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What’s wrong with Jhonny Peralta?

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Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

There’s nothing like a baseball season and its effect on a player. 162 games. Seven months. Lots of travel. Day to day action. Little rest mentally. St. Louis Cardinals’ shortstop Jhonny Peralta has been a steady player since he arrived in St. Louis in November of 2013. He played in 157 games last season and has played in 138 games of a possible 142 games this season. That’s serious work and something that must be taken into account when trying to locate the demise in Peralta’s production since the All Star break. The big picture outlook has Peralta’s production slowly slipping since the end of May. Let’s look at it from April to September.

April-.316 batting average, .825 OPS(slugging plus on base percentage)

May-.306 BA, .941 OPS

June-.274 BA, .720 OPS

July-.262 BA, .737 OPS

August-.242 BA, .612 OPS

That’s the thing about stats. The simplest ones can draw a picture big enough for any fan to see. Since the end of May, after a great start to the season, Peralta has delivered big hits but not as consistent as before. Is this wear and tear? It’s hard to avoid pointing how the Cards don’t have a reliable backup for Peralta at shortstop, or at least one they believe in. Peralta has played in more games this season than any Cardinal starter. The drop in Peralta’s slugging percentage is particularly telling.

April-.468

May-.556

June-.400

July-.421

August-.303

Peralta’s reputation isn’t hitting 30 home runs and driving in 100 but he is depended on in this lineup hitting 3rd or 4th to produce runs. Jhonny Peralta hasn’t hit a home run since August 1st and his OPS since the All Star break is .626 with just three home runs. The Cards don’t have huge depth on the ML roster that exists as exciting at the position. How much can you lean on a player before he crumbles? Outside of Yadier Molina, no player on the team has been leaned on more than Peralta.

What’s wrong with Peralta? Wear and tear. He’s played in 298 games out of a possible 304 since arriving in St. Louis. I’m sorry folks but that’s where the Tulo comparisons hit a halt. JP is in a massive slump but there’s nothing physically wrong with him. His stats are right in line with his career rate, especially when it comes to average, on base and slugging. 2015’s season hasn’t been as power packed as 2014 but overall his WAR of 1.7 won’t reach his 2014 rate of 5.7(baseball reference).

With 20 games to go, Peralta can pick things up and finish better but a little rest wouldn’t hurt. Rest helps players more often than not. While it’s not common to sit everyday players in a stretch run, Peralta looks burnt. There’s room there to let Jhonny find a little mental clarity.

How does Peralta get rest? Play Greg Garcia. The kid comes up with big game changing hits and hasn’t gotten a real shot. While Peralta will more than likely keep on grinding, turning Garcia loose wouldn’t hurt and you can see what the kid has in store for the future as Peralta’s age and contract start to climb.

Jhonny Peralta’s value to this club is underrated and will never be appreciated as much as it should. He needs to get right. The Cards need to address this sooner rather than later. Plug in Garcia. Find some rest for Peralta, especially as some missing bats filter back into the lineup. In the end, it will benefit both player and club.

Cardinals recap: 5 Things We Learned 

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 Final score-Reds 11, Cardinals 0

Five things. 

1. Perspective. With the loss, the Cardinals now only lead Cincinnati by 29.5 games in the NL Central division. Spoiler territory has its dangers but in the end this was an ugly loss that only cost the team a single game. 

2. Lack of execution. The Cards had their chances against John Lamb, who walked 6 in his five innings but also struck out 6 batters. He matched his salt with pepper and kept the Cards at bay long enough for his team to pile on big innings. 

3.  Attention Mike Matheny. Don’t ever bat three strikeout prone batters in a row. Mark Reynolds, Brandon Moss and Peter Bourjos came in with a combined 30% K rate, and the result Thursday night was 5 strikeouts in 9 at bats. No hits. A walk. Bad idea. Don’t do it again. 

4. Where is Tommy Pham? The rookie couldn’t find the starting lineup again. With Bourjos and Jon Jay not hitting and Randal Grichuk incapable of throwing, the time to play Pham is now. He has some pop, can play defense and has speed. 

