Texas notes: Knizner blocks out chatter
Needed or not, the St. Louis Cardinals have yet another top-tier catching prospect in the pipeline.Andrew Knizner tries not to think about it, but the reality is his strong 2017 split between Class A Advanced Peoria and Double-A Springfield, a successful stint in the Arizona Fall League and a longer-than-expected
Needed or not, the St. Louis Cardinals have yet another top-tier catching prospect in the pipeline.
Andrew Knizner tries not to think about it, but the reality is his strong 2017 split between Class A Advanced Peoria and Double-A Springfield, a successful stint in the Arizona Fall League and a longer-than-expected stay at big league Spring Training have plenty of folks taking notice of the 23-year-old backstop.
His last 12 months have vaulted him to the No. 9 spot in the Cardinals prospect rankings, according to MLB.com, after he was ranked 27th at the end of last season.
But Knizner's thoughts are on his first full season at Springfield, not on future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina in St. Louis or possible heir Carson Kelly at Triple-A Memphis.
"Really, I just try to block out the excess stuff about what level I should be at and what level I will be at," Knizner said. "I just try to block that out and go play -- and play the game hard and play to win."
It's a way of thinking that has proven successful so far for Knizner, drafted out of North Carolina State in the seventh round in 2016.
His .391 average heading into Wednesday's games is tops in the Texas League, while his .462 on-base percentage is tied for third and he has two home runs and 13 RBIs. That came after he hit .324 in 51 games at Springfield last year, then hit .358 in the Arizona Fall League, which led to his second big league Spring Training.
This year was different, though, considering he wasn't sent to Minor League camp until the final week. He said it was a "little bit" of a surprise to be in big league camp for so long, but just another indication that he's doing things correctly.
While there, he worked closely with Molina and Kelly while getting valuable at-bats against Major League pitching.
"I had a strong showing early, and I guess my momentum carried me through," he said. "I guess I was a little surprised, but I felt like I played well enough to keep getting opportunities."
Those will keep coming if Knizner keeps hitting like he has over the last 12 months.
He credits his good start to 2018 to the pitching he saw in MLB Spring Training but acknowledge he's not yet a finished product. Consistency is what he's trying to master this season, which appears to be coming considering he has hit safely in 16 of 18 games this season.
Even still, he'll always find something to tinker with.
"I feel like, in the year and a half I've come through pro ball, I've gotten a lot better in a lot of phases, but I can get better in every phase of the game," he said. "The really nice thing about baseball is you never really figure it out. You're constantly evolving. That's my approach -- get one percent better and over the course of a season see how far you've really come."
In brief
Finally a win: Tulsa left-hander Caleb Ferguson has been one of the most dominant starters in the Texas League so far, with a 0.42 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 21 1/3 innings. But the 21-year-old just notched his first win Sunday when he held Northwest Arkansas to two runs, neither of which were earned, and six hits over six innings of a 3-2 win. Ferguson, ranked as the No. 16 prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, has held teams without an earned run in four of his five starts so far this season.
Dinger duo: San Antonio's Josh Naylor hit six home runs in the season's first two weeks, but he has company among the Texas League home run leaders now -- teammate Austin Allen. Both Missions have eight home runs through Wednesday's games and are among the league leaders in hitting and RBIs. Naylor's .375 average is third, while Allen's .337 is seventh. Naylor's 39 hits lead the league, while Allen's 33 are second, and Naylor's 24 RBIs are tied for the league lead.
Familiar face: Chris Ellis is back in the Texas League, but this time he's looking dominant. The third-round pick in 2014 has a 2.08 ERA in eight appearances, including two starts, with 21 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. Ellis was first in the Texas League in 2015 at Arkansas, when it was a Los Angeles Angels affiliate. He was 7-4 with a 3.92 ERA in 15 starts before being traded to Atlanta and then to St. Louis. He had a 4.445 ERA in 17 Double-A starts last season.
Troy Schulte is a contributor to MiLB.com.
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