Homegrown Cardinals
The everyday lineup in St. Louis often features six drafted-and-developed Red Birds
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A friend and former colleague in Arizona liked to say, “We’re trying to develop big leaguers, not Diamondbacks.” By that he meant that the organization should focus on drafting and developing players whose tools and skills would be attractive to all teams.
In a sense, it’s about teaching minor leaguers how to be Major Leaguers — players whose games would fit as well at Fenway Park as they would at Coors Field or Dodger Stadium. (Wow, it was surprisingly challenging to find ballparks with easily identifiable names. It just doesn’t sound as good to mention players at LoanDepot Park, Guaranteed Rate Field, and RingCentral Coliseum. Yuck.)
It’s also appreciating that players are assets.
As I’ve watched Padres games this season, I’m often reminded of my friend’s quote. The Padres have developed big leaguers, and in many — or even most — cases, they’ve spun them off to other teams — the Guardians, the Rays, the Cubs, the Pirates, the Mariners — in exchange for Major League pieces.
San Diego currently has three homegrown players on its active roster. Pitcher Ryan Weathers, a first-round selection in the 2018 Draft, was recalled yesterday and started against the Cubs.
Starting pitcher and 2017 first-rounder MacKenzie Gore along with reliever Steven Wilson represent the two others.
Not since now-demoted shortstop C.J. Abrams appeared in a game on May 8 have they had a homegrown position player in the lineup.
The Padres won yesterday, running their record to 40-24. They’re locked in a virtual tie with the Dodgers and have the fourth best record in all of baseball.
Does it matter how a roster is assembled as long as the team wins?
The Dodgers offer a worthy contrast to the Padres’ style of roster construction. After Corey Seager left in free agency and Freddie Freeman signed on, they’re certainly a little less homegrown.
No one will mistake Mookie Betts or Trea Turner — drafted and signed by the Padres — for products of Dodgertown. But core players like Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Will Smith, Gavin Lux, and Cody Bellinger provide a regular homegrown presence in the middle of the field.
Another first place team, the St. Louis Cardinals, caught my attention recently. While the Cards have acquired All-Stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado via trade, it’s the organization’s successes in scouting and player development that provided the capital to execute those trades and enabled them to complete the rest of the lineup with affordable, controllable players.
(Of course, it never hurts to have young players learn alongside future Hall of Famers Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols.)
The Cardinals have used four leadoff hitters this season: each of them entered the organization through the amateur draft.
The lineup regularly includes six homegrown position players. In the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. the Pirates, manager Oli Marmol had seven players drafted by the Red Birds in the starting lineup.1
Only Goldschmidt and left fielder Juan Yepez began their careers in other organizations.
I asked Cardinals assistant hitting coach Turner Ward, who amassed almost 1,800 plate appearances over 12 big league seasons, if he thought his club’s homegrown roster was an advantage.
“Chemistry is a weird thing,” he shared over text. “It’s cultivated, and the organization does a great job of getting (good) character players and people.”
Ward managed the D-backs’ Double-A affiliate Mobile BayBears in 2011 and 2012 before joining the big league coaching staff in 2013. From 2014-2019, he served as the Major League Hitting Coach for the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Reds.
He added that the Cardinals do a great job of implementing their philosophies throughout the organization. It’s hard for me to believe that players who come up through the minors together, or at least share many coaches and instructors within the same system, don’t have an advantage when it comes to chemistry and clubhouse culture.
The Padres position players never rode the bus together, never shared back fields during Instructional League.
Does it matter? Well, do you believe that talent can transcend culture?
The Cardinals drafts between 2015 and 2018 produced current big league position players: Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson, Harrison Bader, Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, and Andrew Knizner.
And let’s not forget the 1999 draft, which yielded Pujols.
As for developing assets, the Cardinals traded pitcher Marco Gonzalez to the Mariners in 2017 for outfielder Tyler O’Neill. The teams matched up in terms of perceived depth and needs.
O’Neill has since won two Gold Gloves, and he finished in the top 10 of the MVP vote last season. Gonzalez has been reliable and, at times, outstanding for the M’s. It was a good old-fashioned baseball trade.
Last season, the Dodgers defeated the Cardinals in the one-game Wild Card. In 2020, the Padres beat the Cards in the best-of-three Wild Card Series. It wouldn’t be surprising to see St. Louis match up against one — or both — of these NL West teams come October.
Perhaps then we could answer the question: Does it matter?
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Edman, Donovan, Gorman, Carlson, Pujols, Bader, Knizner.
I’ve thought about this as well. It’s a feather in the cap for amateur scouting and PD (both important = means people are doing their jobs well) and it certainly helps to have club control over these guys for a long time. I think that’s huge.