he can throw that slider pretty consistently and guys will have a tough time dealing with it.
Four recent Double-A Springfield pitchers landed on the St. Louis Cardinals’ 40-man roster on Tuesday, just hours before they would have become eligible for the upcoming Rule 5 draft.The News-Leader spoke with St. Louis farm director John Vuch about all four in an afternoon interview, and his comments are listed below:On right-handed reliever Eric Fornataro, who led the Texas League in holds (16) this season thanks largely to dusting off his groundball-generating sinker – one that was often clocked at 95 to 96 mph. Fornataro was a sixth-round draft pick in 2008.Vuch: “He was kind of a no-brainer. The move to the bullpen really fitted him well. He made some huge strides. No. 1, his velocity really went up. Secondly, his approach to pitching. As a starter, he had a tendency to have a bad inning here or there. But out of the bullpen, he seemed very focused,Gucci handbags. I think he was wanting to pitch almost every day.”Note: Fornataro told me in an interview Monday that he became comfortable in a reliever’s role about five appearances into the season. He made 24 starts in 2011 in the high Class A Florida State League,Borse Gucci.……………LHP Kevin Siegrist, a 6-foot-4 left-hander, has been oft-injured in his career. But he enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2012, using a time with then-pitching coach Dennis Martinez in the Florida State League as a springboard to Double-A Springfield in August. He was used as starter here and proved effective by working both sides of the plate.Vuch: “He’s continuing to build on what he did there (in Springfield). He had a nice fall league. He’s been primarily a starter for us. Down the road, he’s a guy who could be a guy who could start or relieve. He’s got that cross-body delivery. It’s a good profile to be tough on a left-handed hitter in relief role as well.”………..RHP Keith Butler, a 24th-round draft pick, converted 25 of 26 saves for Springfield this season. As minor league pitching coordinator Brent Strom told me this summer, Butler knows “how to miss bats,beats headphones.”Vuch: “He’s got enough of a fastball. He’s got every bit of a major-league average fastball from a velocity standpoint. But then when you mix it with that slider – you see guys in the big leagues whether it’s a Turk Wendell or a guy like (Sergio) Romo with the Giants who were predominately slider pitchers, he can throw that slider pretty consistently and guys will have a tough time dealing with it.“We felt like there are teams out there that, even if Keith isn’t going to be in the big leagues immediately for us, there are other teams who see that kind of pitcher who has success year and year out – and who has that one out pitch that is a major-league out pitch – there would be at least one team, if not more, that would be interested in taking him.”…..RHP Michael Blazek,borsegucci-brand, a 35th-round draft pick in 2007 out of a Las Vegas high school,Gucci shoes, converted to relief early this season and enjoyed success,hermes pas cher, too. He previously had a 5.67 ERA in 165 starter innings in Double-A going back to last season. But he shaved that by three runs in the bullpen, where his velocity played up,hermes pas cher.Vuch: “We found the right role for him. His velocity spiked. We had him throwing mid 90s (mph) and above toward the end of the year. … He was striking out more than a batter per inning and really found his role.“He’s an athletic kid and he’s a guy we feel is going to hold up well as a pitcher,” Vuch added.
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