TOWER GROVE — One of the pitchers who has put himself on the prospect radar this season, converted catcher Casey Mulligan was promoted this morning to High-A Palm Beach after a monthlong turn as Quad Cities shutdown closer.

Mulligan was 2-0 with a 0.45 ERA in 17 games for the St. Louis Cardinals Low-A affiliate in the Quad Cities. He also had 36 strikeouts against five walks in 20 innings for the River Bandits.

The 21-year-old righthander was originally selected as a catcher with the 676th pick in the 2006 draft. He’s been in High-A Palm Beach — as a light-hitting catcher who didn’t have a hit in 13 at-bats. He struck out seven times and walked once. That was the last time he was on the receiving end of the battery.

Like Jason Motte before him, Mulligan displayed an arm that intrigued coaches and they moved him to the mound while still at Palm Beach last summer. In his first turn as a pitcher in Palm Beach, he went 1-1 with a 3.34 in 27 games. He struck out 38 in 35 innings, and he walked 16. Mulligan doesn’t have the power or the ferocity that Motte had even back when he made the transition from catcher to reliever. Mulligan throws consistently in the 91 mph to 93 mph range. He is aggressive within the strike zone and he is developing a curveball as an off-speed pitch.

Righthander Joel Pichardo was promoted from extended spring to take Mulligan’s spot in Quad Cities.

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