Cardinals first round pick and former Baylor Bear product mark McCormick has looked impressive so far and is moving up to A ball. The 6'1" 195 lbs 21 year old allowed only 1 hit in 6 innings with 10 Ks and 0 R over 2 games. His weakness has been his lack of control at times, but so far he has walked only three batters. Cardinals' brass felt his performance was good enough to move him up from the Cardinals short season rookie ball team in New Jersey to low-A affiliate Quad Cities where he will join another touted Cardinal prospect, Rick Ankiel.

McCormick features an electric fastball that usually sits in the 92-95 mph range but will often touch 96-98. In the Cape Cod League All-Star game last summer, McCormick peaked at 101 mph. McCormick's curveball has started improving, and he now trusts it and uses it more often which increases the effectiveness of his fastball. Again, his one Achilles heel has been sporadic command, and it has worried scouts about his ability to handle pressure, but so far so good.

Right now I would rank McCormick as the Cardinals number 4 pitching prospect behind Reyes, Wainwright, and Lambert. I don't see Reyes and Wainwright falling any time soon, but Lambert struggled in his first couple of starts at AA. However, he has since settled in. Blake Hawksworth, a former top Cardinal pitching prospect, has also looked good coming back from surgery in his first few appearances at New Jersey.

Stay tuned as I will continue providing more info on Cardinals prospects, and my prospect rankings will be coming out soon after I have studied up on the new Cardinals draft picks.