Happy to be wrong if he can keep it up. Clearly, the potential's always been there. They say the problem was overthinking before starts, hence why he was so good out of the pen.
Aroz hasn't been the same since going to Seattle. WE WIN!!!!

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No, what I said Ozzie was he couldn't get RHH'ers out at that time (2022-2024) to be an effective starter which was 100% true but that he was a very effective RP:Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:54 amYou were saying the same thing about liebratore hes not a starter! Look at his rotation numbers and look at his bullpen numbers! Hes a reliever! It’s been proven hes not a starter!rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:24 amOr they could tell he wasn't starter material, proven out by his career starting pitcher 4.73 ERA/1.44 WHiP.Futuregm2 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:56 amThat’s what happens when you go from A ball to a MLB bullpen. Cardinals never gave Hicks a chance.rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:48 amHicks never had the secondary pitches needed to be a starter, Cardinals correctly identified that.mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:39 amThey didn't handle him correctly, and arguably they may not have handled someone like Jordan Hicks correctly either. Hicks certainly hadn't failed as a SP prospect when the Cardinals rushed him to the majors in 2018 at age 21 and made him a RP for years.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:24 am I'm not saying that he would have been better quicker if they would have not screwed around with him for the last three years, but I don't see how anyone could say that they handled him correctly. I wonder how close the organization came to just giving up on him.
How much better might Hicks be now if the Cardinals had let him develop as a SP through 2018, 2019, etc.?
Waiting for that link....riff raff wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:25 amLink?rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:26 amThank C. BloomOzziesfan41 wrote: ↑25 Apr 2025 20:38 pm Thanks to them finally deciding to let him start instead of jerking him between the rotation and bullpen. Took a couple
Of years of stupidity but they finally wised up
Mo/Oli had him slated for the pen' (again!) until the final week of STing when Bloom stepped in.
(He also was the one who slotted Noot into the leadoff spot after the two morons had him hitting third to start out STing)
He declared it lost 12 minutes after the trade.An Old Friend wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 00:09 amWell ecleme declared the trade lost 3 years ago so that can’t be!Rosie's Rule wrote: ↑25 Apr 2025 23:08 pm And wouldn’t be ironic if the lopsided Randy Aroz trade actually turned out in the Cards favor?
Yea hard to learn to get righties out when you don’t get to face them consistently in the bullpen and even then only face one or two. If they had let him continue to start in the minors he could have worked on that. Same with pitchers with lack of secondary pitchers in the bullpen tjey can’t really work on it in the rotation they can. You rush to judgment on players way too fast and label them JAG or can’t start. You said he can’t start because he can’t get righthanders outrockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 11:13 amNo, what I said Ozzie was he couldn't get RHH'ers out at that time (2022-2024) to be an effective starter which was 100% true but that he was a very effective RP:Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:54 amYou were saying the same thing about liebratore hes not a starter! Look at his rotation numbers and look at his bullpen numbers! Hes a reliever! It’s been proven hes not a starter!rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:24 amOr they could tell he wasn't starter material, proven out by his career starting pitcher 4.73 ERA/1.44 WHiP.Futuregm2 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:56 amThat’s what happens when you go from A ball to a MLB bullpen. Cardinals never gave Hicks a chance.rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:48 amHicks never had the secondary pitches needed to be a starter, Cardinals correctly identified that.mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:39 amThey didn't handle him correctly, and arguably they may not have handled someone like Jordan Hicks correctly either. Hicks certainly hadn't failed as a SP prospect when the Cardinals rushed him to the majors in 2018 at age 21 and made him a RP for years.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:24 am I'm not saying that he would have been better quicker if they would have not screwed around with him for the last three years, but I don't see how anyone could say that they handled him correctly. I wonder how close the organization came to just giving up on him.
How much better might Hicks be now if the Cardinals had let him develop as a SP through 2018, 2019, etc.?
2022 vs RHHers:
.327 .395 .615 1.010
2023 vs RHHers:
.302 .377 .484 .862
2024 vs RHHers:
.263 .344 .479 .823
And you could see the improvement starting in 2024 as he gained confidence as a RP and began to attack RHHers.