5.  No ground was lost to Pittsburg. The Pirates can’t beat the Milwaukee Brewers. In the 12th inning, the Brewers got RBI singles from Logan Schafer and Luis Sardinas to sink the Bucs. Kyle Lohse got the save. 

Extra innings analysis-Jaime Garcia is human. The Cards lost another game, continuing a rough week of play but the good thing is tonight is another opportunity to chop the magic number down. The loss was bad but the damage was minimal. The Pirates and Cubs are playing catch up and can’t afford to mess up this month. 

Tonight John Lackey goes for win #12. Tune in afterwards for the five things learned. 

Why can’t Cardinals fans appreciate Lance Lynn?

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Tonight’s starter for the St. Louis Cardinals is Lance Lynn. You may have heard of him. He pitched for Ole Miss and likes to throw a heavy assortment of fastballs at various speeds. Up, down, and all around. He occasionally throws a curve because he gets bored or while he refills the propane tank for the next inning’s cheddar assault.

The thing about Lynn is that he drives fans crazy with his starts. He throws a lot of pitches early, works long counts, gets a ton of contact and occasionally gets dinged up. Does that warrant the complaining and “Lynning” tweets? Let’s dig in.

Lynn’s fielding independent earned run average is 3.17, which leads the team(if you exclude Jaime Garcia due to a lesser amount of starts). So I ask, is the discomfort with Lynn warranted or does it connect to his unorthodox manner of recording outs? He isn’t easy to watch but gets the job done with his own two hands the most.

Lynn wins. it can’t be denied. Since he picked up a baseball and starting slinging heaters for the Cards on June 2nd, 2011, Lynn has won games. His 58 games since account for a 61% win rate, and he is on pace for less than his usual 15 wins this season due to a lack of run support. Unlike his rotation colleague Michael Wacha, Lynn doesn’t get the steady diet of 5-6 runs. While Wacha got 10 runs in his Sunday victory in San Diego, Lynn got zero in his last start against the Giants on Tuesday. With a few more runs of support, Lynn would have at least 11 wins right now. Instead, tonight he vies for win #10 in Arizona.

Lynn’s strikeouts per nine innings is at its highest peak this season, sitting at 9.6. His strikeouts to walks ratio is 2.92-1, also his best in years. His ERA+ is 132, and 100 ranks as average. That is adjusted to the player’s ballpark to more accurately showed how much damage Lynn takes. He has faced 577 batters in 2015 and struck out 25% of them, which is an impressive stat.

Lynn is durable but doesn’t go deep into games. He’s only missed a couple starts this year, an occurrence that may hold him from reaching 200 innings. He has pitched 7 or more innings only 6 times in 23 starts. At 134.1 innings with roughly 8 starts to go before the end of the season, Lynn would have to dig deeper into games to reach 200. Still a durable man who has escaped major injury.

He’s a beast and doesn’t care or hinge on pitch counts. With all the close observation on Wacha and Carlos Martinez in 2015, Lynn regularly throws 100 pitches in a start. 17 out of his 23 starts, Lynn has thrown 100 pitches. Lynn has thrown 115 or more pitches in a start six times. He’s old school. He lets his emotions fly and has learned to harness his rage and also craft a fine post game media game. While the beast may not be tamed on the field, Lynn has evolved over the five seasons in the Majors as a man and pitcher.

So, why can’t the man get the love from his fans? He doesn’t have the child like adorable phenom combo of Martinez He hasn’t had the playoff sensation of Wacha. He doesn’t have the Lackey experience. Unlike Garcia, Lynn needs to work harder for his outs. Any of these sound justified? Yes and no.

Last week, I was asked about a playoff rotation and my four man set didn’t include Lynn. You know how bad I felt and how incomplete it sounded. The rest of my day was thrown off. I wrestled with the idea. I kept asking myself, how can I leave Lance “The Motorized Fastball” Lynn out of my rotation? It’s either him or Martinez and realistically speaking, Lynn will be in the playoff rotation over Martinez. You never know. There’s five weeks left.

Here’s how much I do know. Don’t underestimate Lance Lynn. Appreciate him. He doesn’t make it look easy every time out but he defines the reason why “wins” are overrated in this game. His WAR(wins above replacement) sits at 2.3, which is above average. He has the ability to get outs without his defense. His salary in from 2014 to 2015 did rise from $535,000 to $7,000,000. There are expectations with Lynn there and it’s okay to judge and be critical of his poor outings. At this point in his career, he most likely won’t change much.

