Brian34Cook

The mysterious Mr. McCormick
By Derrick Goold
03/13/2008 11:39 pm

JUPITER, Fla. — On the backfields of the Florida Marlins side of Roger Dean Stadium, there was sighting of an elusive and once feared lost Redbird on Thursday. He came sporting heat.

Mark McCormick, the fireballing prospect who was as much a riddle as a talent, made his first game start of spring training, throwing for Double-A Springfield against the Marlins’ affiliate. Less than a couple years ago, McCormick was considered the organization’s top pitching prospect within in the organization. He came to club as the 43rd overall pick in the 2005 draft, riding a fastball he could chuck in the high 90s, even if he didn’t always know where it was going.

McCormick worked 2 2/3 innings in his start, and he consistently threw 93 mph and 94 mph. He touched 96 mph, and he featured a sharp surve and baffled a hitter with a 85-mph changeup to whiff the final batter of the third inning. McCormick’s consistency tends to vary inning to inning. His walk totals can ebb just as his strikeouts flow, and vice versa.




– Following Walters, a couple other of the Cardinals’ minor-league starters came in. Brad Furnish took the loss, allowing five hits and four runs in his two innings. And, Trey Hearne allowed one hit and no runs in his two innings.

– Reid Gorecki had two hits, including an RBI double.


– There was McCormick, and: Gary Daley Jr. went 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, two walks and one strike. He took the loss. Though Eddie Degerman, the Rice alum with the extreme over-the-top, biceps-to-ear delivery, was the pitcher who struggled. He walked five and allowed two runs in his inning.

– Chuckie Fick and Zach Zuercher each worked a scoreless inning.

– Shortstop Tyler Greene, who is in a similar situation as McCormick, went 2-for-4 with a run scored. A. J. Van Slyke went 2-for-3 with a walk and a couple RBIs, and Luke Gorsett was 2-for-4 with a double.



– Cruz (catcher) and Tommy Pham (outfielder) each homered.

– Daryl Jones, that raw athlete who has idled a bit in Low-A the past couple seasons, went 2-for-2, with a double, and stole a base. This past winter, the Cardinals discussed starting Jones in High-A Palm Beach, to challenge him but also to see if he could get some momentum going in spring and stay put and ride it for a bit. They’d also like to see what he does when he gets to start and stay in warm weather.

– Kopp pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk, striking out and that one emphatic first pump. … JD Stambaugh got the victory for his two innings of work, during which he allowed one hit and one run (unearned) while striking out two. … Cordoza Tucker picked up the save with a scoreless ninth that included two strikeouts.


– Justin Roberson cracked a leadoff home run as I was walking back the field McCormick was on. Roberson went 2-for-2 with two walks and two hit by pitches. He reached base six times, his other hit was a triple … and yet he only scored one run.

– Josh Dew pitched the ninth, striking out one in a scoreless frame. … Jess Todd, threw two innings and allowed three hits and a run. … Jai Chul Chung pitched two innings, gave up two hits, walked one, but also didn’t allow a run and struck out three.

– Jose Garcia was 3-for-4 with a double … Catcher Luis De La Cruz, considered one of the finest prospects in the GCL last year, hit a solo homer.



– Quad Cities bolted to a quick 3-0 lead and held on. Charlie Pelt paced the offense with three hits in four at-bats and three RBIs. Ross Oeder scored twice, and Will Groff doubled, walked and scored a run.

– Josh Wilson worked three scoreless innings, allowing two hits without a walk and with a strikeout. … Mark Diapoules also pitched three scoreless, striking out five. … Francisco Samuel got the save with a scoreless ninth and he struck out two of the three batters that he faced.




STLtoday.com - Bird Land - Blog Archive - The mysterious Mr. McCormick

The Vuch Report is kinda cool! I didnt post this first one though..