That's carried over and in 2025 he's found a way to finally attack and get RHH'ers out:
.239 .239 .341 .580
I'm 100% happy he's starting now as it will unlock his true value and make him a valuable piece of the SR going forward but that's only happening because he gained confidence in the pen' last season that he could attack RHH'ers and had the pitches to finally get them out.
I think, perhaps mistakenly, Helsley's shift to BP had to do with shoulder problems he'd dealt with when trying to go every 5 days. Not that I agree with the move, just thinking it did have at least a bit of logic behind it.An Old Friend wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:42 amRosenthal and Helsley have been their most egregious strategic development failures. Very good starting pitcher prospects shoved in the pen to cover Mo’s roster gaps, never making a single major league start between them.mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:39 amThey didn't handle him correctly, and arguably they may not have handled someone like Jordan Hicks correctly either. Hicks certainly hadn't failed as a SP prospect when the Cardinals rushed him to the majors in 2018 at age 21 and made him a RP for years.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:24 am I'm not saying that he would have been better quicker if they would have not screwed around with him for the last three years, but I don't see how anyone could say that they handled him correctly. I wonder how close the organization came to just giving up on him.
How much better might Hicks be now if the Cardinals had let him develop as a SP through 2018, 2019, etc.?
Mo and his puppet manager kept yoyo-ing him, thankfully the guy who drafted him put him in the SR and told Oli he was there to stay.Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 11:47 amYea hard to learn to get righties out when you don’t get to face them consistently in the bullpen and even then only face one or two. If they had let him continue to start in the minors he could have worked on that. Same with pitchers with lack of secondary pitchers in the bullpen tjey can’t really work on it in the rotation they can. You rush to judgment on players way too fast and label them JAG or can’t start. You said he can’t start because he can’t get righthanders outrockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 11:13 amNo, what I said Ozzie was he couldn't get RHH'ers out at that time (2022-2024) to be an effective starter which was 100% true but that he was a very effective RP:Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:54 amYou were saying the same thing about liebratore hes not a starter! Look at his rotation numbers and look at his bullpen numbers! Hes a reliever! It’s been proven hes not a starter!rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:24 amOr they could tell he wasn't starter material, proven out by his career starting pitcher 4.73 ERA/1.44 WHiP.Futuregm2 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:56 amThat’s what happens when you go from A ball to a MLB bullpen. Cardinals never gave Hicks a chance.rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:48 amHicks never had the secondary pitches needed to be a starter, Cardinals correctly identified that.mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:39 amThey didn't handle him correctly, and arguably they may not have handled someone like Jordan Hicks correctly either. Hicks certainly hadn't failed as a SP prospect when the Cardinals rushed him to the majors in 2018 at age 21 and made him a RP for years.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:24 am I'm not saying that he would have been better quicker if they would have not screwed around with him for the last three years, but I don't see how anyone could say that they handled him correctly. I wonder how close the organization came to just giving up on him.
How much better might Hicks be now if the Cardinals had let him develop as a SP through 2018, 2019, etc.?
2022 vs RHHers:
.327 .395 .615 1.010
2023 vs RHHers:
.302 .377 .484 .862
2024 vs RHHers:
.263 .344 .479 .823
And you could see the improvement starting in 2024 as he gained confidence as a RP and began to attack RHHers.
That's carried over and in 2025 he's found a way to finally attack and get RHH'ers out:
.239 .239 .341 .580
I'm 100% happy he's starting now as it will unlock his true value and make him a valuable piece of the SR going forward but that's only happening because he gained confidence in the pen' last season that he could attack RHH'ers and had the pitches to finally get them out.
Agreerockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 12:33 pmMo and his puppet manager kept yoyo-ing him, thankfully the guy who drafted him put him in the SR and told Oli he was there to stay.Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 11:47 amYea hard to learn to get righties out when you don’t get to face them consistently in the bullpen and even then only face one or two. If they had let him continue to start in the minors he could have worked on that. Same with pitchers with lack of secondary pitchers in the bullpen tjey can’t really work on it in the rotation they can. You rush to judgment on players way too fast and label them JAG or can’t start. You said he can’t start because he can’t get righthanders outrockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 11:13 amNo, what I said Ozzie was he couldn't get RHH'ers out at that time (2022-2024) to be an effective starter which was 100% true but that he was a very effective RP:Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:54 amYou were saying the same thing about liebratore hes not a starter! Look at his rotation numbers and look at his bullpen numbers! Hes a reliever! It’s been proven hes not a starter!rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:24 amOr they could tell he wasn't starter material, proven out by his career starting pitcher 4.73 ERA/1.44 WHiP.Futuregm2 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:56 amThat’s what happens when you go from A ball to a MLB bullpen. Cardinals never gave Hicks a chance.rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:48 amHicks never had the secondary pitches needed to be a starter, Cardinals correctly identified that.mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:39 amThey didn't handle him correctly, and arguably they may not have handled someone like Jordan Hicks correctly either. Hicks certainly hadn't failed as a SP prospect when the Cardinals rushed him to the majors in 2018 at age 21 and made him a RP for years.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:24 am I'm not saying that he would have been better quicker if they would have not screwed around with him for the last three years, but I don't see how anyone could say that they handled him correctly. I wonder how close the organization came to just giving up on him.
How much better might Hicks be now if the Cardinals had let him develop as a SP through 2018, 2019, etc.?
2022 vs RHHers:
.327 .395 .615 1.010
2023 vs RHHers:
.302 .377 .484 .862
2024 vs RHHers:
.263 .344 .479 .823
And you could see the improvement starting in 2024 as he gained confidence as a RP and began to attack RHHers.
That's carried over and in 2025 he's found a way to finally attack and get RHH'ers out:
.239 .239 .341 .580
I'm 100% happy he's starting now as it will unlock his true value and make him a valuable piece of the SR going forward but that's only happening because he gained confidence in the pen' last season that he could attack RHH'ers and had the pitches to finally get them out.
rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 12:33 pmMo and his puppet manager kept yoyo-ing him, thankfully the guy who drafted him put him in the SR and told Oli he was there to stay.Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 11:47 amYea hard to learn to get righties out when you don’t get to face them consistently in the bullpen and even then only face one or two. If they had let him continue to start in the minors he could have worked on that. Same with pitchers with lack of secondary pitchers in the bullpen tjey can’t really work on it in the rotation they can. You rush to judgment on players way too fast and label them JAG or can’t start. You said he can’t start because he can’t get righthanders outrockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 11:13 amNo, what I said Ozzie was he couldn't get RHH'ers out at that time (2022-2024) to be an effective starter which was 100% true but that he was a very effective RP:Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:54 amYou were saying the same thing about liebratore hes not a starter! Look at his rotation numbers and look at his bullpen numbers! Hes a reliever! It’s been proven hes not a starter!rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:24 amOr they could tell he wasn't starter material, proven out by his career starting pitcher 4.73 ERA/1.44 WHiP.Futuregm2 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:56 amThat’s what happens when you go from A ball to a MLB bullpen. Cardinals never gave Hicks a chance.rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:48 amHicks never had the secondary pitches needed to be a starter, Cardinals correctly identified that.mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:39 amThey didn't handle him correctly, and arguably they may not have handled someone like Jordan Hicks correctly either. Hicks certainly hadn't failed as a SP prospect when the Cardinals rushed him to the majors in 2018 at age 21 and made him a RP for years.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:24 am I'm not saying that he would have been better quicker if they would have not screwed around with him for the last three years, but I don't see how anyone could say that they handled him correctly. I wonder how close the organization came to just giving up on him.
How much better might Hicks be now if the Cardinals had let him develop as a SP through 2018, 2019, etc.?
2022 vs RHHers:
.327 .395 .615 1.010
2023 vs RHHers:
.302 .377 .484 .862
2024 vs RHHers:
.263 .344 .479 .823
And you could see the improvement starting in 2024 as he gained confidence as a RP and began to attack RHHers.