Just remember this. When it comes to Lance Lynn, one can’t forget about the big picture appeal of this Indiana product. It won’t be easy for Mike Matheny to leave him out of the playoff starting rotation hustle.

Leave the power and take the OBP with Matt Holliday

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With the new sensations in town in Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk, word on the street is Matt Holliday seems to expendable when it comes to the formation of the St. Louis Cardinals’ outfield this year, next year and beyond. While nobody is asking for the big guy to be traded or sent out, their lineups aren’t highlighting a hitter with some pop and production left in his bat. As Holliday works his way back from his second quad injury in 2015 and an injury plagued season, I’ll warn you. Don’t write off the Stillwater, Oklahoma native just yet.

Piscotty and Grichuk may be the brisket rub of the moment in this town, but they’ve been doing this for less than a season. Their contributions are great and have helped a team carrying an inconsistent offensive attack, but dismissing the idea of Holliday returning is quite humorous considering how this lineup thrives with him in the #3 spot.

It’s true. Matt Holliday doesn’t have the big boom in his stick anymore. It’s doubtful he will reach 30 home runs again. Those days are behind him but that doesn’t render his bat optional. While it’s nice to see Jon Jay making progress and Grichuk starting to do some activities, Holliday is the bat I am looking forward to seeing the most.

The Cards don’t run on power. They run on consistently good at bats and on base percentage. Holliday provides both and has been doing so for years.

People will complain he gets hurt a lot. Wrong. In five of the last six seasons leading up to 2015, Matt Holliday has played in 140 games or more. Holliday is no Tulo. He’s still durable at 35 years of age, and that comes from staying in marvelous physical shape and being smart with his choices.

Leave the power, take the OPS with Holliday. While his slugging percentage has decreased from .525 to .420 this season, his on base percentage still sits near .400. Before he got hurt, Holliday got on base 40 percent of the time. With his healthy .290 average maintaining fuel, Holliday’s OPS is a robust .829 this season. Over the past three seasons, it’s .876, .879 and .811. He isn’t diminishing in overall offensive value, so why hand this man the walker?

I understand transformation and bringing in new players but the kids will have to do more than spark a wire in a hot car during one summer in order to push Holliday to reserve status. He’s going to play when he gets back and he’s going to be here next year and more than likely, the year after that. If that means Matt Adams has to hold off Piscotty at first base, so be it. Competition keeps the kids hungry and the veterans on their toes.

Come postseason time, you’ll want Holliday and his 13 career October home runs. He has a thing for showing up in big moments. The man churns out game deciding hits like John Mozeliak changes bow ties. Sorry he doesn’t make diving catches in the outfield but there’s a guy named J-Hey for that.

Holliday has simply transitioned into a different hitter as his career hits the final strip of pavement. He has went from a power hitting Coors Field resident to an all around Busch Stadium stinger. Holliday still hits the ball harder than most, and his line drive rate is healthy. His plate discipline has never been better than it was this year, with 39 walks to just 44 strikeouts. He’s a smart guy at the plate and in a lineup full of easy 100 strikeout guys this season, that discipline is required.

While it’s normal to talk about the next generation of players, it’s wrong to start writing off Matt Holliday. If he is 100% in September and can contribute, he will play. He’s earned that right. Not to mention the effect he has on this clubhouse as a leader and in the community becoming the face of St. Louis Albert Pujols was before he departed for the West. Holliday can also hold his own in a broadcast booth, but that’s icing on the cake.

Appreciating Matt Holliday in 2015 is a little harder than it used to be, I know. The Baseball Card mafia has to look a little closer and see a guy with some gas left in the tank. Just remember this. Home runs are fascist and Matt Holliday isn’t going anywhere and for good reason.

10 Reasons To Love Lance Lynn

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(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

While he may not be as popular as his Cardinals rotation colleagues, Lance Lynn is valuable for many reasons. Here are 10.

10. He has a fun time with the media. He isn’t mean or extra courteous. He treats the questions like a playful round of poker instead of an interrogation.

