CARDINALS MAGAZINE 105
DANIEL PONCEDELEON VICTOR ROACHE
P OF
6-FOOT-3 205 POUNDS
THROWS AND BATS RIGHT6-FOOT-2 235 POUNDS
BATS AND THROWS RIGHTBy now, most Cardinals fans are familiar with Poncedeleon’s
name after his solid start at Memphis last May was derailed when he
was struck in the head by a line drive.
The righthander remained sidelined for the rest of the season,
and while his prognosis was positive, no one knew for sure how he
would perform upon his 2018 return.
The answer: even better than before.
Through the first weekend in June, the 26-year-old led the Pacific
Coast League with a 2.48 ERA and 68 strikeouts (a career-best 11.3
K’s per nine innings). Opponents were batting .224 against him –
the PCL’s second-lowest mark.
“Daniel has been my most improved starter this season,”
Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp reveals. “He is getting his fastball
in the zone more, making it more useful, and that makes his
secondary stuff more useful. When he dominates the top of the zone
with his fastball and can use his secondary stuff off the top of the
zone, it leads to more strikeouts.”
It’s a promising trajectory for the pitcher, whose major league
dreams withstood the bumpy road of four different colleges and
hearing his name called four different times in the draft. He joined
the Cardinals in 2104 as a ninth-round pick.
Clapp believes Poncedeleon’s role with St. Louis could be either
starting, as he’s primarily done in Memphis, or relieving.
“Sometimes, he is reserved with what he is trying to do and paces
himself,” the manager says. “If you put him in the bullpen, he could
potentially spike up a little bit in velocity and go after guys.”
Despite already featuring top-prospect outfielders at the highest
levels of the system, the Cardinals added a handful of outsiders
via trade and free agency this offseason for depth. Best-known is
Roache, a former first-round pick (Milwaukee, 2012) and NCAA
home run king (2011).
As a Brewer, the 26-year-old alternated periods of success (22
homers in 2013, an all-star nod in 2015) with setbacks (a fractured
fibula in 2016). Roache was known for plus power but also for an
overly aggressive approach (1 K every 3 AB), and his progress stalled
at Double-A.
After he became a Cardinal at the end of January, Roache
embraced a game-changing recommendation from the player
development staff: a more compact swing.
“I saw it (a shorter swing) in spring training,” says Springfield
manager Johnny Rodriguez. “I saw the strength. Great find.”
Through June 1, Roache’s retooled stroke generated three hitting
streaks of at least seven games. He sat tied for second in home runs
(14) in the minors, while on pace for 40 homers and more than 100
RBIs. Yet he also had a team-high 58 strikeouts to 14 walks.
Rodriguez sees the potential in Roache to reach the majors with
St. Louis after beginning his career elsewhere – similar to two other
recent Cardinals standouts who came from other franchises.
“He’s a (Jeremy) Hazelbaker of the world, Jose Martinez of the
world,” the manager says. “They (front office) are finding these
players. Martinez is not doing that by accident. Hazelbaker did not
do that by accident. Roache is in that same boat.”Memphis Triple-A Springfield Double-AWho’s On Our Radar
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