***Official 2024 STL Cardinals Thread ***

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

So why do guys have such success in Memphis then stink when they get to the big club?

I get the pitching is a different animal but other teams rookies seem to be able to adjust well enough. Winn seems to have done decent.

Do they **** with their hitting approach when they come up?

Walker's approach in the minors was always going to become a problem with better stuff. The rest of them were victims of poor selection decisions; lack of opportunities born of a major league staff that didn't know who was actually good or have the patience/wherewithal to find out.

Someone like Burleson struggling is a tough nut to crack, though. He really shouldn't. Maybe it's opportunity but he's had enough that he should've shown something more than he has. It may just be an example of a guy who doesn't have the athletic skills to be a big league hitter.

[Megatron96]

Is that L. Lynn on the mound,fcs?

[Marcellus]

These ****ers couldn't fall of a camel and hit sand.

[Ocotillo]

Jordan Walker has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. More to come asap.

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 24, 2024

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

Jordan Walker has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. More to come asap.

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 24, 2024

That's....embarrassing

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brioni

That's....embarrassing

It's a mercy-killing.

[raybec 4]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's a mercy-killing.

Hopefully we see some more mercy by the end of this season.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

But hey those announced attendances of 30k with 12k actually in the stands are something we are supposed to be proud of our something...they're lucky people love those cheap ass giveaways enough to go grab them...then leave.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brioni

But hey those announced attendances of 30k with 12k actually in the stands are something we are supposed to be proud of our something...they're lucky people love those cheap ass giveaways enough to go grab them...then leave.

But Mozeliak says it's not fair for fans to be frustrated by the direction of the organization.

His ****ing arrogance is just beyond comprehension.

Can you imagine the shit he says behind closed doors?

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brioni

That's....embarrassing

Should have made him stay down last year and not promote him until he changes his swing to get some lift. It’s in his own damn interest's.

[Ocotillo]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Should have made him stay down last year and not promote him until he changes his swing to get some lift. It’s in his own damn interest's.

Fangraphs has his barrel rate at 11.9%, launch angle at 12.8 and fly ball at 45.2%.

He still hits too many ground balls, but what's sinking his performance is his dismal 4.8% line drive rate that will eventually normalize.

He's only 21 and had a wRC+ of 116 in a meh rookie year. Nobody with any smarts in the industry is writing him off.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

Fangraphs has his barrel rate at 11.9%, launch angle at 12.8 and fly ball at 45.2%.

He still hits too many ground balls, but what's sinking his performance is his dismal 4.8% line drive rate that will eventually normalize.

He's only 21 and had a wRC+ of 116 in a meh rookie year. Nobody with any smarts in the industry is writing him off.

What's sinking him is he can't hit a single pitch right now. He's got a 42% K rate against 4 seam fastballs.

No one is writing him off, but until he actually listens to some approach advice, he won't amount to shit as a 1B/DH that doesnt hit for power.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

Fangraphs has his barrel rate at 11.9%, launch angle at 12.8 and fly ball at 45.2%.

He still hits too many ground balls, but what's sinking his performance is his dismal 4.8% line drive rate that will eventually normalize.

He's only 21 and had a wRC+ of 116 in a meh rookie year. Nobody with any smarts in the industry is writing him off.

The poor line drive rate isn't an accident.

He pulls off everything. So his timing has to be perfect to drive a ball and even then he's not getting his lower half into it so it'll be a struck liner into RC field.

He leaves almost his entire pull potential on the table because his mechanics are a damn trainwreck. His top and bottom half couldn't be any more out of whack if he tried.

No, that's not something you just wait on regression to fix.

He had to be sent down. And they HAVE to take a more direct approach with him. If that means burying his ass in AA until he gives you a 100 PA rolling average with a groundball rate below 35% then so be it. You absolutely cannot bring him back up until he demonstrates fundamental changes in his approach.

This isn't tenable long-term. You can't take a guy with truly top 5% raw power, quick hands and a solid batting eye and say "Well...Casey Kotchman wasn't a bad player...."

They've already missed a window to trade him and let someone else do the spadework. The possibility of dealing him for someone like Kirby was last spring when he gave you the bird the first time you asked him to do it. Now you have no choice but to pull out the paddle, try some tough love and go full on 'Checkers or Wreckers' with him. You develop him into a star or you end up non-tendering him in 4 seasons.

There's no more room for middle ground.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

Jordan Walker has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. More to come asap.

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 24, 2024

1 more option year left now before he's traded for a bucket of balls.

[raybec 4]

Originally Posted by jd1020

1 more option year left now before he's traded for a bucket of balls.

And goes on to have a .900 OPS on his next team.