9. Lynn throws strikes. He’s never walked more than 76 batters in a season and owns a career 2.7-1 strikeouts to walks ratio.

8. He’s old school. Don’t ask him about pitch counts. Lynn has fired 115 or more pitches 6 times this season, more than any other Cardinal.

7. Lynn is a winner, compiling 60 wins and a 63 percent win rate over his 5 years of play.

6. He doesn’t need help from his defense. Lynn leads the Cards in fielding independent ERA at 3.27.

5. Durability. Lynn is headed for his fourth consecutive season of 30 or more starts.

4. Lynn is a bargain. For a guy who averages 13-15 wins per season, he is only making 7 million dollars this season.

3. He doesn’t allow a lot of home runs. Over 763.2 career innings, Lynn has only allowed 57 home runs.

2. Did I mention he strikes guys out? Lynn has faced 630 batters in 2015 and struck out 23 percent of them. An average of 9.0 per nine innings

  1. He’s an emotional beast on the pitching mound, letting his emotions fly and power the tenacity of his pitches. How can you not like that.

Lance Lynn has 11 wins and pitches through injuries and disregards pitch counts. Don’t ask him about it. He throws fastballs and that’s it. 85 percent of the time in 2015 Lynn throws a four or two seamer. Old school, bearded and unconventional, Lynn doesn’t make it look easy but he gets the job done. Year to year. Appreciate it folks and have a good Monday.

Which returning Cardinal makes the biggest impact?

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As August ages into its final stretch, I wanted to look at the fleet of returning Cardinals and the impact they could have on the team. Most of the injured squad are hitters and that is something the team sorely needs as the page is turned onto the final few weeks of the season. As the Cardinals sit with a 5 game lead on the Pittsburgh Pirates, any help to an ailing lineup is welcome. Who is coming back and what can they offer?

Matt Adams

Rescue at first! The big guy headed to Florida Thursday for extended baseball activities and could be back in very early September. Adams’ effect is vital due to the inconsistent and quite missing production from first base. Brandon Moss hasn’t taken off, Mark Reynolds has showed a little more life and the Memphis duo of Xavier Scruggs and Dan Johnson provided little pop. Adams, if healthy, could charge this lineup up at a weak spot.

Matt Holliday

Lineup stability! When Holliday goes into the lineup, he offers stability in a number of ways. He is also an on base machine who takes a good bat, stings line drives and is clutch. Holliday’s versatile hitting attack and veteran presence would be a big boost. He could back in mid the 2nd or 3rd week of September.

Jon Jay

Versatility! When healthy, Jay offers Mike Matheny a number of things, including starting all three outfield spots, on base percentage and a steady diet of hits. Jay’s wrist has deflated all of his tools in 2015, so if he is healthy, Jay can ignite this team up and down the order. Keep in mind his career stats, including a .289 batting average and .356 on base percentage. With Jay and Holliday, you get ON BASE beasts. Jay could be extending his activities more this week.

Randal Grichuk

Stand by! He’s on shut down mode right now with elbow soreness and swelling. He can’t do much until the swelling goes away so while it’s only a 15 days disabled list stint listed, I see Grichuk needing more time. Elbow’s are tricky. He could be a mid September lineup guy.

Adam Wainwright

Health concerns abound here! As I noted in a column this week, expecting Waino back this year is a little foolish. He simply doesn’t have the time to get ready. He needs major league starts. He is recovering from a tricky injury, with the Achilles heel. Why rush that when deciding who doesn’t make a playoff start of your current 5 is hard enough? Cancel Waino out for 2015.

Jordan Walden

Unlikely! With the acquisitions of Steve Cischek and Jonathan Broxton, General Manager John Mozeliak was sounding the alarm that Walden and Matt Belisle were not coming back anytime soon. I would be surprised if I saw Walden on a postseason roster much less in September. He’s not throwing right now. See him in 2016.

 

That’s it. The Cards start play in San Diego Friday night with a 77-43 record, the best in baseball. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any leaks in the tank. Returning Cardinals could play a huge role these last 6 weeks.

Where would the Cardinals be without Jhonny Peralta?

