Cardinals Farm Director Rob Cerfolio Discusses a Deep St. Louis System

The St. Louis Cardinals boast one of many recreation’s greatest farm methods. Sturdy on the prime and as deep as anybody’s — 53 gamers had been profiled in yesterday’s rundown of the crew’s prime prospects — the pipeline possesses not solely high-level expertise procured via the newbie draft and worldwide market, but additionally high-ceiling kids acquired by way of commerce. Led by president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, the NL Central membership is firmly in rebuild mode, trusting its participant growth division to show present-day promise into high quality efficiency within the majors.

Rob Cerfolio is taking part in an essential position in these efforts. Employed away from the Cleveland Guardians by Bloom — a fellow Yale College graduate — in October 2024, the 33-year-old holds the title of assistant normal supervisor for participant growth and participant efficiency. He profiles as match for the job. Previously Cleveland’s farm director, Cerfolio has been described by former Cardinals beat author John Denton as somebody who “prefers to function whereas learning reams of biomechanical knowledge, analyzing pitching arm angles and hitter swing paths and cargo profiles.”

Cerfolio mentioned St. Louis’ participant growth philosophy, and among the crew’s most notable prospects, in a latest telephone dialog.

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David Laurila: Your membership not too long ago acquired Jurrangelo Cijntje from Seattle. I assume you and Matt Pierpont — he was once with the Mariners — had been a part of the in-house commerce discussions?

Rob Cerfolio: “Sure, our director of pitching, Matt Pierpont, had Jurrangelo for half a 12 months earlier than I employed him over right here. We did have enter. That’s a enjoyable a part of this job, and a part of why I left Cleveland for the chance: to impression offers like this, to have a voice within the room. Clearly, Chaim is the ultimate decision-maker, however we run a extremely collaborative acquisition course of. Everyone from Matt, who you introduced up, to myself and the remainder of our senior management crew is weighing in on the assorted ideas and packages.

“We’ve been digging into Jurrangelo and a handful of different gamers throughout completely different organizations for weeks. That’s the best way we run any participant evaluation course of, by understanding who the participant is, what their developmental trajectory has been, and the place we’d have the ability to take that if we had been to accumulate him. These are the baseline desk stakes for any deal we’d make. We’re doing that proactively forward of any precise acquisition.”

Laurila: The group you got here from is well-known for making pitchers higher. In what methods is the Cardinals’ method to growing pitchers related?

Cerfolio: “That has been one other enjoyable facet for me. I joined the Guardians proper off the sector and was there for a decade. Quite a lot of the methods we did issues had been a direct results of [assistant general manager] Eric Binder and different individuals, together with myself, co-creating what our philosophy was going to be, and tweaking that 12 months over 12 months.

“Bringing that to a brand new place, it was about studying what the Cardinals had been doing and valuing, and looking for what items of that I actually favored. There are additionally individuals round me who come from completely different faculties of ideas, and from completely different productive organizations. That was a deliberate effort on my finish. Final 12 months, I used to be [Bloom’s] first rent, and after that my job was to rent people who find themselves actually good, and construct one thing nice. It’s been actually enjoyable marrying up issues from the place our new workers got here from, and making an attempt to construct an excellent higher model of that philosophy. So there’s positively some Guardians affect, but additionally some Mariners affect, some Cardinals affect, some Orioles affect, and a few Pirates affect. It’s quite a lot of ‘What will we like from the place we got here from, and the way will we leverage that going ahead?’”

Laurila: Liam Doyle is outstanding within the system, partly as a result of he has big-time velocity. The place is he when it comes to his secondary pitches?

Cerfolio: “Liam’s fastball, in a vacuum, is de facto prime quality. And each pitcher is completely different, proper? There are nice pitchers that get to productive efficiency, 12 months over 12 months, by having an ideal secondary and a mean fastball, and there are some pitchers who get to nice manufacturing by the use of having an elite fastball with a mean or below-average secondary.

“The thrilling factor about Liam is that we see potential for each an ideal secondary and an ideal fastball. He’s at a unique developmental stage with all these issues at the moment, however we’ve already begun the developmental playbook with him to make sure that he’s received nice choices to beat each right-handed and left-handed hitters persistently. That’s what he’s going to need to do as a starter. As a left-handed starter, you face about 75% right-handed hitters, usually. With the intention to be a extremely good constant lefty starter, it is advisable have a whole arsenal so as to have the ability to actually beat right-handed hitters. That’s form of our purpose with Liam. We predict he’s received an ideal baseline to work off of.”