That's carried over and in 2025 he's found a way to finally attack and get RHH'ers out:
.239 .239 .341 .580
I'm 100% happy he's starting now as it will unlock his true value and make him a valuable piece of the SR going forward but that's only happening because he gained confidence in the pen' last season that he could attack RHH'ers and had the pitches to finally get them out.
So, Bloom is the one that's been hitting Willson 2nd and Burleson 5th all year?rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:26 amThank C. BloomOzziesfan41 wrote: ↑25 Apr 2025 20:38 pm Thanks to them finally deciding to let him start instead of jerking him between the rotation and bullpen. Took a couple
Of years of stupidity but they finally wised up
Mo/Oli had him slated for the pen' (again!) until the final week of STing when Bloom stepped in.
(He also was the one who slotted Noot into the leadoff spot after the two morons had him hitting third to start out STing)
And you're an a z z wipedirtkicker wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 13:04 pmSo, Bloom is the one that's been hitting Willson 2nd and Burleson 5th all year?rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:26 amThank C. BloomOzziesfan41 wrote: ↑25 Apr 2025 20:38 pm Thanks to them finally deciding to let him start instead of jerking him between the rotation and bullpen. Took a couple
Of years of stupidity but they finally wised up
Mo/Oli had him slated for the pen' (again!) until the final week of STing when Bloom stepped in.
(He also was the one who slotted Noot into the leadoff spot after the two morons had him hitting third to start out STing)
Dude your entire premise s laughable.![]()
And you're George Costanzarockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 13:15 pmAnd you're an a z z wipedirtkicker wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 13:04 pmSo, Bloom is the one that's been hitting Willson 2nd and Burleson 5th all year?rockondlouie wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:26 amThank C. BloomOzziesfan41 wrote: ↑25 Apr 2025 20:38 pm Thanks to them finally deciding to let him start instead of jerking him between the rotation and bullpen. Took a couple
Of years of stupidity but they finally wised up
Mo/Oli had him slated for the pen' (again!) until the final week of STing when Bloom stepped in.
(He also was the one who slotted Noot into the leadoff spot after the two morons had him hitting third to start out STing)
Dude your entire premise s laughable.![]()
![]()
ridiculous, rosy threw way too many pitches as a closer and clearly could not have managed as a starter...helesley is the same...both belong in the BP...same could have been said about chapman who started as a starter but became dominant in the bullpen...a guy like rosy who always had high pitch counts for his inning of work couldnt have survived as a starterAn Old Friend wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 10:07 amThe only joke here is your response. The Cardinals WASTED very good pitching prospects by pushing them to the major league bullpen before even vetting them as starters. It's a gross misuse of resources and a big part of the reason why they find themselves where they are today.jbrach wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 09:45 amI am guessing this is a joke...both were excellent closers and both would have been busts as starters....I mean really?An Old Friend wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:42 amRosenthal and Helsley have been their most egregious strategic development failures. Very good starting pitcher prospects shoved in the pen to cover Mo’s roster gaps, never making a single major league start between them.mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:39 amThey didn't handle him correctly, and arguably they may not have handled someone like Jordan Hicks correctly either. Hicks certainly hadn't failed as a SP prospect when the Cardinals rushed him to the majors in 2018 at age 21 and made him a RP for years.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑26 Apr 2025 08:24 am I'm not saying that he would have been better quicker if they would have not screwed around with him for the last three years, but I don't see how anyone could say that they handled him correctly. I wonder how close the organization came to just giving up on him.
How much better might Hicks be now if the Cardinals had let him develop as a SP through 2018, 2019, etc.?
Rosenthal had a 4 pitch mix and a lot of Roy Oswalt in him as a minor league starter and they bailed. He was a consensus top-50 prospect going into 2013 and they never had him make a single major league start.
Helsley went 11-3 with a 2.72 ERA / 1.15 WHIP across 3 levels as a 22 year old with 137 Ks in 132 IP. That was 2017. He was in the major league bullpen in 2019 and never made a single major league start.
Egregious mismanagement of big minor league arm talent.