Cardinals coaches swat ground balls to infielders on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, as spring training continues at the team鈥檚 practice facility in Jupiter, Fla.
JUPITER, Fla. 鈥 While perched atop a tower that overlooks the four back fields in the George Kissell Quad at the Cardinals鈥 training complex, farm director Larry Day felt compelled to hold up his phone and record the scene around him.
It was March 7, and on one field, Class Low-A manager Gary Kendall led an interior team fundamental drill. A field over, fundamentals coordinator and Cardinals team Hall of Famer Jose Oquendo and field coordinator Ryan Barba worked with a group of infielders.
Day, 39, could see a group taking batting practice led by hitting coordinator Russ Steinhorn and assistant hitting coordinator Brock Hammit. There were prospects going over baserunning instruction with assistant field coordinator and baserunning coordinator Jose Leger and Class AA bench coach Danny Black.
Outfielders were training with former Redbirds turned instructors Ryan Ludwick and Bernard Gilkey as catchers spent time with catching coordinator Ethan Goforth and Class AA manager Patrick Anderson in the bullpens between fields.
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Day called the scene a 鈥渟ymphony of development鈥 and wanted to capture it and share it with his staff as he felt the scene showed their collaborative efforts over winter coming together in real time.
鈥淪ometimes in a spring training setting,鈥 Day said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch, 鈥渋t鈥檚 hard for people to see the forest through the trees because the treadmill is on 10.0. You鈥檙e going, going, going. ... I wanted to take the video so that our staff can hopefully take a second and look at that and be like, 鈥榃e鈥檙e getting there.鈥欌
That also painted a picture of the changes Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak referred to as the 鈥渕ajor heavy lifting鈥 for a club going through a minor league overhaul.
Ahead of Mozeliak鈥檚 final season as the club鈥檚 president of baseball operations and before special adviser Chaim Bloom takes over in that role, the Cardinals added to their player development staff beginning with the hire of Rob Cerfolio as an assistant general manager overseeing player development and performance. Day was hired as farm director after longtime farm director Gary LaRocque retired.
Additions were made at the coordinator level with the hires of Barba, Goforth, Carl Kochan (director of performance), Matt Pierpont (director of pitching) and Austin Meine (pitching coordinator). Some of the coordinator hires, including Goforth鈥檚 as catching coordinator, filled roles the organization hadn鈥檛 in recent years. The moves have given players additional resources for instruction.
鈥淲e all each have one job and one individual dream is to get up to the big leagues, so us young guys, just having those resources helps out a lot,鈥 top catching prospect Jimmy Crooks said. 鈥淏ut we still got to play ball. They鈥檙e not playing baseball on the field for us. We have to do it ourselves.鈥
Before spring training began in February, Day and the Cardinals looked to begin the relationship-building process between the new player development hires, the returning staff and the players.
In some instances, a gesture as simple as a phone call was a starting point.
鈥淗e鈥檚 really positive, and he鈥檚 really into learning and adapting and just building a good relationship with the players, so we all feel comfortable in this work environment,鈥 outfield prospect Joshua Baez said about the phone call Day made to him shortly after his hire as farm director.
Another came through an early camp in January when the Cardinals held an early camp intended to further the relationship process between the new staff, returning staff and players.
Infielder JJ Wetherholt, the club鈥檚 top prospect, was one of the January camp participants and described the opportunity as one that allowed him to get a sense of the plans from the new staff as well as provide them feedback.
鈥淏eing able to relay that for certain things you like, certain things you might not like 鈥 they don鈥檛 have to listen to everything because, at the end of the day, they鈥檙e in the position to get us better how they find best, but just knowing that you can throw whatever at them and see how they respond, this is helpful,鈥 Wetherholt said.
Since minor league camp began and music has filled the air of the previously quiet back fields, Cardinals prospects expressed optimism in their work with the new staff through on-field instruction and in meeting rooms as the relationship-building process continues.
As put by Quinn Mathews, the club鈥檚 top pitching prospect: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning us. We鈥檙e learning them. You鈥檙e trying to use the best information that you can to help you become the best version of yourself.鈥
Baez, in his fourth spring camp since getting drafted in 2021, described the changes as offering 鈥渕ore opportunities to get your name out there.鈥
Left-hander Cooper Hjerpe, the club鈥檚 first-round pick in 2022, highlighted work with Meine and Pierpont as a 鈥渉uge help鈥 and followed that by noting his experience using motion-capture technology and force plates, the latter of which measures 3D forces to 鈥減ut the statistics, camera and talent all in one and see what comes out on top.鈥 Hjerpe said the use of force plates were a first for him in spring training.
鈥淚 got off that and I thought it was pretty cool that they鈥檙e getting that into the swing of things with the minor league guys and seeing what they can do, if anything, to help someone, whether it鈥檚 on the motion capture. It could be one little thing and then they鈥檙e a different pitcher,鈥 Hjerpe said.
When spring camp closes at the end of March, the Cardinals are expected to move forward with the renovation of their training complex.
The investment is one that has plans to upgrade spaces like the club鈥檚 weight room and meeting rooms as well as kitchen space. Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt III said during the club鈥檚 Winter Warm-Up event in January that investments will be made in technology on the hitting and pitching side to help put the organization at the 鈥渃utting edge鈥 of modern player development.
In reference to the incoming upgrades, Day noted that no detail, big or small, is compartmentalized, instead trying to emphasize by maximizing the resources given to them in the long and short terms.
鈥淲ithin the large scale, like if we鈥檙e talking about an A-ball player,鈥 Day said, 鈥渨e鈥檙e talking about, 鈥極K, what is this player long term? What鈥檚 the vision for this player long term, but how can we impact that player right now to help him actualize that vision for him?鈥 It is a process, but within that larger process, we want to kind of shorten the loop of understanding that we are providing immediate impact to these players.鈥
This article is part of the 51黑料 Cardinals season preview section, which will be in print on Sunday, March 23.
