appeared with the club late in the 2010 season, was released by the Royals in late December. Bowden, a right-handed reliever, missed all of 2011 recovering from a shoulder injury…Former Naturals’ slugger Corey Smith, who hit 21 homers and drove in 90 runs during the 2009 season, signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox after two seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organization, where he split time between their Double-A and Triple-A levels. It is a homecoming of sorts for Smith, who played for the White Sox’ Double-A Birmingham affiliate in 2006…Third baseman Josh Fields, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy quarterback who spent 11 games with the Naturals on a rehab assignment in 2010, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers that includes an invite to big league spring training. He is returning to the states after spending the bulk of the 2011 season in the Korean Baseball League…

Check nwanaturals.com twice monthly for the Hot Stove Report, where we’ll continue to follow Royals’ minor leaguers in winter ball as well as cover other off-season baseball information that pertains to the Naturals and the Texas League.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

ROUND ROCK, Texas – The Pacific Coast League today announced the 2011 All-PCL Team, led by a league-most three players from the Omaha Storm Chasers.

The Storm Chasers, currently the American Northern Division leader, are represented by second baseman Johnny Giavotella, designated hitter Clint Robinson, and right-handed pitcher Luis Mendoza. Giavotella, who was promoted to Kansas City on August 5th, leads all PCL second baseman with a .338 batting average while Robinson has hit 23 homers and driven in 97 runs in 130 games. Omaha’s ace, Mendoza, has won 11 decisions to accompany his league-best 2.15 earned run average.

The Sacramento River Cats and Reno Aces are the only other teams represented by more than one player. Catcher Anthony Recker (.287, 16 HR) and outfielder Jai Miller (30 HR, 77 RBI) helped power the River Cats to their fifth consecutive Pacific Southern Division crown. Reno’s Cody Ransom, who established new single-season franchise-records for Reno in home runs and RBI, and Collin Cowgill, the only PCL player to have more than 10 home runs and 30 stolen bases this season, were named to the squad as shortstop and outfielder, respectively.

The PCL’s home run leader, Bryan LaHair, was voted to the team as the first baseman. LaHair, 28, is enjoying a career-year with the Iowa Cubs, as he has posted new career-highs in home runs (36) and runs scored (89) while his batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage are the highest for a single-season in his career with eight games remaining this season. He currently leads the PCL in home runs, runs batted in, total bases and extra-base hits.

Along with Cowgill, Giavotella and Robinson, third baseman Taylor Green of the Nashville Sounds and outfielder Joey Butler of the Round Rock Express bring the total number of the first-year Triple-A players on the All-PCL Team to five. In his sixth professional season, Green leads the Sounds in batting average, OBP and doubles over his 120 games played. Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round of the 2008 June Draft, Butler is batting .326 with 27 doubles and 12 home runs for the American Southern Division champs.

Completing the All-PCL pitching staff, Dana Eveland of the Albuquerque Isotopes was selected as the left-handed pitcher, and Victor Marte of the Memphis Redbirds was named to the team as the top reliever. Eveland, who is one of seven players to be named to the PCL’s Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star teams this year, has won 12 decisions, the second-most in the league, to go along with 107 strikeouts. Marte has made 51 appearances for Memphis, posting a 1.53 ERA and tallying a PCL-best 28 saves.

Storm Chasers Well-Represented on All-PCL Team
Giavotella, Mendoza, Robinson make up 25 percent of exclusive roster

OMAHA, Neb. — The Omaha Storm Chasers’ storybook inaugural season added another chapter Monday, as the Pacific Coast League named Johnny Giavotella, Luis Mendoza and Clint Robinson to its prestigious 12-member All-PCL Team.

Giavotella, the All-PCL second baseman, batted .338 with nine home runs, 72 RBI, 34 doubles and 67 runs scored in 110 games with the Storm Chasers this season. He was honored as the league’s All-Star representative at second base and was also named the PCL Player of the Month for June, during which he batted .398 (49-for-123). He was promoted to the Kansas City Royals on August 5.

Right-hander Luis Mendoza was one of three pitchers named to the squad. The 27-year-old has an 11-5 record with a league-leading 2.15 ERA for the Chasers, more than a full run better than his nearest competitor. He has dominated the league since May 26, compiling a 10-2 record with a 1.24 ERA over 108.2 innings pitched, including 9-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 10 road appearances. He threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout at Memphis on July 18.

