With MLB-High Seven Picks, Can Cardinals Unearth Sure Things In An Unsure, Abbreviated Draft?

There is a certain rhythm to how Major League Baseball’s annual amateur draft usually unwinds through the course of three days, 40 rounds, and more than 1,000 names — revving from the pulse-quickening first picks to the roster-filling lightning rounds on Day 3. Cardinals assistant general manager Randy Flores likes to say the draft has “three different personalities.”

Birdland

Recent History Preps Cardinals For New-Look Draft

Randy Flores is no stranger to unusual circumstances with the MLB Draft. Hired as the Cardinals' director of scouting in 2016, his first Draft featured three of the first 34 picks -- which he used on Delvin Perez, Dakota Hudson and Dylan Carlson. The latter two will appear in the Majors when baseball returns. In '17, Flores dealt with the penalties from the Cardinals' hacking scandal and didn’t have the first pick until No. 94.

St. Louis Official Site

Investment Startups: Matthew Liberature, Zack Thompson Bring New-Look, Left-Left Combo To Cardinals Pitching Revival

Manager Mike Shildt insisted, at least twice, it wasn’t preplanned on the first day of live batting practice to have the final pitcher on the mound be Matthew Liberatore, the Cardinals’ prized prospect acquisition in a trade one rival official called “potentially a coup.”

Birdland

Cornerstone: Cardinals Ready To Launch Nolan Gorman As Far & Fast As His Power Can Carry Him

With sensors strapped to his torso, hands, arms, and hips, Nolan Gorman had a feel this winter for what the gizmos were going to tell him about his swing. He had heard the tell-tale percentages and statistics from last season, too. But once he watched all that data uncoil from a knot of metrics into a digital model of his swing and what it could be, Gorman sensed what he had to do.

Birdland

What Would The Universal DH Mean For The Cardinals In 2020?

Before baseball can begin again, the players and team owners have a ways to go in negotiations for what a truncated 2020 campaign would look like. Issues involving safety and financial compensation are important roadblocks upon which common ground must be found before any dreams of 'Play ball!' can come to fruition.

KMOV

Waiting To Play Baseball Is Not A New Experience For Steven Gingery

Waiting to play baseball is nothing new for Cardinals’ pitching prospect Steven Gingery.

STL Sports Page

From Rick Ankiel's 'Snapdragon' To Adam Wainwright's Curve To Jack Flaherty's Slider, Tracking The Cardinals' Best Pitches

As a teenager, even the years before he became a teen phenom, Rick Ankiel would walk around with a ball in his left hand and flip it over and over and over again, trying to improve his curveball grip and get the ball to spin ever faster.

Birdland

Your 2020(?) Memphis Redbirds

If the Memphis Redbirds play a 2020 season (granted, a tremendous if these days), it's bound to be successful. Sure to have moments we'll remember a generation from now. And almost certain to culminate with a playoff appearance. Why such optimism in such uncertain times? Well, the history books don't lie. And Memphis baseball loves the start of a new decade. Check this out:

Memphis Flyer

Former Cardinals Randy Arozarena, Mike Mayers Sizzled This Spring With New Teams, While Others Made Chilly First Impressions

The coverage and box scores spilling out of the Tampa Bay Rays’ spring training provided confirmation for the most consistent thing I heard year after year about a young, speedy, Cuban outfielder scaling his way toward the Cardinals.

Birdland

Nolan Gorman Vs. Matthew Liberatore: Who Wins BFF Battle?

Cardinals prospects Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore go way back.

St. Louis Official Site

Cardinals Farm System Ranked #18 By MLB Pipeline For 2020 Season

Since MLB Pipeline began ranking prospect talent before the 2015 season, the top-rated systems have sparked big league success. The Cubs (pre-2015) and Red Sox (mid-'15) won World Series, the Dodgers (pre-2016) advanced to consecutive World Series, and the Brewers (mid-'16) and Braves (pre-'17) have made multiple playoff appearances.

St. Louis Official Site

Cardinals' Pitching Depth Already Paying Off This Spring

An old saying and one fresh quote have been bouncing around in my head as the Cardinals navigate some of spring training's annual hurdles.

