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St. Louis Cardinals: Evaluating All the Relief Pitchers in This Year’s Camp

By Patrick Karraker

Feb 19, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (26) laughs drills infield practice during spring training at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 19, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal (26) laughs drills infield practice during spring training at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Juan Gonzalez St. Louis Cardinals
Jul 12, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; World pitcher Juan Gonzalez throws against the U.S.Team during the All Star Futures Game at Great American Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

Not Likely

Silfredo Garcia, Juan Gonzalez, Robby Rowland, Tyler Waldron

Realistically, these four relievers will be using their time in major-league spring training more as an avenue to position themselves for a call-up later this season or in future years, rather than pushing for a job straight out of camp.

Gonzalez, who pitched for the international team in the 2015 Futures Game, is likely the closest to being major-league ready if called upon. The 25-year-old Venezuelan had a career-best season for the Dodgers organization in 2015, throwing for a combined 1.62 ERA, .198 opponent batting average, and 1.00 WHIP in 44 relief appearances split between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Waldron, acquired last winter from the Pirates organization, is also knocking on the door of the big-league club, though he’ll need to rebound from a subpar 2015 season. Over 46 appearances for Triple-A Memphis, he had a 4.74 ERA, .279 opponent average, and 1.28 WHIP.

Garcia, a 24-year-old righthander, will look to build off a strong 2015 split between High-A and Double-A. Over 27 total appearances, he had a 2.54 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and .261 opponent average. With a strong spring, he could end up in the bullpen at Triple-A Memphis.

Next: 2016 NL Central Predictions: Where Will the Cardinals Land?

The 24-year-old Rowland hasn’t really had any minor-league success outside of a 28-game stint at Low-A Peoria last season, where he threw for a 2.40 ERA, a .208 opponent average, and an 0.92 WHIP. Rowland, who owns a 5.03 career minor-league ERA, does have one big thing working in his favor. While he hasn’t yet found sustained success, Rowland has retooled his delivery over the past year and has gotten his fastball velocity up to around 98 MPH, so he’ll be a good guy for the major-league staff to get an in-person look at and see if he has any real potential moving forward. He pitched just 10 games at Double-A last season and didn’t exactly master the league (6.10 ERA, though he did have a .211 BAA and 1.06 WHIP), so he’s likely destined for Springfield again to begin the season.

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