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While Stephen Piscotty is the hot toddy of the moment and Jason Heyward is turning up the jets on the extra base hit plank, I beg to ask a simple question. Where would the St. Louis Cardinals be without shortstop Jhonny Peralta’s steady flow of production in the field and at the plate? It’s become something you expect, like the sun rising every morning. Peralta just keeps hitting, making plays in the field and generally gets zip on the major networks because he isn’t loud enough and doesn’t hit enough home runs. And his name isn’t Kris Bryant.

The Cards offense has been leaking oil since June, but Peralta has kept the vehicle moving. He was doing this before Piscotty showed up, as Heyward’s bat was still thawing out and Matt Carpenter’s bat was missing. Without Peralta, I think this team is without a few key wins and the success wouldn’t be as sweet.

Peralta’s finest trait is durability. Since he put on the birds on the bat, Peralta has played in 276 games out of 285 possible games, and assembled a fWAR of 7.8. That’s not bad for a guy who wasn’t exactly met with the cheeriest of greetings back in November of 2013 upon signing a 4 year deal worth an annual value of 13 million.

Entering Monday’s action against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Peralta’s offensive stats aren’t going to blow minds but they have been steady. Jhonny has 16 home runs, 56 RBI, 24 doubles, .285 batting average, .342 on base and .446 slugging percentage. He has lost a bit of power in August but just polished off a 5-10 performance in San Diego.

On the defensive side, Peralta has gotten job done. He isn’t going to add a gold glove to his shelf any time soon, but Peralta has a lean and mean .991 fielding percentage. Four errors in 452 chances. He makes the plays and makes it look as if his feet aren’t even touching the ground.

People may want more attitude, emotion and all together swagger out of Peralta but it isn’t going to happen. He’s a quiet soldier who goes about his business like a pro. He isn’t flashy but he produces. He is on pace for a similar season to last year’s efforts, with Fangraphs having finishing with 20 home runs, 73 RBI and an average right around .279. Take it. I’ll take that every year from Peralta.

People love the theme park ride allure of Randal Grichuk, the all around tenacity of Piscotty and Carpenter, but this lineup could use a couple more Peralta’s. Guys who can pop a home runs when needed(the Wrigley rescue shot), get a hit, make a play and resist going into a massive slump. He just keeps playing and it’s a good thing, because the only guys standing behind him are Pete Kozma and Greg Garcia, who the Cards can’t seem to resist sending back and forth between Memphis and St. Louis. At a position needing consistency and on a team full of injuries, Peralta has been there every day for the Cards.

While it may not be flashy and Sportscenter worthy, Jhonny Peralta’s value is quite clear. He’s not a life saver, but he sure is important to this band of Birds.

Jaime Garcia: A great yet breakable investment

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By now, Cardinals fans know the drill. When Jaime Garcia is on, he’s as good of a lefthander as you will find in this league. He makes MLB hitters swing awkwardly and ugly at several of his pitches. He doesn’t need a ton of pitches to get through 7 innings of work and he seems to have conquered the maturation on the mound aspect as he nears the ripe age of 30. However, the biggest problem with Garcia has little to do with pitching and everything to do with health. Can he stay healthy and for how long? Should the Cards invest in that going forward?

Garcia will be making his 10th start in Milwaukee tonight and his 2015 season has been impressive, albeit incomplete. While he doesn’t have the win total due to a lack of run support(19 runs in 9 starts), Garcia hasn’t been reached for more than 3 earned runs in his 9 starts, and he’s only needed more than 100 pitches once. He has a 3 to 1 strikeouts to walks ratio and doesn’t allow a lot of clean contact. His WHIP is a rude 0.92 and hitters have only scraped a .199 average against him. How is he doing it? Every Garcia pitch has movement, whether it’s is 91 mph four seam fastball or his devastating sinker and slider. He doesn’t get a ton of swings and misses but he does induce plenty of groundballs.

Garcia is a wicked bowl of talent that seems to slip off the counter far too often. It’s hard to get excited about Garcia because when you do, it seems to be a flicker of greatness. The southpaw is nearing the end of another season where he won’t make more than 20 starts for the fourth consecutive season. Garcia has an 11.5 million dollar option for 2016 and a 12 million dollar option for 2017, both carrying 500k buyouts. With Marco Gonzales coming up fast and ready to assume a role in this rotation, does Garcia return next year? Do the Cards take that gamble with his health? Let’s answer that question.

