Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedChief
Cardinals add Gomber, Mercado, O'Neill and reliever Derian Gonzalez to 40-man roster. Leaves them one spot.
DJ, who did we expose to the rule 5 draft this year that we will regret?
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Nobody.
Wisdom will probably get taken but he's just another high strikeout, low walk power righthander with solid power in an organization that has a seemingly limitless supply of those.
He has some defensive versatility so I expect he'll get taken and squirreled away as a bench bat. I just don't see much use for him here. If he were left-handed, I'd be a little more annoyed.
Every time you'd see an article about 'Wisdom's new approach' he'd go into the tank for 3 weeks and make it look like it's less approach than it just him being a streaky hitter. I don't see much if any ceiling for him at this point. I'd have liked to see if they could've flipped him to some team at the back of the draft for some catcher or shortstop that can't hit a breaking ball who they could try to put on the mound and salvage an asset from, but shit happens.
This isn't like dicking up with Anthony Garcia and not protecting Allen Cordoba because of a bad gamble. I just don't think they had a need for Wisdom and he doesn't have the upside to keep him on the 40 man.
Mercado will be a major leaguer, IMO. Maybe not a great one, but I like him more than Sierra. O'Neill will probably make a squad in the near future as well due to his power and athleticism (another Grichuk type). Gonzalez could be stashed in a bullpen even though he's probably still further away than you'd like; that'll mean he needs to start developing fast as the team uses his options to get him down to the minors from the 40 man - the clock's started on him and he still hasn't pitched above High A.
Gomber could start for a handful of teams out there right now; though he'll likely never be more than a 4th/5th starter - lots of polish but not a lot of stuff. Really good frame, though and as a smart lefty with just enough stuff to get by, I could see him being a 180 inning, .500 pitcher. Maybe a Jon Neise type? Give a well-built lefty with a good head on his shoulders 3 solid pitches and you can get a lot out of him.