I know there were restrictions on Barton, because he was a Rule 5 draft pick. I’m not familiar with the rules regarding a Rule 5 pick, so I’m assuming the Cards now have full rights to Barton? This meaning they can seek to trade and option Barton to the minors.

Derrick,

Another tough poll! My fellow fans seem to have their wits about them. Motte and Perez look to be major contributors in 2009. I can see both having strong seasons for the Cardinals. McClellan? I’m worried about over use in 2008. What is intriguing is how the Cardinals use him in 2009. Boggs looks like a candidate for the starting rotation at Memphis. I’m not sold on him making the big club. Barton could stick with the big club out of spring training. But, several months of everyday playing time at Memphis can only help him.

My pick is Joe Mather. He is a great candidate to fill Scott Spezio’s old role. In limited time, he put up some decent numbers and is solid defensively. Can he put up good numbers over the course of 250-300 AB’s? If he can, he’ll fill a needed role with some pop off the bench.

I am out of market and did not get to see Motte pitch at all. What did he have that makes him a big deal? The word in the minors was great fastball, no secondary out-pitch. People are already pegging him as a lock for the ‘09 BP, and I am simply asking what you have seen.

I think McClellan will be fine. He has good pitches, and TLR needs to use him as a 7th inning man until he strengthens his psyche. He was forced into a lot of 8th and 9th inning jams, and I never saw his value as a setup/closer type. He can, however, be a GREAT bridge from the starter in the 6th inning to Franklin/Motte/Kinney in the 8th.

Something else has to give…Motte/Kinney/McClellan/Springer are all 7th/8th inning guys…who is the most likely trade bait? Do you think Springer will re-sign?

My pick is McClellan– and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him show up in the rotation. The bullpen was overused in 2008 but TLR had no choice. It’s the rotation that needs more starts that go deeper than 5-6 innings. In 2008, the rotation had 50 games of 5.0 innings or less. That’s a lot of innings to absorb for the bullpen. Lohse, Looper, & Wellemeyer do not consistently get past the seventh inning. (They combined to complete 7 or more innings 27 times) Only Wainwright in a limited role provided consistent bullpen relief (9 of 15 starts 7+ innings). Unless Carp returns (unlikely), this rotation needs help.

Actually, Gordo mentioned the other day that Perez has lost his rookie status too, not because he exceeded the IP mark but because he was on the 25-man roster for more than 45 days.

Anyway, I vote McClellan.

Right. There are different definitions for rookie, and I tend to splice and confuse them. For BA, they are more straight forward … certain number of innings, certain number of plate appearances/at-bats. (Mather, for example, is under the threshold because of his injury.) But for the MLB qualification there is a days-on requirement. A certain number of days on the big-league roster and the player is no longer considered a rookie …

Thanks for pointing that out.

Position player wise I would have chose Mather. But for this poll, I think Jason Motte has a the attitude of mind to surge ahead and be a closer. But as I have said on other post, for him to make that surge he needs to develop a good off speed pitch and command it. Perez could be that guy too, but like Motte he needs a second pitch that will offset his fastball and be able to show command of it. I just love Motte’s presence that he shows when he takes the mound. His demeaner on the mound commands attention and it is entertaining to watch. It is the kind of attitude that makes one think he is not going to be psyched out by a hitter or situation.

I would like to see all these guys fulfill their hoped for roles, but. I think Barton and Boggs need more seasoning at Memphis. If McClellan goes into the starting rotation or if Perez or Motte develop that second pitch I would change my vote.

But as thing stand today, I see Mather being the guy. He has been on a steady rise in his performance level for a couple of years. I think we’ll see some outfield spots come open thru trades. If the trades don’t take place, then Mather could be the next super-sub for the cards.

All in all, I think the future for each of these young men is excellent, I hope its with the cards next year.

Motte will struggle if he can’t develop a secondary pitch that he can throw effectivly, I think. You can’t just throw FBs to major league hitters, and expect to be successful, you have to be able to mix it up and change speeds. Would it be that out of the question to think that maybe Motte would benefeit, if he started the season at Memphis? That would give him a chance to develop a reliable secondary pitch in low pressure situatuions.

Boggs had his moments where he looked impressive, in his time with the Cards. He seems like a smart pitcher, and even though he didn’t have that one dominant pitch he used everything he had to get guys out. He seems like a Dave Duncan type pitcher.

Hey emc2013;

I’d like to clarify my above comment since you brought Motte up. My selection of Motte to be the rookie “most poised for a second year surge” was done so with the notion in mind that Motte might be working on an off speed pitch during the off season. If he is doing that, then he is positioning himself to be better “poised to have a huge surge” that should surpass anything any other candidate listed in this poll might do. How much better can McClellan be? He was pretty good last year. How much more can we expect out of him? Sure he could surge, but to what degree might the difference be between what we expect and what we actually get from him and what we expect and actually get from Motte? As for Mather, I think he could be poised for a pretty good surge, but again, I think it would fall short of Motte if Motte can develop that offspeed pitch. If he does not do that, then as you say, he will struggle. That is why I chose Mather as the runner up. Also, although I chose Motte, Perez could develop that offspeed pitch and be that guy poised for a huge surge. But as I have said, I like Motte’s mound presence and that is why I picked him over Perez. Does that make Perez my third guy in line. I guess so…lol. I do not see Barton and Boggs being poised to have the degree of potential impact to surge ahead of the rest of the group. It does not mean they won’t of course, but those are my tid for tad thoughts.