Hard-Nosed and All-American: St. Louis Cardinals

[Kauffman King]

St. Louis Cardinals Dynasty

[Kauffman King]

Breaking News
Major League Baseball has decided to shake things up a little. The League decided to cut down the preposterously long 162-game season to a quaint 14 games. Furthermore, all professional baseball players have been released into a pool and will be eligible for a 30 team MLB fantasy draft that will take place shortly. Each team will only be able to carry a 40-man roster, 25 players on the MLB roster and 15 players on a reserve list. All minor leagues have been disbanded. All rules regarding playoffs will remain the same, but instead of being held in October they will be held in late April.

The St. Louis Cardinals, just one year removed from an NL Championship Series appearance, will have to move on from the pending losses of stars such as Adam Wainwright, Matt Holiday, Yadier Molina, and others. Furthermore, they will also lose a ridiculously loaded farm system that was widely regarded as one of the top two in baseball. "It's tough to see this team break apart after such a great year," said Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, "but we'll handle it OK. It gives us a chance to get a little younger, get a little cheaper, and build this team up from the ground the 'Cardinal way'." When asked what strategies he will use during the draft, Mozeliak, whose Cardinals hold the 27th pick, made it clear he was after one particular position. "Starting pitching for sure," he asserted. "Starting pitching will be even more important with only a 14 game season. If you have good starting pitching, you're going to do really well this year."

Manager Mike Matheny has said that he'd like to see everybody back, although he knows that's an unrealistic goal. "It doesn't matter who's on the field on Opening Day, our goal is still the same as it has always been - just win, baby."

[Kauffman King]

Cardinals Draft Results:

1st (27) - OF Bryce Harper
2nd (34) - OF Giancarlo Stanton
3rd (87) - SP Shelby Miller
4th (94) - SP Max Scherzer
5th (147) - C Brian McCann
6th (154) - SP Brett Anderson
7th (207) - 1B Anthony Rizzo
8th (214) - RP Drew Storen
9th (267) - RP Jonathan Broxton
10th (274) - OF Cameron Maybin
11th (327) - OF Nick Castellanos
12th (334) - RP Aaron Crow
13th (387) - 2B Jemile Weeks
14th (394) - CP Bobby Parnell
15th (447) - RP Robbie Ross
16th (454) - SP Zach Wheeler
17th (507) - SS Zack Cozart
18th (514) - SP Dylan Bundy
19th (567) - RP Dan Runzler
20th (574) - 3B Chris Johnson
21st (627) - SP Barry Zito
22nd (634) - OF Brian Buxton
23rd (687) - SS Adam Rosales
24th (694) - RP Peter Moylan
25th (747) - OF Eric Thames
26th (754) - C Derek Norris
27th (807) - RP Michael Bowden
28th (814) - SP Marcus Stroman
29th (867) - 3B Jayson Nix
30th (874) - OF Darnell McDonald
31st (927) - C Taylor Teagarden
32nd (934) - 2B Scooter Gennet
33rd (987) - 1B Nate Frieman
34th (994) - RP Josh Outman
35th (1047) - SS Josh Harrison
36th (1054) - OF Matt Szczur
37th (1107) - OF Mikie Mahtook
38th (1114) - 2B Nick Noonan
39th (1167) - RP Tyler Burgoon
40th (1173) - OF Jake Smolinski

The Cardinals appear to have drafted well, getting a strong middle of the lineup core with Harper and Stanton, with a nice mix of solid hitters around them, such as McCann and Maybin. True to his word, Mozeliak drafted SP early, getting Miller, Scherzer, and Anderson all in the first six rounds. The bullpen, headed by Storen and Parnell, looks solid as well. In an early ranking, MLB.com ranked the Cardinals the 12th best team in the majors. GM John Mozeliak and Manager Mike Matheny were both unavailable for comment after the draft but are holding a press conference tomorrow at 10:00 AM. Stay tuned.

[MooseBoyJ]

really interested in how this pans out.

[Bluejaysfan65]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mooseboyj

really interested in how this pans out.

Me too!

[nowitsourtime]

Keeping my eye on Byron Buxton! Good luck!

[IXI DECAY IXI]

Pretty cool idea. I'll be keeping an eye on this.