Meet a Prospect: Pete Kozma

The New York Yankees snatched up a member of the St. Louis Cardinals this winter when they signed shortstop/infielder Pete Kozma to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. That we know but I am venturing that many of us Yankees don’t know much more about Pete other than what baseball Reference tell us and the information that these blogs keep recycling over and over again. That’s where The Greedy Pinstripes come in. This is Meet a Prospect, the Pete Kozma Edition.


Peter Michael Kozma was born on April 11, 1988 and spent his amateur baseball career playing for Owasso High School in Oklahoma. There as a member of the school’s baseball team the infielder caught the eye of the St. Louis Cardinals who drafted him in the first round of the 2007 MLB First Year Players Draft. Kozma was set to begin his professional career with one of the more storied franchises in all of Major League Baseball.


In Kozma’s first professional season, the same season he was drafted in 2007, he played for three of the Cardinals minor league affiliates hitting a combined .233 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 42 games. Kozma followed that up with a .258 average, five home runs and 50 RBI in 123 games played in 2008 while adding the stolen base, 12 SB’s in 18 attempts, to his repertoire. Kozma put up similar numbers in 2009 and 2010 before finally getting the opportunity to reach the Major Leagues in 2011. Kozma was called up on May 18, 2011 and played in 112 games that season as he replaced an injured Nick Punto. Kozma was also placed on the 2011 Cardinals postseason roster and helped the team win the 2011 World Series over the Texas Rangers.


Kozma began the 2012 season back in Triple-A before the team called him up to replace another injured middle infielder, this time Rafael Furcal, on August 31, 2012. Kozma was once again added to the postseason roster and once again made an impact in the NLDS hitting a home run and driving in five RBI in the Game Five victory over the Washington Nationals.


Kozma became the team’s every day shortstop in 2013 and played in 143 games. Kozma only hit .217 with 20 doubles and a single home run in 143 games but his defense continued to stay on point for the Cardinals. Kozma was once again added to the postseason roster and made a key defensive play in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Dodgers infielder Juan Uribe hit a line drive in the hole that Kozma somehow got to and started an inning ending double play that led St. Louis to a 4-2 victory.

Kozma lost his job in 2014 after the Cardinals signed Jhonny Peralta as a free agent forcing Kozma to the bench initially. St. Louis then signed second baseman Mark Ellis and plugged Kolten Wong onto the MLB roster forcing Kozma back to Triple-A. Kozma used the time to work out at all infield positions including the catcher position and was up and down between Triple-A and the Major Leagues until becoming a free agent after the 2015 season.


Kozma has your typical shortstop build, he’s 6’ 0” and weighs in at just 170 lbs. Kozma is athletic but not going to give you the 20-30 home run power that many clubs ask out of their shortstops in recent years. Kozma throws and bats right-handed so he may give the Yankees some depth on the bench, can you say Brendan Ryan upgrade, if he makes the club out of spring training. If not, there is no such thing as a bad minor league deal.

Welcome to the family Pete. You have a tendency of being in the middle of things in a big spot and coming up even bigger, we should enjoy you here in the Bronx.

Fantasy Baseball: Who are the St. Louis Cardinals?

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of those teams you have to either love or hate, there probably isn’t much room for middle ground. It seems like no injury, down season or loss in free agency affects this team and it seems like the Cardinals are always right there in the thick of things in the National League. This is done by building a team around depth, versatility and through a trusted and strong farm system. This is something the New York Yankees have just recently tried to do inside their own organization and this is something that you can use to your advantage while playing Fantasy Baseball if you use your head and a little bit of patience. 

Since it’s Prospects Month here on the blog we won’t be talking about the new arrival of Mike Leake or the return of Adam Wainwright. We will instead focus on their young core of players and/or their prospects that could make a big splash around June or July when the next wave of the future usually comes around. 

Matt Carpenter is a huge fantasy player that still a lot of people don’t know about for whatever reason. Carpenter found a power stroke he hasn’t seen before in his career during the 2015 campaign and should regress a bit. That doesn’t mean he will hit less than 20 home runs this season which could be a great addition to your squad. Same can be said for Kolten Wong and his potential 20 home run and 20 stolen base potential next season. 

Speaking of home runs the Cardinals young outfielder Randal Grichuk can give you 30 home run power in St. Louis with enough at bats next season. The problem is he’s likely to hit around .250 - .260 doing it so he shouldn’t be relied upon there. If you need the home runs and RBI though Grichuk should be an interesting later round pick up. 

Finally we have a long shot but still someone you should keep your eye on for that second half push, Alex Reyes. Reyes will serve a 50 game suspension next season and begin his season in Double-A but he is one of the best, if not the best, minor league pitcher in the minor leagues right now and could be up throwing heat later in the year. Keep an eye out for him as the long summer begins to take its toll on some pitchers as he could be the reinforcements your team needs late for that final push to the postseason. 

