The Cardinals escaped Wrigley with a series win while leaving youthful imprint
The young guns were on full display, saving the Cards this past weekend.
The St. Louis Cardinals did almost enough to lose the series to Chicago at Wrigley Field, but pulled it off while leaving a message to the fans in attendance, Cubs players and coaches, and most importantly, the Cubs’ front office:
Take a good, long look at the youth on display.
The prospect portfolio has been kicked open like a freshly inked book, and a hard-fought five game set off Waveland Avenue should have sunk the hook down in deep.
Nolan Gorman may not have had the best weekend of his life. He went 2-15 with eight strikeouts and a horrible mental error late in Sunday’s finale. However, it was his three-run home run in Friday’s blowout win that put that game away for good.
Brendan Donovan isn’t going to fall out of the minds of Chicago sports fans’ minds for a while. He went 8-20 in the Wrigley series, gathering six RBI and only two strikeouts to three doubles. Oh, Donovan threw out Patrick Wisdom at home-plate late in Sunday’s game.
Juan Yepez entered Chicago with a very good bat, but cured it bigtime with the key single to turn the tide in Sunday’s national broadcast. An 11th inning beauty of a right-center hit that had ESPN commentator Karl Ravech comparing him to a young Miguel Cabrera. Watching the follow-through of the young slugger, it’s an instant match. He’ll be okay as he adjusts to the league’s adjustment to him.
How about 25-year-old Genesis Cabrera pitching four innings following a seven-inning effort from Adam Wainwright, a rare feat for a reliever--one that Cabrera should text former teammate Andrew Miller thanks for helping create. He harnessed his control issues and struck out five Cubs to just one run allowed. As he passed the 40 pitch mark, Cabrera just seemed to settle in and relax more, buckling hitters’ knees with his off-speed pitches.
Edmundo Sosa hasn’t been the most potent bat in town lately, but he added a couple of great defensive plays on Sunday. Lars Nootbaar would also like his 2022 offensive start to be disbarred, but he added a key late game RBI.
As long as Andre Pallante can rein in his walk rate, he should be a long-term fit for the pitching staff. He’s saved the team on more than one occasion.
Ryan Helsley saw the first chink made in his armor over the weekend, but has mostly been unhittable. When Jordan Hicks returns from the IL, he will make a deadly late game trio with Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos.
Andrew Knizner has found his bat cooler in recent weeks, but he’s basically hitting like a backup catcher. Over his last 40 at-bats, Knizner is hitting .250 with ten hits and ten strikeouts. When you aren’t the starter and don’t get a daily dose of at-bats, it’s hard to become more than what “Kniz” is doing at the moment. 2023 should be different.
Tommy Edman and Harrison Bader may be quickly becoming veteran players, but they are also still fresh, fun players to watch. Edman has finally cracked the code at short, gaining playing time and allowing Gorman to feature his wicked power while playing second base.
The kids are more than alright in a season designed to be nostalgic, but slowly turning into the Memphis Mafia 2.0.
Out of all the players, Donovan is the most fun to watch. He plays the game like tomorrow has been canceled, and can do so much very well for a rookie. His bat and overall performance exploded at Memphis last year, and was bound for Busch Stadium even with a subpar, albeit cut very short, spring training.
He’s the kind of player who develops into a super hybrid of Matt Carpenter and Jon Jay, being able to do whatever is necessary to help out the team.
That’s something that’s becoming a mantra on this team. Step up, do what’s necessary, and hope it pushes this possible 85 win team over the hump. Or at the very least, make them more fun to watch. Youth used the right way on a baseball field can be electric.
Not sorry, Cubs Nation.