Clint Robinson, honored as the designated hitter for the All-PCL Team, has been one of the hottest hitters in the league over the past two-and-a-half weeks, pushing his season numbers into awe-inspiring territory. The 6-foot-5, left-handed slugger is batting .478 with four home runs, 24 RBI and 11 doubles in his past 18 games, giving him a season average of .329 with 23 homers, 97 RBI and 35 doubles. His 35 doubles rank second on the all-time single-season franchise list, one ahead of Giavotella and two off of the record of 37.

Joining the Omaha trio are catcher Anthony Recker of Sacramento, first baseman Bryan LaHair of Iowa, third baseman Taylor Green of Nashville, shortstop Cody Ransom of Reno and outfielders Joey Butler (Round Rock), Collin Cowgill (Reno) and Jai Miller (Sacramento). Albuquerque left-handed starting pitcher Dana Eveland and Memphis closer Victor Marte round out the 12-member squad. Including Miller and Marte, five of the 12 players have played for Omaha during the past two seasons.

Each of the Storm Chasers’ three representatives were also named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star squad in Salt Lake, though that roster had 30 players and representation from each club.

The All-PCL team, which features players from just eight of the 16 PCL clubs, was voted on by the league’s field managers, general managers and media.

Jim Cosman (1970)

Jim Cosman was a 6ft 5in flame thrower that was signed by the Cardinals in 1963. In his first professional season he struggled, and almost washed out of the Cardinals system. But George Kissell saw something that he liked in the youngster and convinced him to work on the fastball, which at times could be un-hittable. Cosman took Kissell’s advice and his turnaround in 1964 was nothing short of miraculous. From a disappointing 1-9 record in Brunswick, Cosman led the Rock Hill Cardinals (A) in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts and WHIP. To put this in perspective, one of Cosman’s teammates was a tall left-hander named Steve Carlton, and he bested the Hall of Famer in every category except ERA – but Cosman’s 1.19 vs Lefty’s 1.03 was nearly a wash. In 121 innings, Cosman struck out 143 batters. Un-hittable, indeed.

His career would take an interesting turn in 1965 when he was moved to the bullpen for the Tulsa Oilers (AA). Projecting somewhat of a logjam in starters, it was thought that Cosman’s best chance of making it to the major leagues would be as a reliever. The move worked out well for the young right hander at first. He would have a mixed year, staying in Tulsa as they became the AAA affiliate in 1966. His control was beginning to become a bit of a problem as he worked on secondary pitches, but the heater was still a winner. A 10-2 record, mostly in relief would be good enough to earn Cosman a September callup, but a crowded bullpen of A+ arms didn’t guarantee an appearance.

After 3 weeks of watching his teammates get into games, he finally got a chance to get into a game. Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst decided to give Cosman a start on the last game of the 1966 season – with all of about 30 minutes warning.

October 2, 1966 – Holy Cow

Cosman’s opponent in this game would be the last place Chicago Cubs. Coming into the game, the Cubs had already lost 102 times and were 36 games out of first place. The Cardinals had already won the first two games of the series. Dick Hughes defeated Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins in the opener, throwing a 3 hit shutout. Bob Gibson earned his 21st win of the season in the middle game, defeating a very young and impressive left-hander named Ken Holtzman. With the possibility of a Cubs sweep, the final game of a very disappointing 1966 season took on new significance.

For the 1966 finale, the Cubs would send former 22 game winner, Dick Ellsworth to the mound. Ellsworth was a tall lefty and took the ball every five days for the Cubs, eating up a lot of innings. While he never regained the form of his brilliant 1963 season, he pitched far better than his 8-21 record would have indicated. This would not be a cake walk for the Cardinals youngster making his major league debut.

Both Cosman and Ellsworth got off to a great start. Both hurlers would retire the side in order in the first inning. Ron Santo would lead off the second inning with a sharp single to center. That was all the damage as Cosman would retire next three batters without a ball leaving the infield.

The bottom of the Cardinals order would get to Ellsworth in the the bottom of the third as Dal Maxvill would single. Lou Brock would also get a hit, but the Cardinals failed to score. For now.

Meanwhile, Cosman was cruising. The only runner other than the Santo second inning single was a 2 out walk in the top of the 4th inning, also to Ron Santo.

