Grade the Roster

[AZ_Cardsfan]

OK the roster is set for OD. Feel free to comment (I know you will). You can also update your expected w/l record.

Catcher - Herrera and Pages. One can hit but not throw and the other is average on defense but can't hit. Grade D.

1B - Contreras, Baker, Burleson. I actually expect a very good year from Contreras. Defense and offense. Baker will be OK as a RH hitter against LH relievers. Overall grade B.

2B - Gorman and Donovan. Yeesh. OK when Donovan starts there is a ML hitter with some pop and acceptable defense (I know gold glove but check the stats he is just average). Gorman I really don't know. Unless he learns contact he isn't long for the game. Gonna go with between them one will probably be OK. Grade C

SS - Winn. No real backup. And I know we all love him cause he performed as a rookie last year. But look around the league and see how many great SSs there are. Grade C. (hope I'm wrong and he steps up)

3B - Arenado. Wow. No idea. Will be bounce back or decline further. I'm going with a repeat of last year as likely so C+.

LF - Noot. If he stays healthy one of the plus players on the club. Gonna assume this is the year he plays 140 games. Grade B+.

CF- Scott/Siani. Hoping against hope Scott has figured it out and soars. Going to guess he isn't Mike Trout the second nor flails like last year. Grade C.

RF - Walker. I am depressed. OK not really but sad because I am wondering if there is that player we hoped for in there. Guessing we will see a lot of Burly before the year is up. Grade D.

Rotation. I actually like the teams chances with this rotation. If they had a solid D and some offense they could be better than average. But in the end I think a gread of C will be it.

BP - Until the break it will be good and after bad as they deal Helsley and whoever else is doing well. B before D after for an overall C grade.

Overall team grade about a C-. Expected record about 78/84.

[11WSChamps]

No middle order bat you can count on.

Gray in my mind is a question mark going into the season as is the rest of the rotation.

Helsley which is the team's best asset may be hard to get to given the the team will struggle to score consistently.

[icon]

No middle order bat you can count on.

Gray in my mind is a question mark going into the season as is the rest of the rotation.

Helsley which is the team's best asset may be hard to get to given the the team will struggle to score consistently.

Yeah, the lack of a reliable MOTO bat looks to be a big problem again this year. And, of course, the big question marks in Walker, Gorman, Scott and Arenado. And where Herrera can stick at C. If not, that's another hole in the lineup. Runs may be hard to come by.

That and defense, which could greatly affect the pitching, which has some question marks in the rotation.

The pen looks okay, but the Cards won't have the luxury of facing the Marlins or Nats every other day as they did in ST.

[Cranny]

Way too early for grades.

[RamFan08NY]

Ill grade it in one month. Until then, I feel the same way as I have since 1967. They got a chance!!

[Cusecards]

I agree on needing at least a month to grade anything.
Play ball!!!

[Barking Lion]

My goal this year is to improve for next year and build. My grades reflect that.

Catcher - Herrera and Pages. Can Herrera's bat overcome defensive issues? If not, Pages is an okay backup. Grade C.

1B - Contreras, Baker, Burleson. Like you, I expect a good year from Contreras. Burly is also 4th OF. I like his contact and versatility on the roster. Overall grade B.

DH- Baker and Gorman. I like the versatility of having these guys back up other positions but they are both Ks waiting to happen: D+

2B - Donovan and Gorman. I like Donovan and think he is the guy you play here for defense. Gorman is Gorman and I hope they don't have to put him on the field regularly. Grade B-

SS - Winn. No real backup. I'm hoping he figures the bat out during the season. Grade C.

3B - Arenado. Will have a better year than last and will be traded. After him, nothing. Grade: B with Arenado; D- without him.

LF - Noot. Hope he stays on the field. If not, this grade is a D. Grade B+.

CF- Scott/Siani. Hoping we see Scott blossom. His speed will help a lot in the OF. Siani is for defense only. Grade B.

RF - Walker. Let's see what he can do without looking behind him. Performance-wise, he deserves a much lower grade, but this grade is for management letting the trial happen. Grade C+

Rotation. I like the depth. I like the youth. Grade: B.

BP - No back end. (Helsley will either retrun to earth or be traded) But, again, I like the youth. This could be a season of promise or a very looooong season for these guys. Grade: C.

Because I am looking beyond this season, I give the overall team grade about a B-. Many teams that rebuild have a few years of finding out who can be part of the next successful team. Frankly, I don't see more than a couple of guys on the big team being part of it. So I hope we see players perform well enough that we can trade them for guys who can be part of it.

[Red7]

I’m not worried about grades or what roster gives them the best chance of winning. This year is about evaluating individual players, not the team as a whole. As I mentioned in another thread, the roster is going to be very fluid this year. I think it’s entirely possible that fifty percent of the OD roster will be gone by Game 162. And, by gone, I mean no longer in the organization, much less the 26 man roster.

[Cranny]

My goal this year is to improve for next year and build. My grades reflect that.

Catcher - Herrera and Pages. Can Herrera's bat overcome defensive issues? If not, Pages is an okay backup. Grade C.

1B - Contreras, Baker, Burleson. Like you, I expect a good year from Contreras. Burly is also 4th OF. I like his contact and versatility on the roster. Overall grade B.

