time to fly

Three Bats the Cardinals should Target

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Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles stink.  That’s a simple fact.  They are going nowhere and need to be in full rebuild mood.  One of their few assets is 1B/OF Trey Mancini should be available and can make an immediate impact in the middle of the Cardinals lineup.  Mancini has an impressive stat line of .281/.340/.500, most notably is the slugging percentage.  The Cardinals have ranked in the bottom of the league in Slug and Isolated power all season.  

Adding power is a need for the Cardinals and Mancini fills in that need.  The Orioles will take pretty much any prospects you can offer, they need everything so you can offer anything.

Eric Sogard, Toronto Blue Jays

Eric Sogard is not a flashy name by any means, but he is a solid major league player that has been hitting all season.  Sogard was an afterthought in the offseason when the Blue Jays signed him but slow starts and injuries from their starters forced the veteran into service and he has rewarded them with a .371OBP and a 2.1 WAR from a guy that no one wanted.  

Sogard has shown some surprising power in 2019 hitting 10 homers in 2019 which is one shy of his career total. Sogard,33, is not a new kid on the block but he is currently in the middle of a career season and can fill in a slot at the beginning of the order. The leadoff spot has been a problem all season for St. Louis, adding Sogard would give them a player that has an .883 OPS when batting first.  Sogard’s price tag will be moderate as he is 33-year-old journeymen.  Worth a prospect just outside of your top 20. 

Eduardo Escobar, Arizona Diamondbacks

I am a fan of Eduardo Escobar; I was hoping St. Louis would take a run at the switching hitting utility man. Escobar has quietly put up great numbers for the Diamondbacks launching 19 homers and has a .879OPS.  Escobar will fill in nicely for the injured Matt Carpenter providing the power that Carpenter has not shown during 2019 and his ability to play multiple positions will allow Mike Schildt to utilize his other assets. 

Escobar also has a serviceable contract at 3year-$21million. The Diamondbacks have seen what the young Cardinals can do with two impact players Carson Kelly and Luke Weaver already on the roster, so you know they have spent time scouting the Cardinals system. Escobar is an impact bat without the impact notoriety.

Anyone Notice Dakota Hudson?

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The Cardinals had very few bright spots over the month of May.  One that has gone under the radar was the development of Dakota Hudson.  Hudson quietly established himself as the benchmark of consistency while covering for the struggles of other higher touted staff members.  It’s time to notice that Hudson is stepping up in a time when the team needs him the most.

Entering May the Cardinals were on a roll but Hudson was seen as a likely candidate to be put on the bus back to Memphis. There wasn’t much of an argument to keep Hudson in the rotation over the first month and a half of the season.  In the months of March/April Hudson gave up a slash line of .327/.400/.594.  Hudson had become a punching bag for opposing offenses because he was not pitching to his strengths.  Hudson was averaging 7.13 K/9 rate going along with a 55.4% ground ball rate.  For him to be effective Dakota has to utilize what works for him by limiting hard contact and raising his ground ball percentages. 

Hudson has rediscovered what makes him effective in May.  Utilizing his sinker has seen his groundball rate raise by 10% in the month while limiting what was essentially his doom.  Hudson has given up just one homer in his last seven starts, his ability to keep the ball down limiting the hard contact rate has made him a huge asset to the pitching staff.  The reduction in his FIP is the most noticeable statistic showing a decrease from the astronomical 7.52 in March/April to 3.49 in May.  Six of seven starts Hudson has went at least six innings giving up over two runs just one time, while giving up just no more than five hits over his last four starts. Finding his strength has meant a reduction in strikeouts per nine to 5.86, but that reduction has allowed him thrive on his strengths.

Lefties are still a problem for the young Cardinals hurler, giving up an wOBA of .420 during the 2019 season. Building off of his most recent start where he was able to hold down a left-handed heavy Reds middle of the order featuring Joey Votto, Derek Dietrich and Jesse Winker. This could be a sign of things to come as he has had a bit of bad luck against lefties with a BABIP of .367.  His overall hard hit percentage has decreased by 3% in the month of May,  with continued regression in this statistic Hudson can find himself improving his numbers against left handed hitters. 

St. Louis is much maligned for not making moves to try and bolster their rotation and/or bullpen.  Passing on Closer Craig Kimbrel and Starter Dallas Keuchel has St. Louis fans wondering whether John Mozeliak is really committed to winning in 2019.  While Mo has made questionable decisions, his steadfast commitment to stick with developed players has not always been a terrible decision.  When others were giving up on Hudson the Cardinals stuck with him and it is paying off with quality start after quality start.