Monday Mail Day

Hope everybody had a great weekend. Back to the grind...

Last Tuesday, I received this comment from a reader regarding the Redbirds pitching:

"So your blog got me thinking...who was the last starting pitcher that the Cards brought up through their minor league system? I can't think of anybody! And don't say Brad Thompson!" 

Trust me reader, Brad Thompson was the last name to come to my mind. While they may be in the minority in terms of our pitching staff as a whole, the Cards have brought up some pretty decent arms through the farm system, even within recent memory.

The first name to come to mind is Matt Morris. The Cards took him in the 1st round (12th overall pick) in the 1995 draft. After a couple years in the minors, he came up in '97 and went 12-9 with a 3.19 ERA and 3 complete games. Not to mention he finished 2nd in RoY voting. (Ironically losing out to Scott Rolen)

But overall, I would call that a pretty decent arm brought up from the minors.

Another decent arm to come up through the Cards farm system, though we never gave him a chance to grow at the Major League level, is Dan Haren. (Or then he might have still been going by Danny) The Cards took Haren in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft, and debuted in '03 and pitched 2 seasons with the good guys until we thought a Haren for Mulder deal with Oakland would be a good idea...

Some others include:

• Rick Ankiel (also was 2nd in RoY voting in '00)
• Anthony Reyes (not so great there, his record was 2-14 in '07)
• Brad Thompson (see below)

Yes, I did say I wouldn't say Brad Thompson. But I lied. Deal with it. Brad Thompson does get a hard time, especially around Cards Cove, but in all fairness he really hasn't been all that terrible. In the last 5 years with the Cards, Thompson has been an (at times) effective reliever as well as a respectable fill-in spot starter. He has compiled a 21-17 record with the Birds, as well as a decent 4.36 ERA. You could do worse. (See Mike Maroth)

Anyway, I am done for today. Is there somebody I forgot? Let me know!

Til tomorrow, good day Cards Fans.