Laurila: What in regards to the fastball itself? Are there traits past velocity that make it particularly efficient?

Cerfolio: “He creates some high-quality method angles, some flatter angles over the plate, by the use of how his fastball form strikes and among the 3D launch traits. Extra importantly, his secondary by itself, regardless of his fastball, has the potential to be actually good, whether or not that’s a firmer slider or a extra horizontal, sweepier model on prime of the splitter that he’s already displayed. So once more, I feel there are a number of avenues for him to have high-quality secondaries.”

Laurila: Does Doyle have lot of extension in his supply?

Cerfolio: “He’s not an enormous extension man. He’s extra round common, I might say.”

Laurila: Brandon Clarke, who came visiting from Boston within the Sonny Grey commerce, does have plus extension. He additionally has plus velocity and a decrease three-quarters slot. Extension apart, how related is he to Doyle?

Cerfolio: “That’s query. There are some similarities within the sense that they’re each left-handed and throw onerous. How they create secondary shapes and plus-velocity fastballs is a bit bit completely different. Doyle has a bit extra of a ride-run fastball form, whereas Clarke is a bit more cut-ride. Every of these creates alternative for various secondary weapons round that.

“There being each similarities and variations is a enjoyable a part of participant growth, and pitching growth particularly. What’s greatest for this participant may not be greatest for a unique participant. Every man is a case research. We attempt to use that particular person participant’s greatest motion signature, and the best way that they launch the baseball, to make our greatest guess on what which means for his or her present arsenal, and the place we wish to take it to get one of the best efficiency doable.”

Laurila: Handedness apart, does Tanner Franklin share related traits to Doyle or Clarke?

Cerfolio: “He does. Tanner is one other man the place velocity is his good friend. I feel Tanner, equally to Liam, has a extremely sturdy fastball basis to construct off of. There are some fascinating issues with Tanner. If he would have been at a inventory school program, he’s most likely a Friday or Saturday night time starter; he simply occurred to pitch on one of many deepest staffs in all of school baseball [at the University of Tennessee] final 12 months. We’re actually excited to see him in some prolonged outings this upcoming 12 months.

“We predict he has some alternatives to get to productive secondaries in a barely completely different means than Liam does. However yeah, there are avenues there for him, identical to Liam and Clarkie, to have a number of high-quality secondary shapes.”

Laurila: I’ve learn that Franklin has a high quality slider.

Cerfolio: “Sure. we’ve been placing in some good work on that this offseason. I wouldn’t be shocked if we see him with a number of slider shapes sooner or later in time. There may very well be a sweeper, extra of a tighter, firmer slider. He’s a man who can simply create a number of variations of a slider.”

Laurila: Leaping to the place gamers, JJ Wetherholt is broadly thought to be the highest prospect within the system. What makes his hit software pretty much as good as it’s?

Cerfolio: “There’s a tactical and technical part to that. Once I say technical, there’s the best way that he strikes within the batter’s field, and the best way that his bat path is adaptable to completely different shapes and completely different areas. Then there’s the tactical aspect of this: how he prepares and what he’s trying to execute each at-bat. For those who do each of these issues rather well, usually you’re a reasonably productive hitter. And that’s actually onerous to do, particularly on the highest degree.

“One of the best hitters I’ve been round, just like the José Ramírezes of the world, have strengths in each of these buckets. We’ve actually tried to proceed to push JJ to be even higher, and form of go from nice to glorious. However the care issue that he places into each of these, and the best way that he trains and works, all the time trying to enhance as a hitter, each technically and tactically, actually separates him. Hopefully that’s one thing we see for a very long time at Busch Stadium in a productive means.”

Laurila: Has something modified within the hitting growth program because you came visiting to the group?

Cerfolio: “Sure. It’s just like how I framed it on the pitching aspect. It’s about bringing my experiences to the desk and making an attempt to rent high-quality, clever individuals from completely different organizations which have additionally had success. We trade secrets and techniques and philosophies. What did we like? What did we not like? What does that imply for what we wish to do shifting ahead? There are actually issues which might be staples to what I consider in on the subject of a hitting growth method, identical to the pitching aspect, and it’s been enjoyable to have these conversations with individuals who come from completely different experiences. We mix these forces.”

Laurila: Ryan Mitchell is an intriguing younger prospect who I’ve seen described as a pure hitter. How does he profile, and the way would you outline “pure hitter”?

