Outsiders View of the Cardinal Minor League System
Another Birdhouse Exclusive By Brian Walton
It is easy to continue to harp on the Cardinals minor league organization, based on both team results and prospect status. While we will continue to focus on those players who stand out, I thought it would be interesting to see what others have to say about the overall situation. Granted, changes are underfoot to improve the Redbirds' system, which can only be positive. However, there is a long way to go. I recently had the opportunity to capture the thoughts of Brent Strom and David Rawnsley on the state of the Cardinal minor league organization.
Brent Strom is the Montreal Expos Minor League Pitching Coordinator. He is a former MLB pitcher who claims to be the second player ever to have Tommy John surgery, and perhaps as a result, stresses arm mechanics and injury reduction. Among his many assignments, Strom recently served as Kansas City Royals pitching coach under Tony Muser.
David Rawnsley is a former Houston Astros Assistant Director of Scouting. He has written for Baseball America and Rivals.com and is now with Perfect Game.org. Rawnsley scouts and ranks elite high school players.
Coming off a discussion of the rough state of the Montreal system and his challenges there, Strom called out the Cardinals as being the only system in the majors worse off than the Expos. Strom made his point with the line that the Cardinals mindset seems to be that all the Tommy John surgeries of players in their system are just bad luck. In a similar point to one that we have made here many times in the past regarding the overall performance of the big club, Strom commented that especially given all the resources at their expense, the results of the Cardinals minor league system have been terrible. Hard to argue with that.
Regarding teaching, Strom knows Dave Duncan well, back to their time together as batterymates with the Cleveland Indians in the 70's, when lifestyles may have been a bit wilder than today. Anyway, Strom feels that Duncan does not teach the mechanics of pitching. While Duncan's intelligence was not questioned, his approach was. Strom reminded us to watch Duncan during the game as he reviews his books on the pitchers. He is said to be outstanding at understanding pitch counts and how to work the hitters, but is simply not knowledgeable about mechanics and its impact on the arms of his pitchers. Strom suggested that the bullpen coach handles any mechanics-related activity for the Cards.
However, later on, Strom went on to acknowledge that teaching is best done during the off-season and not in the majors. Again, hard to disagree. Strom focused on what can be done to turn throwers into pitchers and had a very interesting characterization of pitchers as one of three types: Pullers, pushers or whippers.
But, I digress. So, back to the Cardinals. Both Strom and Rawnsley feel that the addition of Bruce Manno to the position of Director of Player Development bodes positively for the future. Rawnsley went on to tell me that Manno came up with the Brewers organization in the '80's and '90's with an idea to implement player measurement systems. However, his boss at the time, Fred Stanley, was apparently against the approach, so Manno left the Brewers. Rawnsley said Manno is very intelligent and has a focus on decision-making.
For the record, Baseball America characterizes the Cardinal system as having only improved "marginally" over the last few years. Of course, the signings of free agents Tino Martinez and Jason Isringhausen had a greater impact on the Cardinals than just the hit to their salary budget. In the 2002 draft, the Cardinals did not select until the third round. The first pick was lost to the Athletics as compensation for Type A free agent Isringhausen, while the second went to the Yankees as compensation for Type B free agent Martinez. Watch the Cardinal signings this off-season and keep in mind their impact on the future, as well as the present.
As always, there are top individuals in the system. BA complimented the Cardinals on their signing of Blake Hawksworth, who they called "a first-round talent". (Hawksworth had a nice 2003 season in A-ball). However, BA went on to point out that "most of the organization's top pitching prospects have had their progress stunted by injuries" and closed with another indictment, "There is a distinct absence of impact bats in the organization."
While the Jocketty-LaRussa regime's stated strategy is to use the minors as trade fodder for the major league club, you need to have players who are trade-worthy. As a side note, one has to really question this philosophy given the Cardinals are a mid-market team that has already stretched its player salary budget to the limit. Finally, you need to have the picks needed to get the players in the first place and adopt a philosophy that fosters their development.
Even if there was a total resolve to build from within, these sweeping changes could not occur overnight. Let's hope Bruce Manno and perhaps the new Cardinal vice president for baseball development, Jeff Luhnow, can take a more systematic, tools-focused approach to securing and growing the talent that could turn the Cardinal system from a weakness into a strength.
