TOWER GROVE — Two of the first three pitchers taken by the Cardinals in this past summer’s draft dazzled in instructional play, according to unofficial statistics provided by the organization Thursday. Second-round pick Jess Todd struck out 15 against zero walks while 36th-overall pick Clayton Mortensen continued his comet-streak toward the top-10 in the organization’s prospect rankings with a solid three appearances in instructs.

The Cardinals minor-leaguers concluded Instructional League play last Friday, and the club  released some news, notes and statistics — not unlike the Vuch Reports from spring training — from the goings on down in Jupiter, Fla.

Whereas information on the Arizona Fall League and some of the destination locations for prospects is a couple clicks away, instructs tend to be a little less available. So here is some of the info …

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Jess Todd, a righthander out of Arkansas, followed up a strong debut season with arguably the best instructs of any pitcher. His slider was billed as one of the best in this most recent draft, and his four-seam fastball buzzes in the mid-90s. Oh, and he has control of it, Taken 82nd overall, Todd went 0-1 with an 0.90 ERA in 10 innings pitched during instructs. He allowed one earned run on one hit and struck out 15 while not walking a batter.

Taken 46 spots earlier in the draft, Clayton Mortensen has done a lot to support the Cardinals rave billing of him when they selected him in the supplemental first round. Mortensen, a righthander out of Gonzaga, has a hard, boring sinker and in instructs he went 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA during eight innings. He walked three, allowed three earned runs and struck out 13.

Mortensen finished the year with Low-A Quad Cities; Todd was starting in Batavia’s piggyback rotation and striking out 69 in 58 1/3 innings.

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Some other statistics from pitchers at instructs:

Nick Additon, LHP — Went 3-1, 3.41 ERA for Batavia this past season and added an 0-0, 3.27 ERA from instructs. Struck out 13 against one walk in 11 innings there.

Brett Zawacki, RHP — Illinois prep pitcher drafted in 2007 was 0-1, 4.26 in 6 1/3 innings during instructs. He struck out four and in the notes provided by the club had a good low/mid-90s fastball with “promising command”.

David Kopp, RHP — The pitcher taken between Mortensen and Todd in this past draft (71st overall), was 1-1, 7.90 in instructs. He pitched 13 2/3 innings over five games, allowing 17 hits, 12 runs (all earned) with 12 strikeouts and eight walks.

Thomas Eager, RHP — Was 1-6, 4.30 for Batavia in 18 appearances (nine games). The Cal Poly pitcher was likened by Baseball America to Rob Dibble, at least when it comes to his arm action and aggressive, max delivery. Eager struck out 10 and walked one in instructs while going 0-1, 3.27 in 11 innings.

Deryk Hooker, RHP — Prep pitcher out of San Diego who has an intriguing profile, was 0-2, 8.38 in instructs. He pitched 9 2/3 innings, allowing 18 hits, nine earned runs and striking out nine against five walks.

Richard Castillo, RHP — Fresh out of the Cardinals’ Venezuelan Summer League team, Castillo was 0-0, 3.72 in instructs. He pitched 9 2/3 innings, alloing 11 hits, four earned runs and walking four while stirking out 10. In 17 appearances (eight starts) for the VSL Cardinals, he went 2-2, 1.72 with a .183 batting average against.

Fernando Salas, RHP — A Mexico native who pitched for the Cardinals High-A team in Palm Beach this past season, he went 0-1, 3.00 in 9 innings at instructs. Struck out 11 against one walk, which is considerable improvement from his 25 Ks, 10 walks and 5.26 ERA in 16 appearances.

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Albert Pujols helped recruit and encourage outfielder Ryde Rodriguez,  who emigrated from Cuba and was  a ballplayer looking for a place to land. According to the club, Pujols and Rodriguez  (whose first name is pronounced REE-day) have become friends, exchanging phone calls every week. Nearly a year ago, Rodriguez was one of several Cuban and Nicaraguan players to  participate in a showcase in Managua, Nicaragua.  From the coverage of that even in BA:

Rodriguez, an 18-year-old switch-hitting outfielder, is not a defector of his native country, as he left Cuba legally to join his mother in Argentina before signing with an agent and moving to Nicaragua. The five-tool player was reportedly seeking a bonus upwards of $1 million.

