System overview
The St. Louis Cardinals have one of the weakest farm systems in baseball. This seems odd, since several of the Cardinals' top players are products of the farm. But the system as it stands now is quite weak, extremely thin in position players and only slightly better in pitchers.

One big problem has been injuries: a rash of arm woes knocked down a large group of pitchers that the Cardinals were counting on to fill their rotation in the early part of the 21st century. Josh Pearce, Jim Journell, Justin Pope, Chance Caple, Nick Stocks, Blake Williams, Chris Narveson and Les Walrond have all had problems staying healthy. Whether this is just random chance or indicative of some sort of organizational coaching or training problem remains to be seen.

The hitters have fewer excuses. Several highly-touted tools players have been busts. Japanese import So Taguchi was a huge disappointment. There are a few interesting guys at the lower levels, but no one who stands out as a potential impact player.

The Cards have plenty of talent on the major league level, so the poor state of the minor league system won't hurt them right away. But this is something that will have to be corrected for the team to remain strong down the road.

2002 amateur draft
St. Louis gave up their first two draft picks to sign free agents Jason Isringhausen and Tino Martinez. They didn't help system depth by taking raw North Carolina high school shortstop Calvin Hayes with their first pick, a third round choice. He's a great athlete, but will need a lot of time to develop. Fourth-round pick Kyle Boyer, a shortstop from a junior college in Utah, hit .292 and swiped 20 bases in the New York-Penn League, but tends to swing and miss a lot. He has ability, but isn't polished yet.

Fifth-round pick Josh Bell, a high school catcher from Tennessee, didn't sign, attending college at Auburn instead. Sixth-round pick Cody Haerther, a third baseman out of high school in California, signed late and hasn't played. Seventh-round pick David Williamson, a lefty from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, has a terrific curveball, but also walked 19 men in 25 innings in the NY-P. An interesting choice is 13th-round pick Reid Gorecki, a University of Delaware outfielder who whacked 13 triples in the NY-P.

It's a good thing the Cardinals signed fireballing right-handers Blake Hawksworth and Shane Reedy as draft-and-follow picks from the '01 draft, because the '02 effort looks very weak at first glance.

Top prospects
Players in the "Will Help Soon" section could see significant major league action in 2003. Players in the "Will Help Someday" section shouldn't reach the majors until '04 or later, though of course that can change. Players are listed alphabetically. No 2002 draftees are listed.

WILL HELP SOON
Jim Journell, RHP: Owner of a nasty 93 mph sinker and a hard slider, Journell also throws strikes and knows how to pitch. He also has problems keeping his shoulder healthy, and already had Tommy John surgery on his elbow.

Scotty Layfield, RHP: Middle relief candidate. Works with low 90s sinker, slider combination. Saved 24 at Double-A New Haven.

WILL HELP SOMEDAY
Shaun Boyd, 2B: Hit .313 with 12 homers, 32 steals in the Class A Midwest League. He was repeating the league, though, and is still learning second base after starting his career as an outfielder.

Dan Haren, RHP: Throws strikes at 93 mph, and should be ready within a year. Posted 171/31 K/BB in 194 innings at two A-ball levels. Workload seems excessive, though he is an efficient pitcher.

Blake Hawksworth, RHP: Great name to go with a great arm. Draft-and-follow from '01, but a better talent than anyone the Cards signed in '02.

Tyler Johnson, LHP: Curveball artist went 15-3, with 2.00 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 121 innings for Class A Peoria.

Rhett Parrott, RHP: Finesse pitcher, but posted 2.71 ERA in the Class A Carolina League and 2.86 ERA in the Double-A Eastern League. Low strikeout rate warns not to get high expectations just yet.

Justin Pope, RHP: Recovering from arm trouble, posted 1.38 ERA and 6-1 record in 12 rehab starts for Peoria, showing both velocity and command.

KEY SLEEPER
John Gall, 1B: Scouts don't like him, but he hit .316 with 45 doubles, 20 homers, 14 steals at New Haven. Has hit at every level, and could be a Ron Coomer-style useful platoon/bench player.

Other names to know
Shane Reedy, RHP; Nick Stocks, RHP; Tyler Adamczyk, RHP; Jancy Andrade, RHP; Joel Baretto, RHP; Kiko Calero, RHP; Dee Haynes, OF; Cheyenne Janke, RHP; Yadier Molina, C; John Nelson, SS; Chris Narveson, LHP.

John Sickels is the author of the 2002 Minor League Scouting Notebook, and is now working on the 2003 Baseball Prospect Book. His biography of Bob Feller will be published next spring. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, son, and two cats. You can send John questions or comments at JASickels@aol.com, or you can visit his homepage at JohnSickels.com.