LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Adam Duvall took his thunderous bat and University of Louisville baseball T-shirts to Boston where he will attack the Green Monster and the Red Sox will pay him $7 million this season.
Chad Green, another former Cardinal, signed a two-year, $8.5 million deal to leave the Yankees for the Blue Jays — and excel in the bullpen after he completes his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Will Smith’s salary jumped to $5.25 million with the Dodgers, who must decide if they will extend his deal before Smith becomes the most desired free agent catcher on the market after the 2025 major league baseball season.
Brandon McKay will likely miss more time because of injuries in Tampa while the Burdi brothers (Nick, Cubs; Zach, Rays) continue their push to overcome injuries and get to the big leagues.
Don’t forget that three former Cards — Bobby Miller, pitcher, Dodgers, No. 28; Henry Davis, catcher, Pirates, No. 30; and Dalton Rushing, catcher, Dodgers, No. 62 — made the list of baseball’s Top 100 prospects that Keith Law assemble for The Athletic.
The next group of Cardinals that Major League Baseball teams will observe, analyze and eventually draft will make their 2023 debut this weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Dan McDonnell’s team will play the first three of eight consecutive home games against Bucknell at 3 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Know this about the McDonnell’s team: They will win; They will contend for the Atlantic Coast Conference title; They will be a threat to make the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska and they will have multiple players selected in the MLB Draft in July.
The Cards and Wake Forest were the preseason picks to win the league by the ACC Coaches. Baseball America broke the tie by picking Louisville as its’ ACC favorite as well as the No. 5 team in America — behind (in order) Louisiana State; Tennessee; Florida and Stanford.
“I haven’t said anything to the players about (the outside predictions),” McDonnell said. “I’d say we’re immune to it. But they’re college kids so I’m sure they read it.”
The subliminal messages about what is expected are powerful. The Cards staged their preseason meeting in the Omaha Room at the baseball complex. A king-sized photo of TD Ameritrade Park, site of the College World Series, serves as wallpaper in the room. The CWS logo was featured prominently on the portable visual backdrop at the media gathering.
“Growing up for all of us as kids, it’s a reason we come here — to get to Omaha,” said catcher Jack Payton, a guy who has the attention of MLB scouts.
“Not just to get there but to win. We all want to be national champions. Ever since that loss to Texas A&M (in the Super Regional) last year, it’s been a circle on our calendar.”
“You come here to win,” said Christian Knapczyk, the Cards’ fiery shortstop. “You come here to win the national championship.
“We want to be the first (U of L baseball team) to do that.”
The wise guys believe they have the tools with guys like Payton (.350 batting average, 54 RBIs); Knapczyk (.480 on-base percentage, 17 steals); second baseman Logan Beard (.410 on-base percentage, 54 RBIs) and talented freshmen like Tucker Biven and Patrick Forbes.
Here is the Cards’ top breakout candidate: Outfielder Eddie King, who missed last season with an injury. King is the latest prime talent the Cards recruited from the Chicago area, and he flashed his tools last summer while winning the Mike Schmidt Player of the Year Award in the Prospect League, hitting 15 home runs with 49 RBIs and 31 stolen bases in 49 games.
“There’s always a couple of players that surface and have great years every year,” McDonnell said.
The Cards can also pitch. They have always developed arms with pitching coach Roger Williams. Expect McDonnell to give multiple guys opportunities in difficult situations before ACC play begins, but Tate Kuehner and Riley Phillips are the leading candidates to be Louisville’s Friday night starter — the prized role once filled by pros like Green, McKay and Reid Detmers (Angels).
“As I've learned in coaching, you have to set the standard every year,” McDonnell said.
“These guys are only here for three or four years. So, as the coaches aren't changing, the players are the ones that are living the standard.
“We can be on top of you as much as we can, but we're not with you 24/7.
“My hope is that those players, especially those guy that are juniors and seniors, they were here two years ago (when U of L missed the NCAA Tournament).
“And then they were here last year. So we're challenging them to make sure they set the standard again.
“We just filled out all of our goals, our expectations, our nitty gritty goals, our Whys and all that good stuff. We'll meet this week and kind of put it all together.
“Then it’s just, ‘Hey guys, these are the standards again of the program and let's uphold the standard or set the standard.’"
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