If he finishes the season(which is like saying if you finish that 1 pound hamburger inside 5 minutes), The Cardinals should bring back Garcia, as long as it’s just the one year. Until he establishes an ability to stay healthy, the team shouldn’t extend him beyond a year. At the same time, they can’t cut loose a guy who has honestly figured something out. He hasn’t been this sharp in years and whether it’s brief and not long lasting to this point, Garcia is a riddle for Major League hitters. In his weakest outings, his first against the Mets and last against Colorado, he still managed to keep the Cards in the game and pitch well. He hasn’t been beat up once this season and that can’t be discounted.

For now, enjoy the lefty while you can. He’s that traveling rock n’ roll band who may flame out at any moment, cursed by its internal structure and wiring. Garcia is easily one of the best pitchers in the National League…when he’s actually pitching. While a decision on 2016 will loom soon enough, Cardinals fans need to hope, not bet, on Garcia staying healthy the rest of the way.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Hall of Fame grows by four

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Before the St. Louis Cardinals battled the Miami Marlins Saturday night, there was some history to take care of during the afternoon. The Cards were inducting four new members into their Hall of Fame. This year’s inductee’s included Ted Simmons, Curt Flood, Bob Forsch and George Kissell. Each person had a unique effect on the organization and each got a spotlight this weekend. They may never be able to join the greats in Cooperstown, but the four will always be remembered in St. Louis. Through sheer tenacity and dedication, the team has created their own baseball heaven here, making the official Hall of Fame a little less cool.

Simmons addressed this in his speech, poking fun at a famous golfer, saying Phil Mickelson(owner of the green jacket from the Masters) will never get to put on the sleek shiny red jacket the inductees got. Simmons is one of the most popular HOF snubs, hitting 172 home runs in his 13 years in St. Louis, including six All Star game selections and four seasons of 20+ home runs. He could slice a triple or crank a home run. His 248 career home runs, 2472 hits and .285 average along with the teams he played for makes a strong case for Cooperstown, but he will always be remembered for his offensive firepower behind home plate in St. Louis. He started his career with Bob Gibson as a teammate and ended it on Atlanta over 20 years later. His ability to hit home runs from each side of the plate marks his sweet spot as a Cardinal.

Forsch was one of the legendary pitchers to ever climb the hill for the Birds, a righthander who broke into the league in 1974 and fired 5 complete games in his first season, winning 7 games. When it came to Bob and pitching, durability was his strong suit. Forsch threw a pair of no hitters for the Cards in his 15 years but he also compiled 8 different seasons where he threw at least 5 complete games. He won 15 games for the 1982 World Series team and never depended on the strikeout during his career. Forsch passed away at the age of 61 right after throwing out the first pitch at a Cardinals-Rangers World Series game in 2011. He is still missed by ex-Cards like Ricky Horton, who remembered the pitcher fondly in the Fox Sports Midwest booth this week.

Flood won seven consecutive gold gloves in center field, won a pair of World Series titles and hit .293 in his 12 years as a Cardinal. His effect also lies off the field, where he paved the way for free agency by rejecting a trade from the Cardinals to the Phillies. Before that, players had little to no control in where they played, and Flood changed that. Players today who choose to sign a monstrous contract for over a hundred million dollars can thank Curt Flood for that. He put choice and control into the players hands when the games were over.

Kissell’s effect didn’t come with a bat in his hands wearing the birds on the bat, but across the field and in the dugout in a number of ways. “The Cardinal Way” stemmed from George’s visceral knowledge of the game and his ability to transport it into young players minds as they dealt with the rigors of the game. I’m pretty sure Kissell wasn’t a Twitter guy. He taught many baseball players what was expected of them outside of what we find on a baseball card. Jose Oquendo gives a lot of credit to Kissell for making him want to become a coach and learning how to push the right buttons.

Every Cardinal that goes into their Hall of Fame had their own special impact on the game. One guy may have hit a lot of home runs while another could do it from multiple sides of the plate. Another may have changed the game off the field while another taught rookies how to bear it. What makes the Cardinals organization special is that they never ever forget where they came from.

