Cards’ young flamethrower ready for MLB opportunity

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it often in your inbox.

When the Cardinals confronted a possible rainout of their Grapefruit League evening sport in opposition to the Astros final March, a change was made to the schedule and Albert Pujols, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Yadier Molina and Tyler O’Neill had been moved to a daytime batting-practice session on the Spring Training advanced in Jupiter, Fla.

The shock pitcher for that impromptu BP session was Minor League flamethrower Gordon Graceffo, who had turned 22 just a few days earlier and was coming off a promising season at Single-A Palm Beach. Landing that chance — as daunting because it was — mentioned a lot about what the Cardinals considered the prospect as they wouldn’t need an erratic and unrefined pitcher dealing with their high expertise. What occurred subsequent had been a number of moments that propelled Graceffo on a path which may lead him to the massive leagues this season.

Not solely did Graceffo use the adrenaline coursing by way of his veins to routinely hit 98 and 99 mph on the radar gun, however he additionally had a number of the sport’s biggest hitters leaving the batter’s field muttering to themselves. Although that was a lot memorable, it was smashes by Arenado (a mammoth house run) and Goldschmidt (an opposite-field ground-rule double) that caught out most to Graceffo – as he confidently introduced his legitimacy as an elite prospect.

“When the organization puts you in that position, it’s a boost to the confidence, and I’m glad I was able to put some of those guys away,” mentioned Graceffo, the Cardinals’ fifth-round Draft choose in 2021. “I called my parents and let them know. You tell them about Arenado taking you 450 [feet] off the wall of the facility, that’s funny. There was some stuff on social media, and a lot of my teammates and friends reached out and said, ‘That’s crazy!’”

Graceffo, recent off a 2022 season through which he went 10-6 with 139 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings with High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield, is hoping that this Spring Training shall be much more notable for him — making a push onto the Cardinals’ roster. Though he prefers to be a starter, Graceffo mentioned he’s prepared to work in reduction, utilizing his swing-and-miss stuff out of the bullpen, one thing St. Louis desperately wants.

“If I perform similar to how I did last year, I think I have a real shot at starting with the big league team,” mentioned Graceffo, who has reduction expertise from his freshman season at Villanova and in 2021 with Palm Beach. “Regardless of where I start, they’re going to put me in the best spot, and I’ll make the best of it.”

Bulked as much as the 230 kilos the Cardinals needed, Graceffo’s fastball often hovered within the 95-98 mph vary, and he hit 100 mph a number of occasions final season. One occasion got here in his last begin of 2022 — a masterpiece for Double-A Springfield through which he retired the primary 17 batters, took an ideal sport into the sixth inning and struck out 9.

“That night was one of those where you feel like everything is working and you can put the ball where you want,” he recalled. “Once you have that, you have to capitalize. That was a great way to finish.”

That efficiency, mixed with what Graceffo did through the impromptu outing in opposition to the Cardinals’ high sluggers final spring, doubtless performed a job in president of baseball operations John Mozeliak mentioning after the season that the hard-throwing righty would have a shot to make the Opening Day roster.

Graceffo’s Villanova supervisor — former Cardinals draftee and Twins/D-backs pitcher Kevin Mulvey — instructed the flamethrower years in the past that he had the stuff to make it to the Majors. Now, that chance is seemingly at Graceffo’s fingertips.

“In Double-A, those are legit hitters and guys who will make it in the big leagues, and once I figured that level out, everything clicked, and I felt really confident,” he mentioned. “It’s a steppingstone and a part of the journey, and now I’m hoping to take that next step in the spring.”