CardinalsFarm

Trevor Rosenthal is a big reason why many experts have rated the St. Louis Cardinals as the best farm team in Major League Baseball.  A 21st round pick in 2009, Rosenthal put himself on the prospect map in 2011 after a dominant season with the Low A Quad City River Bandits of the Midwest League. He hasn’t looked back since.

What role will Trevor Rosenthal play for the Cards in 2013?

The Cardinals selected Rosenthal out of tiny Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kansas. Rosenthal, a native of Lee’s Summit West High School in Lees Summit, MO was the 639th overall pick in 2009. I would say the Cardinals found a steal in Rosenthal.

Here is the scouting report on Rosenthal from MLB.com:

The scary thing, especially for National League hitters, is that as good as Rosenthal was as a reliever, he has even greater value as a starting pitcher. He touched triple-digits coming out of the pen and that arm strength enables him to sit in the mid-90s with ease while maintaining velocity in his starts. His hard, knee-buckling curve will be at least above-average and his changeup should eventually be an average third pitch. His command should more than allow him to stick in a rotation, once there’s an opening for him to walk through

Here are Rosenthal’s Minor League numbers:

2009:

•  Gulf Coast Cardinals (Rookie League) – 4-2 with a 4.88 ERA in 24 innings. 9.8 K/9

2010

• Johnson City (Rookie League) – 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 32 innings. 8.4 K/9

2011

• Quad Cities  (Mid A) – 7-7 with a 4.11 ERA in 120 innings. 9.9 K/9

2012

• Springfield (AA) – 8-6 with a 2.78 ERA in 94 innings. 7.9 K/9
• Memphis (AAA) – 0-0 with a 4.20 ERA in 14 innings. 12.6 K/9
• St. Louis (MLB) – 0-2 with a 2.78 ERA in 22.2 innings. 9.9 K/9

For 2013, I believe Rosenthal will play a huge part with the St. Louis Cardinals. With the news today that Chris Carpenter will not pitch in 2013, Rosenthal’s status is up in the air. It appears that either Rosenthal and Shelby Miller will be in position for a rotation spot. The “sure things” for 2013 include Adam Wainwright, Jake Westbrook, Jaime Garcia, and Lance Lynn. The 5th spot will most likely be between Miller, Rosenthal, and possibly Joe Kelly. If I were to guess, I would say that Miller gets the spot and Rosenthal and Kelly begin the season in the bullpen.

The Cardinals have found a diamond in the rough with Trevor Rosenthal and he should be a fixture in St. Louis for years to come.

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