The second time through the Cardinals batting order proved to be more challenging for Ellsworth. Ted Savage, replacing Curt Flood, would lead off with a walk. Phil Gagliano would follow that up with a grounder up the middle for a single. Savage would then steal third base and score on a Mike Shannon line drive single to left. It was starting to feel like a big inning, but a power failure would hit the Cardinals, as it did frequently in the ’66 season. Tim McCarver would ground into a force play at second. With the Cubs playing back, Gagliano scores easily on the play. Ed Spiezio, father of future Cardinal Scott Spiezio, would end the inning with a nice around the horn double play, 5-6-3. Nobody started a prettier double play than Ron Santo. The Cardinals had a 2-0 lead, but with a rookie on the mound – would it hold up ?

Cosman did what all pitcher are taught to do, retire the side quickly after getting a lead. He would set down the Cubs batters in order in the top of the fifth, and again in the sixth. And again in the seventh, helped by double play that erased a leadoff walk to Billy Williams. Ron Santo hit into the double play – the only Cubs hitter to get a hit off the young right hander so far.

After getting two quick outs in the eighth, a pitch would get away from Cosman and he would hit the 8th place hitter, Adolfo Phillips. A harmless groundout to first would end the inning. For the fifth time in eight innings, Cosman as retired the side without a ball leaving the infield. Two fly outs and the Ron Santo single were the only balls played by an outfielder.

When Cosman took the mound in the top of the ninth, he was still protecting a slim 2-0 lead. He’d also allowed only one hit. Don Kessinger hits the fourth ball to an outfielder, which is caught by Lou Brock in foul territory. Glenn Beckert rips a line drive to center field for the second Cubs hit on the day. With the game on the line, Cosman faces a serious home run threat in future Hall of Famer, Billy Williams. Cosman gets Williams to hit into a game ending double play to preserve the shutout.

What a start to his major league career. A 2 hit shutout to complete the season ending sweep of the rival Cubs.

Spring Training 1967

With such an impressive debut to end the 1966 season, expectations were high when Cosman arrived for spring training in 1967. He was such a likeable and enthusiastic young ballplayer, the local St. Petersburg newspaper asked him to contribute a diary of his experiences, to run twice a week. Thanks to the Google newspaper archives, here they are.

March 14
March 16
March 23
March 28
April 4

Cosman pitched well enough in spring training to earn a spot on the expanded roster, but would likely be one of the last cut when rosters were reduced to 25 players in mid-May. New General Manager Stan Musial had been shopping Nelson Briles and Hal Woodeshick all spring, and if he found a taker then Cosman may be able to stay with the big club. Fortunately for the Cardinals, no deal was reached and both Briles and Woodeshick stayed with the Cardinals, but that doomed the youngster’s fate. After a few relief appearances where his control was still a bit shaky, Cosman was sent back to Tulsa to work on his mechanics.

June 26 – Saving the Season

On June 21, Ray Washburn was pitch an absolute gem against Don Drysdale and the Los Angeles Dodgers. For the first time in several season, Washburn was healthy and was back to being the quality hurler he’d shown early in his career. He was throwing a 3 hitter until the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Dodgers catcher, Johnny Roseboro, lines a ball up the middle for the 4th Dodger hit. Instinctively, Washburn reaches out with his bare hand to try to make the play. The ball ricochet’s off Washburn’s hand all the way to the outfield. The Cardinals hurler was down with a badly broken finger that would require surgery to repair. Washburn was going to be gone for a month, or more.

Jim Cosman was immediately recalled from Tulsa and put into the rotation, replacing the injured Washburn. He would get his first start on June 26 when he faced the San Francisco Giants in front of a huge crown at Busch Stadium. His opponent would be the crafty (among other things) Gaylord Perry. With the season on the line, that was a lot of pressure for the young Cardinals hurler.

To try to help Cosman simplify his mechanics, pitching coach Billy Muffett convinced the right hander to go with a no-windup approach. It had worked with several other Cardinals pitchers, and Muffett believed that this would help Cosman stay more upright and not throw across his body.

The Cardinals would get to Perry early in the game. In the second inning, the bottom of the Cardinals batting order managed to push two runners across the plate, the second one coming on Jim Cosman’s first major league hit. It would turn out to be the game winner.

Cosman would give one of those runs back in the top of the 4th, but that’s all the Giants could manage to score. There weren’t many Giants hits, but Cosman was in trouble all night. 7 walks kept the pressure up, inning after inning. With one out in the 9th inning, Red had seen enough and didn’t want the youngster to take a hard luck loss. He went to his bullpen, and the 20,000 fans in attendance gave Cosman a long and loud standing ovation. What they had just witnessed was a turning point in the 1967 season.

Nelson Briles would retire the last two batters, preserving the win for the young right hander. That would be his second major league victory, and sadly the last in his career.

