St. Louis Cardinals Winter League Report

Mar 16, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Audry Perez (82) blocks a ball in the dirt against the Detroit Tigers at Roger Dean Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Cardinals 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

26-year-old left fielder Jermaine Curtis made his big league debut in 2013 (playing in three games) but he hit .257/.355/.349 in 115 Triple-A games in Memphis. he headed down to the Dominican Republic and played 34 games there with a .302/.417/.333 slash line that included three doubles, 17 walks and 11 strikeouts in 96 at bats.

22-year-old Puerto Rican outfielder Anthony Garcia excelled in the Puerto Rican winter league, so much so that he was added to the Puerto Rico roster for the Caribbean Series. Despite his youth, he hit .305/.376/.504 in 131 winter at bats, hitting 11 doubles and five home runs. The youngster struggled with making contact in High-A Palm Beach, hitting .217/.286/.383 with 95 strikeouts in 345 at bats but also hit 16 doubles and 13 home runs.

Ronny Gil, a Dominican shortstop, missed a lot of time in High-A Palm Beach, playing only 90 games in 2013 and showing slight improvements in his offensive numbers. Gil, 24, made up for some lost time by playing 23 games in the Dominican Republic and hitting .357/.426/.429 with one home run in 42 at bats.

Infielder Luis Mateo spent most of 2013 in Double-A Springfield and played an additional 37 games at home in Puerto Rico, not hitting particularly well with a .230/.305/.283 triple slash line.

Outfielder Rafael Ortega spent 2013 in the Rockies organization in Double-A but the 22 year old was claimed off of waivers from Texas in January who claimed him off waivers from Colorado in November. Ortega played this offseason at home in Venezuela and hit .240/.315/.290 in 100 at bats.

Backup catcher Audry Perez, 25, had a great time (in limited at bats) in the Dominican winter league, hitting .341/.372/.512 with four doubles and a home run in just 41 at bats. He only hit .210 in 305 at bats split between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.

24-year-old Puerto Rican first baseman Jonathan Rodriguez hit just .194 in 93 at bats (although he did blast seven doubles and two home runs) in Puerto Rico but had much better numbers in High-A Palm Beach with 34 doubles and 18 home runs with a .284 average and .373 OBP.

Breyvic Valera, 21, spent most of 2013 in the Midwest League with Peoria hitting extremely well with a .309 average and walking 40 times with just 30 strikeouts. While he only has three home runs in 307 minor league games, Breyvic showed a lot of extra-base pop in the Venezuelan League, hitting five doubles and seven triples in 202 at bats with a .272/.318/.366 line.

Apr 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Fernando Salas (59) delivers to the plate during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals signed 31-year-old Dominican righty Angel Castro to a major league contract this offseason. Castro spent 2013 in Triple-A for the Dodgers posting solid numbers, mostly as a starter, after a 2012 spent in Japan. Castro started eight games and pitched 48 2/3 innings in the Dominican and also made a start in the Caribbean Series. He had a 1.29 ERA and gave up 41 hits and 13 walks with 37 strikeouts.

Silfredo Garcia, 22, made 23 appearances in Venezuela but got lit up a bit, surrendering 20 earned runs in 19 innings on 23 hits and nine walks with 16 strikeouts. Garcia pitched in Class-A Peoria with some solid numbers (a 1.31 WHIP and a 3.82 ERA) but struck out only 64 in 99 innings.

27-year-old righty Scott McGregor split the season between Double-A and Triple A for the Cardinals with his numbers taking a big hit after his promotion. McGregor appeared in six games (starting five) for Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela with a 5.55 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, six walks and just 12 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings.

Right-handed reliever, Jorge Rondon, 25, threw 26 innings in Venezuela with a 4.15 ERA and 1.54 WHIP, 14 walks and 19 strikeouts after a solid season in Triple-A Memphis.

At the age of 28, Mexican righty Fernando Salas has 192 1/3 innings under his belt although he spent more time in the minors in 2013 than in any year since 2010. Salas made 11 appearances in the Mexican winter league, throwing 10 2/3 innings with a 2.53 ERA and miniscule 0.66 WHIP with just two walks and 10 strikeouts.