Tag: St. Louis Cardinals

Brayden Jobert drafted by Cardinals in 12th round

Another one of the unsung heroes for LSU this season has been picked in the 2023 MLB draft.

Another one of the unsung heroes for LSU this season has been picked in the 2023 MLB draft. Right fielder [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 12th round.

Jobert had a .301 batting average this year as he hit 11 doubles, two triples, 14 homers, and 49 RBI. He was the Tigers’ CWS leader in home runs (3), and he was second on the club in CWS RBI (7). He is also scheduled to graduate from LSU in the summer of 2023 with a degree in sports administration.

Jobert’s performance in the winner-take-all game three against Florida is a performance that Tiger fans will remember for a long time. He finished the night 4-for-7 with three runs scored, one double, one homer, and three RBI.

Jobert lands in a nice spot in St. Louis. He still has the option to stay in Baton Rouge or go pro. If he goes pro, he will be sent to one of the Cardinals’ minor league teams to begin his career.

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Top LSU signee Cameron Johnson drafted in 20th round by Cardinals

One of the top prospects in LSU’s 2023 signing class finally heard his name called.

One of LSU’s top prospects in the 2023 class finally heard his name called after a lengthy wait in the MLB draft.

[autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag], the No. 2 left-handed pitcher and No. 11 prospect nationally in his recruiting class according to Perfect Game, went to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 20th round with the 605th pick.

Johnson was a guy who many expected to go earlier in the draft, but his falling bodes well for his chances of ending up in Baton Rouge. He’s the second highest-rated prospect in LSU’s class, behind No. 8 pick Blake Mitchell, who is almost certainly going pro after he was picked by the Kansas City Royals.

We’ll have to wait and see if he ultimately chooses to sign with the Cardinals, but coach Jay Johnson has to like his chances of getting the talented lefty from IMG Academy in Florida to campus.

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MLB fans roasted the Cardinals for a brutal throwing error that gave the Marlins a walk-off win

Poor Jordan Hicks…

This is a throw Jordan Hicks makes 99 times out of 100. Unfortunately for the St. Louis Cardinals, this was the one out of 100 chance and it cost them the game in the most brutal fashion.

On Wednesday, the Miami Marlins made a miraculous comeback to walk it off against the Cardinals 10-9. It all came to be thanks to this unfortunate throw from the pitcher, Hicks, after picking up a ground ball with two on and one out and the Cardinals leading 9-8. When Hicks threw the ball to first to get the force out, he overshot his man completely as the ball sailed over the first baseman’s head.

And from there, the damage was done, as the Marlins then walked it off in dramatic fashion thanks to the truly unfortunate error from Hicks.

What a rough way to lose. Especially on a play as routine as that one.

MLB fans absolutely roasted the Cardinals for this brutal walk off loss to the Marlins.

USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner wowed fans with 4 home runs at St. Louis Cardinals batting practice

Even the Cardinals seemed shocked.

After every USMNT exit in the World Cup, non-soccer fans love to make the flawed argument about the U.S. dominating if the nation’s best athletes from other sports all played soccer. Well, U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Matt Turner undercut that argument in his own way on Tuesday.

And he had the St. Louis Cardinals impressed in the process.

Turner was invited to Busch Stadium to take some batting practice ahead of the USMNT’s Gold Cup match at CITYPARK, and the Arsenal goalkeeper put on an absolute show. Stepping into the box right after star third baseman Nolan Arenado, Turner proceeded to hit four home runs with a sweet lefty swing.

The best part had to be seeing the reactions from Arenado, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and GM John Mozeliak. They genuinely had to pause and think, “Maybe we should sign this guy?”

Now, Turner had the most unconventional rise to the Premier League and USMNT. He didn’t start playing soccer until he was 14, played college soccer at Fairfield and even spent time in the fourth tier of American soccer (yes, it goes down that far). But before that, he did play baseball, and professional athletes have regularly shown to be gifted at other sports.

Still, four home runs at a big-league ballpark with a future Hall of Famer watching? That was truly impressive.

Fans also enjoyed seeing that hitting display from Turner.

Jordan Hicks threw 2 unhittable 104 MPH sinkers with so much movement

What do you do with these Jordan Hicks pitches???

What do you do with Jordan Hicks’ pitches?

Dude is back to closing for the St. Louis Cardinals with three straight saves on three straight days, and as usual, we can’t help but marvel at when he dials up triple-digit speed and combines it with unthinkable movement.

The latest? He threw a pair of 104 MPH pitches on Monday as he closed out the Washington Nationals. Fast, yes, but we’re focusing here on the movement. One was somehow fouled off by Lane Thomas as it dove out of the strike zone. The other? Yep, a whiff.

This is some absurd stuff:

Oscar Mercado accidentally bounced in a home run off his glove while going for the catch

Oscar Mercado should absolutely get an assist on this Reds’ home run.

The Cincinnati Reds should absolutely give Oscar Mercado the assist on this mid-inning home run.