And then there was this report:

He’d been wowing scouts with all five tools on display in workouts. One scout told BA’s Chris Kline that Rodriguez has above-average speed, 70 raw power and switch-hits.

Rodriguez “impressed staff with  his strength and physique”, the club said in an official release Thursday. His numbers weren’t too shabby either. In 14 games in instructs, the outfielder went .273/.319/.432 in 44 at-bats. He  drove in six RBIs,  walked three times, struck out eight and of his 12 hits four were for extra bases.

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Some numbers from some other hitters down at instructs:

Andrew Brown, OF —  A midseason All-Star in the New York-Penn League, Brown hit .240/.472/.560 in instructs. Five of his six hits in 25 at-bats were for extra bases, including a home run. He walked 11 times  and struck out just four. His six RBIs tied Rodriguez for the team lead in instructs.

D’Marcus Ingram, OF — Drafted in the 25th  round of the 2006 draft, Ingram hit .343/.439/.686 in instructs with three home runs in his 12 hits. He too had six RBIs. He walked six times, struck out seven and scored eight runs. Ingram, 19, spent the season with the Cardinals Gulf Coast League team, where he  hit .325/.430/.358 with no home runs in 120 at-bats.  

Shane Robinson, OF —  Once the NCAA leader in hits with Florida State, Robinson hit .310/.333/.345 in instructs with a couple runs scored and a couple steals.

Also: SS Oliver Marmol went 2-for-24 (.083/.185/.125) in instructionals with seven strikeouts. … OF Daryl Jones went 5-for-34 in instructs with a .147/.216/.147 line and seven strikeouts against three walks. Probably safe to say that 2008 is a pivotal season for Jones as Michael Bourn’s buddy will get tested because it’s time he moved, especially with how aggressive the Cardinals have been with other promotions. … OF Adron Chambers, the kid who took a bus to  tryouts, stole five bases and had five hits in instructs.  He used to be a defensive back for Mississippi State, but was suspened and released from the program after, according to reports, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure and simple assault. … First-round pick SS Pete Kozma worked primarily on his defense during instructs. He appeared in one game; did not get a plate appearance because a bone bruise bothered him when hitting. He spent most of his time with Mark DeJohn on fielding.

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Been floating around blogs recently — some baseball, some personal, some artsy, some … well, you know — and let’s try a new feature: The Lineup. It’s a spot where I can rank some interesting stats, some interests of mine and some interests of yours. The top nine, leading off with the best. We’ll start with a Lineup inspired by a topic I could not avoid over in Blues Talk the other day.

THE LINEUP: Best Baseball Books

Or Passing Time with the Pastime in the Offseason

1. The Great American Novel, By Philip Roth. (Even with its no-so-subtle shots spiked at sportswriters and their silly swings at sparkling prose. Read it? Then you get it …)
2. The Iowa Baseball Confederacy, By W.P. Kinsella.
3. Ball Four, By Jim Bouton (a book I need to read again here, soon)
4. Lords of the Realm, By John Helyar
5. Moneyball, By Michael Lewis (buy it or not, it’s still a darn fine book)
6. Dollar Sign on the Muscle, By Kevin Kerrane (the ode to scouts that restores the Karmic balance to this list, consider this excerpt: Scouting is professional baseball’s personalized way of renewing itself, from year to year and generation to generation. It reaches to the social roots of the game, to small towns and skinned infields, and to the psychological roots of the game, to seasonal optimism  and persistent dreaming. The players’ dreams of glory are no more compelling than the scouts’ dream of discovery …)
7. 9 Innings, By Daniel Okrent
8. Summer of ‘49, By David Halberstam
9. Eight Men Out, By Eliot Asinof

I have a stack of books here right behind me that could change this list — Wrecking Crew; Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy; The Echoing Green; The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (first edition, 1954) — and there’s a local plug to give: David Carkeet’s novel, The Greatest Slump of All Time.

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