Wildness would return in his next start, but it was take an ugly turn for the worse. After giving up three walks in three innings against the New York Mets, Cosman would hit the first two batters to lead off the 4th inning. After the second hit batsman, Red immediately came out and took the youngster out of the game. Walks are one thing, but when you threw as hard as Cosman did, hitting batters was very dangerous.

Cosman’s next start would come against the Cincinnati Reds on July 5. He would pitch 8 strong innings with the only blemish being a solo home run off the bat of Vada Pinson. Nelson Briles, who saved the earlier game, would take the loss in extra innings. As well as Cosman pitched, a no-decision was disappointing.

His control woes would continue, both with walks and hit batsman. When Ray Washburn came back from the disabled list, it appeared as if Cosman would be sent back to Tulsa. As all of this was happening, the Cardinals pitching staff would take another blow when Bob Gibson would go down with a broken leg on July 15. Cosman initially stayed with the big club, but as roster moves were considered, Cosman’s time in the majors would come to an end. The Cardinals would move Nelson Briles into the rotation, replacing the injured Bob Gibson. Cosman would move to the bullpen, but would be replaced soon by Jack Lamabe who was just acquired from the Mets. Cosman would sent to the Mets as the conditional player-to-be-named later and would finish the season in their minor league system. The youngster would be returned to the Cardinals in September. The Mets finally selected Al Jackson to complete the Lamabe trade, following the 1967 World Series.

Even though Jim Cosman would never throw another pitch for the Cardinals, the importance of his game on June 26 cannot be understated. The Cardinals front office recognized that, and when the World Series bonuses were passed out, Cosman was given a full share. You can read about that in this great March 1, 1968 article from the St. Petersburg Times.

A Disappointment

Over the off-season, Cosman worked hard on his control. He came into spring training, and had shown some improvement. Unfortunately for the 25 year old, the Cardinals rotation and bullpen were filled and there was even less room for him in 1968 than the year before. He would be one of the last players cut from the ’68 roster and would start falling behind pitching prospects like Mike Torrez, Al Santorini and Jerry Reuss on the depth chart. He would struggle in 1968, splitting time between Tulsa (AAA) and Arkansas (AA).

Cosman would bounce around the minor leagues for a few seasons, making one more Major League appearance with the Cubs in 1970.

After baseball, he became a very successful executive in the Waste Management industry. He moved up the ranks at Browning Ferris Industries (BFI) and then went on to run Republic as their CEO before retiring in 2000.

	Matt Carpenter Third Baseman Springfield Cardinals 24-years-old Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6’3″ Weight: 200 lbs Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round of the 2009 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Just like every Saturday here on i70baseball, the Cardinals Farm Report spotlights one of the prized Cardinal minor leaguers. This week, it is Matt Carpenter, who very well could be the best Cardinal hitter in the Minors.Just a year and a couple months ago, Matt Carpenter was drafted in the 13th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. Now he’s making everybody do a double-take. In his first professional season, the other “Carp” hit .309/.418/.471 with 93 runs, 31 doubles, 13 home runs, 69 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and 90 walks. He started the year in Palm Beach but quickly go the call-up to Springfield. Again, this is his first year in the Minors. 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.
MiLB WEEKLY ROUNDUP
AAA-Memphis Redbirds
PLAYOFF record to date: 3-2 — This past week: 0-2, PCL Championship didn’t get off to a great start for the ‘Birds — Coming up: Memphis will continue the PCL Championship series with Tacoma.
AA-Springfield Cardinals
PLAYOFF record: 2-3 — This past week: 1-2, the Cardinals’ season came to an end with a loss to NW Arkansas
POSITION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Matt Carpenter, 3B, Springfield
.500 AVG (6-for-12), .583 OBP, .932 SLG, 5 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBI
Wasn’t I just talking about this guy? Seriously, he’s unbelievable at the dish. Very, very impressive. In the regular season, Carp hit .308/.418/.471 with 93 runs, 31 doubles, 13 home runs, and 69 RBI in 495 at bats.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Brian Broderick, SP, Springfield
W, 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 5 strikeouts
Is it just me, or does it seem like Broderick receives this award two or three times a month? In 26 appearances in the 2010 regular season, Broderick was 14-7 with a 3.66 ERA and 92 SO in 150 innings.

Justin Hulsey covers the Cardinals for i70baseball and his blogs, Cardinals Front Office and Rising Redbirds, that are also dedicated to Cardinals baseball and their minor league system.You may follow him on Twitter @JayHulsey by clicking here.