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St. Louis Cardinals Minor-League Roundup, July 20: Austin Gomber Paints a Masterpiece

By Patrick Karraker

Mar 14, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Austin Gomber (94) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the game at Roger Dean Stadium. The Twins defeated the Cardinals 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 14, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Austin Gomber (94) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the game at Roger Dean Stadium. The Twins defeated the Cardinals 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports /
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Austin Gomber, the top lefthanded pitching prospect in the Cardinals organization who’s actually pitching this year, delivered a standout performance on Wednesday.

It’s safe to say that Wednesday wasn’t a spectacular day in the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor-league system, as anemic offense was a theme of the day for several teams. Two of the organization’s Top 30 prospects, Double-A righty Trey Nielsen (ranked 21st by MLB Pipeline) and High-A lefty Austin Gomber (ranked 16th), threw complete games, with Gomber’s effort standing out as particularly dominant.

Triple-A Memphis won 10-3 over El Paso

  • Memphis’s offense was dominant, collecting 11 hits and eight walks while putting 10 runs on the board. Though there were numerous standout offensive performers on Wednesday, second baseman Dean Anna stood out in particular, reaching base three times with two doubles and a walk.
  • David Washington had a pinch-hit homer in the eighth, his 17th jack of the season with Memphis and 22nd overall including his stats with Double-A Springfield.
  • Jerome Williams delivered a very strong start for the Redbirds, going seven innings while allowing three earned runs on five hits and four walks.

Double-A Springfield lost 4-1 to Arkansas

  • DH Andrew Sohn was Springfield’s top offensive performer, going 2-for-4 with a double that represented the Cardinals’ only extra-base hit of the game. Sohn, center fielder Blake Drake, catcher Luis Cruz, and right fielder Nick Martini had two hits each.
  • For some reason, starter Trey Nielsen was allowed to toss a complete game, throwing 101 pitches over nine innings. Nielsen allowed four earned runs–all of which came in the sixth inning or earlier–on 11 hits and no walks while striking out six.

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High-A Palm Beach lost 1-0 to Brevard County

  • On a day where the Cardinals had just six hits (but an encouraging five walks), shortstop Oscar Mercado was their most effective offensive performer, collecting a pair of singles. He was the only Palm Beach hitter to have multiple hits.
  • Despite taking the loss, Palm Beach starter Austin Gomber painted a masterpiece, allowing just one earned run on six hits and no walks over nine innings. Gomber struck out eight hitters while throwing 75 strikes on 93 pitches.

Class A Peoria lost 11-1 to West Michigan

  • Peoria had just four hits and two walks, and no hitter in the lineup reached base multiple times. Third baseman Dylan Tice had a double for the Chiefs’ only extra-base hit.
  • Starter Jake Woodford was victimized by his defense, which made four errors on Wednesday. Woodford allowed seven runs, only three of which were earned, over five innings while allowing 10 hits and walking two. Relievers Luke Harrison and Steven Gallardo followed him and were roughed up, as Harrison gave up a run in one inning, while Gallardo gave up three runs over two.

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Class A Short Season State College had an off day

Advanced Rookie Johnson City won 7-6 over Greeneville in 13 innings

  • The Cardinals’ offense was strong on Wednesday, collecting 16 hits and four walks. Third baseman Bryce Denton led the way while going 4-for-6 with a double, and left fielder Matt Fiedler went 3-for-6 with a double.
  • First baseman Yariel Gonzalez continued an 11-game hit. streak. He’s reached base in all 14 games of his professional career to date, and he has hits in 13 of those 14 games.
  • Second baseman J.R. Davis, a 15th-rounder out of Oklahoma State last month, hit his first professional homer in the 10th inning.
  • The Cardinals used six different pitchers in the 13-inning affair, all of whom were pretty solid. Starter Jordan Hicks gave up just one earned run on three hits and four walks over five innings while striking out four.

GCL Cardinals won 10-6 over the GCL Mets in 10 innings

  • As often seems to be the case, first-rounder Delvin Perez led the way offensively for the Cardinals, going 3-for-6 with a triple and six RBI, two of which came with two outs. Seven of nine Cardinals starters had hits, as well as subs Dylan Carlson and Stefan Trosclair.
  • Carlos Rodriguez, who started at first base and then shifted to left field, went 2-for-6 with a solo homer, his first on American soil after playing the first two seasons of his career in the Dominican Summer League.
  • Rehabbing righthander Jery Then and recent second-rounder Connor Jones (who was making his pro debut) each tossed a scoreless inning of relief. 27th-rounder Mike O’Reilly was perhaps the Cardinals’ most effective pitcher on Wednesday, going four innings and allowing one earned run on five hits and a walk. Though he blew the Cardinals’ lead in the seventh inning, O’Reilly went on to toss a scoreless eighth, ninth, and tenth and picked up the win.

Next: Former Prospect Friday: Seth Blair

DSL Cardinals had a doubleheader with the DSL Nationals, winning 12-3 in Game 1, but losing 3-1 in Game 2

  • Catcher Julio Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a a triple and four RBI in Game 1. He proved to be the most effective Cardinals hitter of the day, as the team was held to just three hits and a walk in Game 2.
  • Starter Junior Gonzalez delivered a solid performance in Game 1, giving up one earned run on three hits and no walks over two innings. Lefty Enrique Perez‘s line stood out in Game 2, as he threw two innings, allowing just one hit, no walks, and no runs.
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