BenFred

Here Are The Cardinals' 2020 Top 30 Prospects

The Cardinals made one of the biggest offseason moves last year when they acquired six-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt from the D-backs for a trio of young players. In the end, however, it was Cardinals’ contingent of homegrown talent that fueled the team to a National League Central title and the organization’s first postseason berth since 2015, as Jack Flaherty, Kolten Wong, Paul DeJong and Tommy Edman ultimately paced the team in Wins Above Replacement.

St. Louis Official Site

Cardinals Beat Astros 6-3: Paul Goldschmidt Singles & Hits A Solo Home Run; Matt Wieters Walks & Hits A Solo Home Run; Max Schrock Singles, Doubles, Walks Twice, & Drives In One Run

Ending the 9th with a strikeout and the game with a win!#ThatsAWinner pic.twitter.com/ZairqaIY6K

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 3, 2020

Individual Highlights:
Kolten Wong started at second base and batted leadoff.  0-for-3 with one RBI, one strikeout, and assisted in two double plays.
Paul Goldschmidt started at first base and batted third.  2-for-3 with one home run, one two-out RBI, one run, and assisted in two double plays.
Paul DeJong started at shortstop and batted fourth.  2-for-3 with one run, one strikeout, and assisted in two double plays.
Matt Wieters started at catcher and batted sixth.  1-for-2 with one home run, one RBI, one run, and one walk.
Dylan Carlson started in left field and batted seventh.  1-for-3 with one double and two runs.
Max Schrock started at third base and moved to second, batting ninth.  2-for-2 with one double, one two-out RBI, one run, and two walks.
Dakota Hudson started and pitched four innings.  He allowed two hits, one earned run, one home run, one walk, and struck two out for the winning decision (1-1).  (p-s:46-29)(g/f:7-0)
Matthew Liberature entered in the seventh and pitched one inning.  He allowed no hits or runs, and struck one out.  (p-s:11-7)(g/f;1-0)
Tyler Webb entered in the eighth and pitched one inning.  He allowed no hits or runs, and struck one out.  (p-s:16-11)(g/f:2-0)

Boxscore
Cardinal Beat Post Game
KMOV Post Game
STL Sports Page Post Game

Genesis Cabrera, Kwang-Hyun Kim Impresses Cardinals' Recent Lefty Additons Look Just Right

When they overlapped as members of the Tampa Bay organization, major-league infielder Brad Miller heard all about a lefty in Class A with the big arm, the big bite to his fastball, and all it took was a few years and joining a new club for him to finally see Genesis Cabrera in person.

Post-Dispatch

Filthiest Secondary Pitches Among Top Prospects

Feel to spin. Deception. Missing bats. Generating weak contact.

St. Louis Official Site

Tommy Edman Continues To Do The Little Things That Make Him A Big Favorite

Tommy Edman, programmed to play several positions for the Cardinals this spring and during the season, made his first start at second base Monday after opening at shortstop over the weekend. He wound up playing both Monday in a 6-3 exhibition loss to the Miami Marlins and, though, it wasn’t flashy, Edman was productive.

Post-Dispatch

Ryan Helsley's Progress; Paul Goldschmidt 'Trending In The Right Direction'; Worth Noting; Up Next

As the Cardinals begin to answer questions about their rotation and their bullpen, there are quite a few pitchers who they know can be effective in a starter’s role and a reliever’s role. Ryan Helsley is creeping up to the top of that list.

St. Louis Official Site

Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore Fit Into 'Great Dynamic' Inside Cardinals Clubhouse

It hasn't taken long for Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore to realize one of the things that the St. Louis Cardinals do very, very well.

KMOX

A Day In The Life Of Nolan Gorman, The Cardinals' 19-Year old Slugger In Spring Training

When he shakes your hand, it’s not that his hand engulfs yours due to its size, it’s that his hand immerses yours because of its girth and grip. It’s as if the slugger’s hands are made out of the same stuff as his Louisville Slugger.

Hochman