Jan 07 2009
John Sickel’s Cardinals Top 11 Prospects
Here is John Sickel’s Top 11 Prospects for the St. Louis Cardinals:
1) Colby Rasmus, OF, Grade A-: I’m going to cut him some slack due to youth. Power, speed, walks, defense are all still here. Not going to hit for a great average right away.
2) Brett Wallace, 3B, Grade A-: Monster bat should be ready within a year. Glove at third should be adequate in the short run.
3) Chris Perez, RHP, Grade B+: Outstanding closer-quality stuff, just needs to throw strikes.
4) Daryl Jones, OF, Grade B: I buy into the improvement being real. Has always had the tools and skills improved rapidly this year. This is an aggressive grade but I’m comfortable with it.
5) Jess Todd, RHP, Grade B-: Strike-throwing inning-eater type if used as a starter, could be more dominant in shorter stretches if used in pen.
6) Jon Jay, OF, Grade B-: I like him more than a lot of people, but I think he can play center and put up solid numbers. Another aggressive grade, but both Jay and Jones have impressed me and I think both tend to be underrated..
7) Jason Motte, RHP, Grade C+: Gotta love the strikeouts, but questionable secondary stuff precludes higher grade. Should be fine short reliever.
Bryan Anderson, C, Grade C+: This ranking may surprise some, but I’m starting to wonder if we could be looking at a Sean Burroughs situation here, where the line drive bat just kind of stalls at an early age. Am I overreacting?
9) Mitchell Boggs, RHP, Grade C+: Live arm, still trying to put everything together, another guy who could be a decent starter or dominate more in the pen.
10) Jaime Garcia, LHP, Grade C+: Hard to rank due to Tommy John. A grade B+/B if healthy.
11) Pete Kozma, SS, Grade C+: I rather like him and I think he might end up being a better hitter than people think.
I am rather surprised that Wallace or Rasmus did not get an A rating. They are 2 top prospects in the entire MLB, with Rasmus being a top 10 talent even after disappointing years. Rasmus’ cards have gone way down from peaks and his Bowman Chrome Auto’s are very affordable. If he can pick it back up, and maybe get lucky and the Cardinals trade an extra OF for a closer, he can get the call up. Brett Wallace key cards are only in Upper Deck USA and Razor (Exclusive). His Razor Autos are very affordable and is the card to have as that’s his only card for 3 years. Chris Perez is being touted as the possible closer this year for theCards.
