Colby Rasmus muscled up for big-league audition
DOWNTOWN — The St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Colby Rasmus resisted the team’s request that he go play winter ball, make up for the at-bats he lost to injury last season and regain some momentum for the 2009 spring training. He said he needed a break.
On Sunday, he showed what he did with that time away.
A significantly bulked-up Rasmus arrived at the 13th annual Winter Warm-up on Sunday, explaining his winter was spent with the weights, doing workouts and packing onto a frame he felt wasn’t in the best shape entering spring training last season.
“I’m was going to get in the gym, get after it, and bust it,” Rasmus said. “See how good of shape I can get my body in. … The time off was good. Cleared my head.”
Rasmus, 22, had a difficult year in his Class AAA debut. A slow start triggered by a change in his approach at the plate eroded rapidly once injuries took hold. He missed the last month of the season with a knee injury and then was reluctant to accept any invitations to head to a fall or winter league. He wanted to get away from baseball, get away from what he viewed as a frustrated year and reset for another run at the majors. In recent weeks, Cardinals management — including GM John Mozeliak and manager Tony La Russa – have raved about Rasmus’ raw talent and said he’ll get ample opportunity to be in the outfield … as a regular … sometime in 2009. And that could be sometime soon.
His work this winter will only reaffirm their expectations.
Rasmus returned to the cages within the past couple weeks, whacking at baseballs on tees. He’ll advance to live pitching eventually, but he said he already feels more explosive, more power at the plate. That was always the expectation from scouts, who saw him as a young, toolsy high school outfielder who even as he was leading the Texas League in home runs was bound to fill out as he grew-up.
Outfielder Ryan Ludwick had just come in the media room before Rasmus and talked about how he had worked on getting stronger. (”I’d like to hit 50,” Ludwick said, semi-joking.) So he had set the bar for questions about weight-lifting and strength-training long before Rasmus started offering details of his winter weight regimen.
Bench-pressed on the topic by one reporter on how much Rasmus was hefting:
“As much as I can.”
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
This team has had enough sports hernias Colby, so be careful with the weights.
I think Rasmus has prepared himself for the Big League marathon as well as for the competition he will be competing with in Spring Training. He is doing what it takes to get there. I’m excited for him. I think he knows he is ready to play MLB.
Nice to see Ludwick maintaining his strength. I am one who thinks Ludwick is for real. I look for him to have even a better year this year. If that happens, it will be good news for Pujols.
I think from a mental point of view Colby needs to make this team coming out of spring training. From the quotes given in the post here at Bird Land, it would appear he has had a chance to “clear his head”. He had the great spring training a year ago, and I believe his not making the team then hurt him mentally. Hopefully, he is looking at this as a fresh start, TLR is saying the right things and it appears there is no relationship issue between he and Colby, this is also a step in the right direction. I think from that point of view he needs to make this team, and I expect see him return to the Colby Rasmus who tore up AA pitching.
DG, you write in the post that a “change in his approach” hurt him this past year. All throughout the season last year, I heard talk that a Memphis Redbird coach had toiled with his swing. Were there major adjustments made to his swing?
If you have any thoughts on the adjustments made to his swing, I’d be glad to hear them. Thanks for the entries throughout the weekend, too. I’ve enjoyed them!
Just get on base. That’s all he needs to do…get on base. His natural swing will produce 25 hr’s a year and I believe his power will only progress as he gets older. I just want Cardinal fans to realize he’s not going to come out and slug home runs at an epic pace just yet. He is a multi tool, multi demensional player.
I agree that he just needs to get on base. The homeruns are going to come. He may be leading off before we know it.
OBP…the two comments above got it right. We need this kid to be Alfonso Soriano, but more efficient at the plate. If he can simply take his walks ahead of Luddy, Ank, Albert and Glaus he’ll do us a world of good. Get on base, use his speed to move 1st to 3rd and cover the outfield. That’s what we need. I loved Skip’s season last year, and if Rasmus can improve on the .359 OBP Schu had while giving us some lead-off pop, I like our wild card chances (without the pitching help we seem to need). If we get the pitching help…I actually like our chances to close the gap on the Cubbies. 20-some-odd days ’till the Spring. Here we go Cardinals…HERE - WE - GO!
Its great to see Colby and Luds work on their strenght. Its a long season and in order to endure those hot days in August, September, and hopefully the playoffs and World Series, is that you have to have a strong base: legs, hips, and stamina.
I have always been in the gym, and big on cardio…….I am 49 and many people are amazed at my stamina and strenght. Sometimes you have to regroup get away from baseball, but find another way of working out and developing the basis of the fundimentals.
I would like to see this team bone up and get some pitching help, Carp is making good progress but Cardinal Execs the man is only human and the older we get no matter what type of surgery or magic elicure you take, mother nature just takes over………….Here is to hope, getting some help, and opening the wallet JUST a bit…………OK
Sicilianj59
I agree with those who posted, just get on base. I hope he has more SB’s than HR’s. Am have always thought the Birds offense should be a little more diveresfied.