A Great Day For Cardinal Prospect Watchers

The hyperventilating prospect geek fraternity will be out in force today

The term coined by Joe Strauss and used as a hashtag on Twitter (#hpgf) will get a workout this morning, as last year's first round draft pick Shelby Miller throws a bullpen, along with prospects Sam Freeman and PJ Walters.  Walters brought the good news that his daughter, who was born prematurely, is doing better, though is still in the hospital.

Miller, though, will be the focus of the early part of camp.  He's not to the level that Stephen Strasburg is, of course, with the possibility of making the team right off the bat, but there is a lot of interest to see just how well he does.  He's not going to make the team, but he might just give a glimpse of the future.  With the farm system as reportedly barren as it is, any glimpses are wonderful things.

It gets started for real today, as well, because Tony LaRussa's going to have his annual speech, then the first full-squad workouts get underway.  A real game, albeit one that doesn't count, is just nine days way!  (Sounds like TLR deviated a little bit, allowing some veterans to talk as well today.)

Among those position players with something to prove is Joe Mather.  As with many articles in the spring, he's claiming great health and is ready for a big year.  I'm still not sold on him being the everyday third baseman, but to be able to do that, play outfield, etc. and have that power in his bat, he'd be a great bench asset for this team.

Brendan Ryan actually made it in to camp yesterday.  He's positive he'll be ready for Opening Day, but I'm still hedging my bets.  Just knowing how injuries tend to linger on for Cardinals, for whatever reason, and I wouldn't be surprised if he starts on the DL and comes off after the 15 days are up.

A lot of us are interested to see how Brad Penny will do in St. Louis, especially when paired up with Dave Duncan.  Over at Bloomberg Sports, they indicate that he could be a fantasy steal late in drafts, which is good to hear.  It's nice to have some outsiders giving support to what we fans are thinking.  Penny is the key to the season, in my book.

A note about tomorrow night's UCB Radio Hour.  We are scheduled to have another guest join us, as Fox Sports Midwest media relations person Geoff Goldman will be calling in to talk about his job, what to expect from this year, and if Jim Hayes really is that much of a goofball.

Someone that won't be joining us, for once, is Nick from Pitchers Hit Eighth.  Nick and his wife welcomed their first son into the world yesterday.  So you probably won't see that UCB roundtable transcript up on his site today!  Congrats to the whole family.


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