What are your special memories and thoughts on this year’s inductees?

Meet Alex Reyes: The Next Cardinals phenom

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There’s something cool, eventful and promising about a hard throwing young pitcher. It’s like hearing about a fireworks show about 30 minutes away. Do you turn the car around to go look or just keep driving hoping to catch one in front of you? The St. Louis Cardinals next phenom is named Alex Reyes, and he is ripping through the minor leagues as we speak. He’s 20 years old(turns 21 on August 29th), throws a fastball that reaches triple digits as easily as you rip open a bag of sugar to pour in your coffee and he’s only going to get better.

Reyes started this season in High A Palm Beach, where he struck out 96 batters in 63.2 innings, compiling an ERA of 2.26 and a WHIP of 1.26. He made the jump to Springfield last month, where he has 39 strikeouts to 12 walks in just six starts(24.1 innings pitched). Going into his August 24th start, Reyes has allowed a single home run yet this season. In his entire minor league career, Reyes has only allowed 8 home runs in over 258.2 innings covering 53 starts. That’s an impressive number. Opponents hit just .216 off him in Palm Beach and AA bats only .176 thus far. The only man who seems capable of beating Reyes at all is his own raw talent. It hasn’t even been fully unleashed yet.

In order to really get to know a talent, you must get a view from the seats. A face to face rendering. For that perspective, I reached out to Springfield Cardinals beat writer Derek Shore(who writes for Scout.com) for his thoughts on the talented young righthander.(You can find Derek on Twitter here).

Shore has seen three of Reyes’ starts with Springfield, including his last two, which were his shortest. “Reyes has often drawn Carlos Martinez comps and for good reasons given both have Dominican roots and signed to a comparable bonuses. I’ve talked to a scout who said Reyes’s arsenal isn’t quite as deep as Martinez’s, but his one-two punch are better than Martinez’s at the same age of 20 years old,” Shore said of the well known comparison between the two fiery young arms in the Cardinals organization.

What exactly does Reyes fire at hitters that makes him so special? Shore had this to say about the kid’s weapons of lumber destruction. “To go with that electric heater(clocking regularly at 101 mph across the league), Reyes has flashed a two-seam fastball in the lower 90’s with a 12-6 hammer. Along with the development of his command and all-important third pitch the changeup, a pitch that the Cardinals seem to have advised for him to throw more will determine his ceiling as a big-league starter.”

Why isn’t this kid already in the Major’s, outside the fact that the Cardinals don’t need him just yet? Shore attaches the slow build to the regular growing pains of a young thrower learning how to pitch. “His struggles at Double-A this season have been tied to overthrowing and working into deep counts a problem that’s hinder his efficiency at times and also a sign of a lack of command because he has a tendency to overdo his pitches. Stuff has been a non-issue, Reyes probably has the biggest right-handed stuff in the minors outside of the Nationals Lucas Giolito.”

Will we see this kid in September when rosters expand? I doubt it, for the simple fact that the Cards bullpen is stacked and that Reyes’ shoulder(which has barked a bit at times this season) may need the rest. If there is a sudden need, this viper whipping phenom will be waiting.

Otherwise, I expect this “freak” to make his debut in St. Louis sometime in 2016. Reyes is the chip that General Manager John Mozeliak wasn’t putting on a table this past July during trade talks. Other teams know this man’s heat will only be leaving jet fuel stains on a jersey containing the birds on the bat. Sorry, NL Central. The St. Louis Cardianals talent well is churning out another cherry red mustang that will make your lineups crack IPad screens and exhaust DVD players for the next couple decades. I’d warn you, but that just wouldn’t cut it.

Whenever people try to put a name tag on the Cardinals’ brand of success, I laugh. Small market team gone big? Mid-market special? Who cares? In the end, Mozeliak and company are just better at their jobs than most front offices and slowly, people are coming to terms with the fact that the National League Pennant chase will roll through the Arch every fall.

Alex Reyes is that big juicy looking steak that the Cardinals haven’t completely cut into yet to see how well it’s been cooked. When they do, the rest of the National League will have nowhere to hide.

Photo credit-Milb.com