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But, um ... where would he fit?
Any time a desperate Fantasy owner or prospect hound would suggest to me that the Cardinals should call up top prospect Alex Reyes, that would be my response.
Well, now it's actually happening. Michael Wacha is on the DL with shoulder inflammation, and Reyes is taking his place on the active roster.
So the question I ask now is -- you guessed it -- where does he fit? Because if it's in the bullpen, Fantasy owners don't really benefit.
Bad news: Derrick Goold, beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, says it's in the bullpen.
But wait, that doesn't make sense. The Cardinals just lost a starting pitcher, after all, and will still have an opening in their starting rotation Saturday. You mean to tell me they'll be sending Reyes down in a few days to make room for some other bum?
It's possible. Of course, it's even more possible they send down some other bottom-of-the-bullpen guy.
But wait, what bum would they call up anyway? All of the other pitchers who've made starts for them the last two years -- Tyler Lyons, Tim Cooney, Marco Gonzales -- are hurt, except for ... wait, don't tell me they're calling up that Mike Mayers guy again? He was awful!
Nine earned runs in 1 1/3 innings awful, to be exact. But no, they have someone else in mind for Saturday.
Weaver will start for #Cardinals on Saturday at Wrigley.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) August 9, 2016
Wait ... Jered Weaver, that washout for the Angels?
Not quite.
His brother, Jeff!?
No! Just listen. Or look, rather:
See? This Luke Weaver guy is pretty good -- a prospect in his own right, I might even say and in fact did just a couple weeks ago, declaring him one of 10 prospects whose stock has risen the most season. Granted, his promotion is more on the level of, say, Joe Musgrove's, meaning I'll want to wait and see how he does before putting in a claim in a standard mixed league, but I'll definitely be watching.
Still, the broader meaning of the Cardinals turning to a pitcher with just one Triple-A start (Weaver's other 12 were at Double-A) is that they really, really don't want Reyes in the starting rotation just yet. And to be frank, I'm not sure you do either.
Sure, he has electric stuff -- was clocked at 101 mph in the Futures Game a few weeks ago (see above) -- and is poised to become the Cardinals ace in the not-too-distant future, but only if they don't botch his development. And seeing as he was suspended for the first 50 games this season because of a failed marijuana test, has averaged 4.4 walks per nine innings at Triple-A Memphis, and has lasted six innings in only 11 of his 14 starts this season, it's fair to assume the 21-year-old's development is less than complete.
And remember, the Cardinals went this same route with their best pitching prospect before this one, Carlos Martinez, giving him not just a late-season trial in relief but nearly a full season the following year. And no one would argue with the results.
So in the here and now, I'm not terribly motivated to pick up Reyes in standard redraft leagues. I'm not privy to the Cardinals' plans, of course, but I feel like I've seen this movie before. And even if another spot opens up for him in the weeks ahead, his wildness and efficiency issues would make him less than a slam-dunk pickup for me, unless of course he dominates out of the bullpen.
Hey, I watched those Futures Game highlights. I won't rule it out.