Cerfolio: “That’s most likely extra of a scout time period than it’s a “me” time period, so that you might need to ask another individuals what that truly means. However Ryan is clearly a extremely younger hitter, proper? He’s a younger baseball participant. All of those guys popping out of highschool, you’re actually simply instructing them what it means to be knowledgeable — set up knowledgeable routine, put together themselves bodily for the calls for of professional baseball. We haven’t actually seen this man play, and even observe a ton but. What we now have seen is the character and work ethic, the dedication to studying and investing in his profession. When these packing containers are checked proper out of the chute, that’s usually a extremely good factor.

“We’re simply all excited to see him in spring coaching after which for an prolonged first full season. There’s quite a lot of expertise there. There are pitch recognition abilities that our scouting workers was actually enthusiastic about. We’ll see what occurs over a couple-year growth monitor.”

Laurila: Joshua Baez actually stepped up his manufacturing final season. Did he make significant changes, or was it principally a matter of his being absolutely wholesome?

Cerfolio: “There have been some fairly massive issues that we spotlighted. I feel JB deserves the lion’s share of the credit score for his willingness to assault them — he’s one other actually dedicated participant — and a few of it was motion within the batter’s field, posture by the use of his setup, the place his physique was shifting as his bat was working via the zone. In the end, how he’s shifting within the field impacts the best way wherein his bat works via. So utilizing these two issues as our areas of intervention… we had a speculation, and labored intently with JB from final January during the season to attempt to impression his physique actions and posture in order that these may affect the best way that his bat path labored.

“This can be a man who creates elite bat velocity. We wished that to have the ability to present via by the use of extra constant contact. It was an ideal collaborative course of by our hitting group, by our excessive efficiency group, by all events concerned — particularly the participant — the willingness to dive in and get our fingers soiled. We put a plan in place for final winter, during the season, and now we get the chance to see if we are able to try this once more, proper? We’re not fixing for Double-A efficiency. We’re fixing for main league impression. We all know there can be different changes that should be made, however once more, it’s simply having an goal evaluation course of to try to hyperlink that every one the best way again to how we clear up for future main league efficiency.”

Laurila: The place is Rainiel Rodriguez when it comes to a participant plan?

Cerfolio: “His is a bit bit completely different from Joshua’s. Every of these guys has a really completely different set of actions and swing signatures within the batter’s field. There are issues that they do equally — each can actually impression the baseball and create velocity — however for Rainiel, will probably be extra about pitch protection to completely different areas. He’s going to face quite a bit higher pitching over the course of the subsequent 12 months, and we’ll have the ability to use that info to make sure, identical to Baez, that we’re pushing him, training-wise, within the course that he must go to have the ability to deal with higher degree and main league pitching at some point.”

Laurila: Rodriguez isn’t the one notable catcher within the system — you’ve got guys like Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal. Does the group place an emphasis on that place, or is it roughly happenstance that you’ve three catchers close to the highest of your system?

Cerfolio: “I feel it’s most likely a bit little bit of each. It’s a enormous credit score to our acquisitions groups within the worldwide and newbie areas that they’ve been capable of finding attributes that result in future prospect worth and main league impression. It’s a credit score to the group for having a lineage of a top quality catching pipeline. That’s not by probability.”

Laurila: There are much more subjects and gamers than we now have time to speak about, so let me ask this: What could be query for me to shut with?

Cerfolio: “You would ask a query like, ‘Why does it really feel just like the trade has possibly taken a step again on Quinn Mathews?’ Or you can ask about Tekoah Roby, who has a extremely particular arm. He wanted Tommy John surgical procedure final 12 months, however he’s a man we’re actually enthusiastic about on the pitching aspect. After which on the place participant aspect, we talked a bit little bit of hitting, however how about protection and baserunning? Creating these abilities, whether or not it’s versatility on protection or tactically on the bases, these are issues that affect a significant league baseball recreation. We take a ton of satisfaction in instructing these issues.”

Laurila: That’s kind of a throwback to “The Cardinal Method” — fundamentals are essential.

Cerfolio: “We’re going to essentially train, and spend time, doing actual participant growth work in these areas. That was one of many issues that I favored most after I was first interviewed for this job. It’s one thing the Cardinals care about. There aren’t any little issues in a baseball recreation. There are simply issues that impression the scoreboard, impression the ultimate rating. We have to do all of these issues rather well.”