DH- Baker and Gorman. I like the versatility of having these guys back up other positions but they are both Ks waiting to happen: D+

2B - Donovan and Gorman. I like Donovan and think he is the guy you play here for defense. Gorman is Gorman and I hope they don't have to put him on the field regularly. Grade B-

SS - Winn. No real backup. I'm hoping he figures the bat out during the season. Grade C.

3B - Arenado. Will have a better year than last and will be traded. After him, nothing. Grade: B with Arenado; D- without him.

LF - Noot. Hope he stays on the field. If not, this grade is a D. Grade B+.

CF- Scott/Siani. Hoping we see Scott blossom. His speed will help a lot in the OF. Siani is for defense only. Grade B.

RF - Walker. Let's see what he can do without looking behind him. Performance-wise, he deserves a much lower grade, but this grade is for management letting the trial happen. Grade C+

Rotation. I like the depth. I like the youth. Grade: B.

BP - No back end. (Helsley will either retrun to earth or be traded) But, again, I like the youth. This could be a season of promise or a very looooong season for these guys. Grade: C.

Because I am looking beyond this season, I give the overall team grade about a B-. Many teams that rebuild have a few years of finding out who can be part of the next successful team. Frankly, I don't see more than a couple of guys on the big team being part of it. So I hope we see players perform well enough that we can trade them for guys who can be part of it.

Shaping up for the future.

C - Herrera/Crooks
1B - Contreras/Burleson
2B - Donovan/Saggese
SS - Winn
3B - Wetherholt
LF - Davis
CF - Scott II
RF - Walker/Nootbaar

SP - Mathews
SP - McGreevy
SP - Roby
SP - Hjerpe
SP - Hence

[TheFantasyStud]

C) B+ Herrara / Pages Herrera becomes the best hitting catcher in the league this year and we see a slight improvement on his arm. Ideally Pages doesn't start more than twice a week.
1B) A Contreras / Burleson / Baker Contreras wins a silver slugger.
2B) Gorman / Donavan C+ Average Defense. Gorman's pop will be nice but his average will suck. Donavan's Average will be nice but his pop is light.
3B) Arenado B- Arenado hits 20-30 homers with a .250-.270 batting average. Still slow on the base paths. Defense above average
LF) Nootbaar A - Stays healthy and we finally see what everyone saw flashes of. Close to .400 OBP at the top of the lineup. Lots of runs scored, some steals, 20 - 30 homers.
CF) Scott 11 B+ - If he can carry a fraction of his momentum and they give him runway his 50 plus stolen bases with 10 - 20 homers will feel incredible with great defense
RF) Walker B+ - Hits 25-35 home runs. Steals 10-20 bases. Defense turns in to average.

Rotation B- Unless Gray is really injured, our rotation will be above average.
Bullpen B- Will be similar to last year.

[Dazepster]

A C.

Now. If the team has a few guys that have cajones and lead. Give em the, everybody says we suck, we ain't supposed to win, blabbedy blabbed blah. Let's show em. Maybe we get a Disney movie in 10 years.

Short of that. A C. C plus at best.

[JuanAgosto]

No consistent MOTO bat. No true leadoff man. No lock down ace of the staff. No reserve short stop. Nice roster construction, Mo. Somehow that putz manages to get worse each year. I fully expect the goon to package Arenado and Helsley for the next Taylor Motter type.

[scoutyjones2]

C) B+ Herrara / Pages Herrera becomes the best hitting catcher in the league this year and we see a slight improvement on his arm. Ideally Pages doesn't start more than twice a week.
1B) A Contreras / Burleson / Baker Contreras wins a silver slugger.
2B) Gorman / Donavan C+ Average Defense. Gorman's pop will be nice but his average will suck. Donavan's Average will be nice but his pop is light.
3B) Arenado B- Arenado hits 20-30 homers with a .250-.270 batting average. Still slow on the base paths. Defense above average
LF) Nootbaar A - Stays healthy and we finally see what everyone saw flashes of. Close to .400 OBP at the top of the lineup. Lots of runs scored, some steals, 20 - 30 homers.
CF) Scott 11 B+ - If he can carry a fraction of his momentum and they give him runway his 50 plus stolen bases with 10 - 20 homers will feel incredible with great defense
RF) Walker B+ - Hits 25-35 home runs. Steals 10-20 bases. Defense turns in to average.

Rotation B- Unless Gray is really injured, our rotation will be above average.
Bullpen B- Will be similar to last year.

No SS grade?

[Jatalk]

So with Scott in the outfield is Donovan getting most of the innings at second? Where is Gorman fitting in?

[Cusecards]

So with Scott in the outfield is Donovan getting most of the innings at second? Where is Gorman fitting in?

Good questions!
Just my guess since the Cards seem to be in for a “prove yourself” season:
Gorman- needs to prove himself at 2B.
If at some point Arenado is traded then Gorman takes over at 3B. Could also DH to get a breather?
Donovan- Obviously if Gorman moves to 3B then Donovan is your regular 2B. Until then he can play Corner OF(If either of the 3 OF’s gets an off day). He can play 2B if Gorman sits(preferably vs. LH pitching). Or he can DH. My guess is he’s out there more often than not.

[wkycards]

So with Scott in the outfield is Donovan getting most of the innings at second? Where is Gorman fitting in?

Gorman and Burleson will be fighting over DH at bats. One of them will not start.