Instead of Mercado getting the easy out at the track, the Reds increased their lead over the St. Louis Cardinals to 6-1 on Wednesday after an unfortunate bounce went Cincinnati’s way. In the bottom of the fourth, with the Reds already up big on their opponents, Matt McLain launched a ball out to deep right field. Mercado had to back up to make the leaping attempt on the fly ball, but instead of it landing securely in his glove, the ball popped in and out and went over the fence instead.

Truly, the most unfortunate way to give up a home run.

The worst part? The bounce off of Mercado’s glove really was the difference, as the ball was going to hit off the top of the wall had it landed on its own power.

Nolan Arenado brilliantly reverse jinxed himself after Triston Casas asked for a jersey swap

“You can take it. I can’t hit in this thing.”

While ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball certainly has room for improvement, the broadcast’s use of in-game interviews and live microphones offers some great moments for fans watching at home.

That was definitely the case in Sunday’s Cardinals-Red Sox game when ESPN had first baseman Triston Casas mic’d up in the third inning. We got to hear exactly how a (kind of) slumping Nolan Arenado interacted with the opposing first baseman.

In late April and early May, Arenado went through a slump that saw his average drop all the way down to .232. He’s shown signs of breaking out of the rough spell as of late, particularly in the Red Sox series. But the struggles at the plate did lead to a great exchange once Casas asked Arenado for a jersey swap.

Arenado seemingly reserve jinxed himself out of a slump in the process.

When Cases asked to swap jerseys, Arenado responded, “You can take it. I can’t hit in this thing.”

Baseball works in mysterious ways, though. In the sixth inning, Arenado stepped to the plate and drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single to center.

He followed up that hit with a two-run home run in the eighth inning. It was his third home run of the series at Fenway Park.

I think the jersey worked just fine. MLB fans also enjoyed that mic’d-up conversation.

The drama between Willson Contreras and the St. Louis Cardinals, explained

Why are the struggling Cardinals blaming Willson Contreras?

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering about why the St. Louis Cardinals are relieving Willson Contreras of catching duties? We’re here to help.

We’re still just over a month into the 2023 MLB season, but it has been far from an ideal start for the St. Louis Cardinals. One season after St. Louis won 93 games and a National League Central title, the Cardinals are sitting at the bottom of the entire National League.

That has the whole organization looking for answers. After all, a team with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and winning pedigree should not be *this* bad. And for manager Oliver Marmol, newly acquired catcher Willson Contreras appears to be the problem.

Let’s break down what’s going on with the Cardinals.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol called out and benched Tyler O’Neill despite an awful send by 3B coach

Or … MAYBE … blame the third base coach?

Major League Baseball managers always like to preach about effort and expectations. But at the same time, it usually takes something blatant for a manager to specifically call out a player to the media.

So, with that in mind, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill probably has reason to be frustrated with manager Oliver Marmol.

After Tuesday’s loss to the Atlanta Braves, Marmol explicitly blasted O’Neill’s effort on the base paths when the Cardinals outfielder was thrown out at home to end a possible rally in the seventh inning. Marmol followed up the strong words by benching O’Neill for Wednesday’s game.

But was the play really due to O’Neill’s hustle — or lack thereof? That’s debatable.

On that seventh-inning play, O’Neill was just rounding third when the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. got ready to throw the ball from right field. Now, Acuña has one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball, and O’Neill ranks in the 97th percentile of sprint speed, according to Statcast. So, he’s extremely fast. But it was a risky send by third base coach Ron Warner — to say the least.

O’Neill did appear to kick it into an extra gear when he saw Acuña preparing to throw, but it wasn’t like he was jogging on the base path. O’Neill himself didn’t agree with Marmol’s assessment, via stltoday.com:

“He was pretty blunt about it. He didn’t think I gave the best effort. I’m out here every day grinding my (butt) off, giving it my all and trying to stay on the field for 160 games. Like I said, I’ve just got to get a better jump next time and get around the base a little quicker and be in there next time.”

But again, that out at home falls on the third base coach more than it should on O’Neill. You have to be aware of who is out there in the outfield, and sending O’Neill there was only going to work if the throw was off.

MLB fans also thought it was odd to see Marmol place the blame publicly on O’Neill.

Adam Wainwright surprised everyone by singing the Cardinals’ Opening Day national anthem

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright sang a wonderful rendition of the national anthem on Opening Day.

Outgoing St. Louis Cardinals star pitcher Adam Wainwright pulled off quite an unexpected feat for his very last Opening Day start.

On Thursday, Wainwright sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of St. Louis’ afternoon tilt against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Showing off his pipes, Wainwright sang the national anthem with aplomb, backed by a small group of folks with instruments. As far as athletes singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” goes, this one is definitely toward the top of the list.

Cardinals fans really did get an unexpected treat as the longtime franchise pitcher gave them one last Opening Day surprise before he retires after the 2023 season.

As if Cardinals fans didn’t have enough reasons to love Wainwright, he can now add “national anthem singer” to his long list of accomplishments while sporting St. Louis red.

Opening Day is one of the best pastimes in baseball, and Wainwright sure gave those in attendance for Thursday’s game more than what they bargained for.