Big Leagues- This is our preview of the Albert Cardinals… Alright not quite, especially with the contract talks supposedly "not that far along" coming from Cardinals officials. The more concerning thing for Cardinal fans is apparently how far apart the two sides are with their numbers. Pujols is looking for and deserves a contract somewhere close to Alex Rodriguez's 10 year 275 million dollar deal. The Cardinals reportedly want to keep the deal under 8 years and under 200 million. I personally think Pujols won't leave the Cardinals, whether they strike a deal before spring training or have to wait until 2012, but the Cardinals will most likely need to change their position on their fewer than 200 million stance. As for the rest of the team, they are weak in the infield and surprisingly strong in the outfield. The combination of Schumaker, Theriot, and Freese won't wow anyone but they have a strong enough middle of the order and pitching staff to still be a good team. Lance Berkman has taken his offseason training very seriously, and wants to make a run deep into the playoffs before his career is over. If Colby Rasmus continues to develop they could be quite the team next year. Their pitching staff is headlined with one of the top 1-2 combos in the game. Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are routinely in the conversation for Cy Young, and the rest of their rotation is finally starting to sure up. Jake Westbrook and Kyle Lohse showed last year that they had some gas left in the tank, and Jaime Garcia came out of nowhere to go 13 and 8 with a 2.70 Era. Look out for the Cardinals in the NL Central with this lineup:
Catcher- Yadier Molina
1st Base- Albert Pujols
2nd Base- Skip Schumaker
Shortstop- Ryan Theriot
3rd Base- David Freese
Left Field- Matt Holliday
Center Field- Colby Rasmus
Right Field- Lance Berkman
Pitching- Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jake Westbrook, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse
Relief- Jason Motte, Ryan Franklin
Top 5 Prospects
RHP Shelby Miller- Cardinals top prospect just completed his first full season in Single A and did not disappoint. The 19th overall pick in the 2009 draft pick made 24 starts and had 140 strikeouts in 104 innings. He had a 3.62 ERA. He's a power arm and he should start next year in Double A as a 20 year old. He is still only 2 years out of high school and it could take him a couple more years to make it to the big leagues.
3B Zack Cox- Cox fell to the Cardinals at 25th in the 2010 draft, when most scouts had him as a top ten prospect out of the University of Arkansas. Cox is a complete mystery when you look at his pro projections. He has changed his swing multiple times in college, but that doesn't seem to be the concern, it's his defense. He may have dropped in the draft because teams aren't sure if his defense at third base is good enough for the pros. Either way his bat should be good enough to get him to the majors at some position.
RHP Tyrell Jenkins- The Cardinals took the 3 sport star from Henderson, Texas with the 50th overall pick in the 2010 draft. He is a great athlete who was committed to go play football for Baylor before he signed with the Cardinals. He is much better than the 50th best talent from last year, and most likely dropped due to sign ability issues. His fastball touches 95 and he actually has a great changeup for a high school pitcher. We think the Cards got two steals in last year's draft and we expect Jenkins to have a huge year. He could be looked at as the same level as Shelby Miller by the end of next year.
3B Matt Carpenter- The former TCU Horn Frog had a great season last year and won Cardinals minor league positional player of the year. He hit .309 with 13 home runs and 31 doubles in 133 games. He is now 25 years old and lacks the youth or potential to be looked at as a top prospect, which keeps Zach Cox still ahead in our rankings.
RHP Seth Blair- Blair is another 2010 draft pick, this pick being the 46th overall. The 21 year old right hander from Arizona State just doesn't have as polished as Jenkins and Miller. He can touch 97 or 98 mph but usually sits between 91 and 94. He has average breaking stuff but struggles a lot with his command. He will quickly realize in the pros if you don't have command, you won't have much success. If he harnesses it, he could be a middle of the rotation starter.
Payroll and Direction- The Cardinals paid out 93 million dollars last year, but their direction could go either way. With the impending free agencies of Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter the Cardinals might need to spend some more money if they want to retain both of them. Matt Holliday already makes 17 million dollars, and Pujols and Carpenter should command over 40 million a year combined. It will be very tough for a team to spend 60 million on 3 players and have a 93 million dollar payroll, and still be a very good team. In the next 12 to 18 months the Cardinals direction will be much clearer.
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