There you have it, the young guys and prospects from the St. Louis Cardinals organization that can help you win your fantasy league. If this helps you out then give it a share and help someone else out too, I would just advise against sharing it with people within your own league. Just a thought J

Analyzing the Castro for Warren Swap w/ a Level Head

The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs hooked up at the Winter Meetings in Nashville for a trade that sent Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan to Chicago for second baseman Starlin Castro. That much we do know but with every trade the fans want to know who “won” the trade. That much we don’t know, at least I don’t think we know it yet. The problem with being a Yankees blogger and a Yankees fan is that the lines between the two get blurred sometimes. My fandom, as I like to call it, for both Warren and the now bench/demoted Robert Refsnyder, was absolutely getting in the way of my level headed thinking when the trade was announced Tuesday night. Now that I’ve had a few days to digest the trade I come back with a level head ready to analyze this trade for you all.

With this trade there are going to be a lot of what if’s and projections used and a lot will be left up to interpretation. That’s what happens when you send one young guy to a team for another young guy. New York didn’t trade Andrew Miller or Brett Gardner here for an established veteran piece, we don’t know what either party will receive in 2016. At best, and this may be just my opinion but many things I have read agree with it, Adam Warren is a #3 starter. At worst Warren is a weapon out of the bullpen that can give the Cubs two or three innings on Monday and save a game for them on Friday. Castro, at best, is one of the best offensive second baseman in all of Major League Baseball and at worst he’s yet another .240 hitter with occasional pop and questionable, at best,  defense.

Is a #3 starter worth one of the best offensive second baseman in the league for four seasons? Absolutely, every day of the week. That’s like sending Michael Pineda to the St. Louis Cardinals for Kolten Wong or Matt Carpenter right now straight up. You make that deal every day of the week. Warren is a free agent before the 2019 season after posting a 7-7 record and 3.29 ERA in 17 starts and 26 relief appearances in 2015. Castro, on the other hand, hit .353 after being benched and moved to second base in Chicago while hitting 10 home runs for the Cubs.

At best Robert Refsnyder could be the best Castro that Castro could be. At worst he could be yet another .240 hitter with occasional pop and questionable, at best, defense. Castro projects to be a much better player than Refsnyder and I get that you’re buying his age 26-29 seasons, also known as most of his prime, but the trade seems redundant in my eyes RIGHT NOW. This move could lead towards other moves, moves including Refsnyder, which improve the team. Guess you’ll just have to stay tuned. Right now though I am still on the fence. I think Cashman got good value out of Warren and Ryan, I think he will end up “winning” this trade, but I don’t see it as the humungous upgrade at second base that everyone else is thinking that it is.

Meet a Prospect: Pete Kozma

The New York Yankees snatched up a member of the St. Louis Cardinals this week when they signed shortstop/infielder Pete Kozma to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. That we know but I am venturing that many of us Yankees don’t know much more about Pete other than what baseball Reference tell us and the information that these blogs keep recycling over and over again. That’s where The Greedy Pinstripes come in. This is Meet a Prospect, the Pete Kozma Edition.

Peter Michael Kozma was born on April 11, 1988 and spent his amateur baseball career playing for Owasso High School in Oklahoma. There as a member of the school’s baseball team the infielder caught the eye of the St. Louis Cardinals who drafted him in the first round of the 2007 MLB First Year Players Draft. Kozma was set to begin his professional career with one of the more storied franchises in all of Major League Baseball.

In Kozma’s first professional season, the same season he was drafted in 2007, he played for three of the Cardinals minor league affiliates hitting a combined .233 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 42 games. Kozma followed that up with a .258 average, five home runs and 50 RBI in 123 games played in 2008 while adding the stolen base, 12 SB’s in 18 attempts, to his repertoire. Kozma put up similar numbers in 2009 and 2010 before finally getting the opportunity to reach the Major Leagues in 2011. Kozma was called up on May 18, 2011 and played in 112 games that season as he replaced an injured Nick Punto. Kozma was also placed on the 2011 Cardinals postseason roster and helped the team win the 2011 World Series over the Texas Rangers.

Kozma began the 2012 season back in Triple-A before the team called him up to replace another injured middle infielder, this time Rafael Furcal, on August 31, 2012. Kozma was once again added to the postseason roster and once again made an impact in the NLDS hitting a home run and driving in five RBI in the Game Five victory over the Washington Nationals.

Kozma became the team’s every day shortstop in 2013 and played in 143 games. Kozma only hit .217 with 20 doubles and a single home run in 143 games but his defense continued to stay on point for the Cardinals. Kozma was once again added to the postseason roster and made a key defensive play in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Dodgers infielder Juan Uribe hit a line drive in the hole that Kozma somehow got to and started an inning ending double play that led St. Louis to a 4-2 victory. 

Kozma lost his job in 2014 after the Cardinals signed Jhonny Peralta as a free agent forcing Kozma to the bench initially. St. Louis then signed second baseman Mark Ellis and plugged Kolten Wong onto the MLB roster forcing Kozma back to Triple-A. Kozma used the time to work out at all infield positions including the catcher position and was up and down between Triple-A and the Major Leagues until becoming a free agent after the 2015 season. 

Kozma has your typical shortstop build, he’s 6’ 0” and weighs in at just 170 lbs. Kozma is athletic but not going to give you the 20-30 home run power that many clubs ask out of their shortstops in recent years. Kozma throws and bats right-handed so he may give the Yankees some depth on the bench, can you say Brendan Ryan upgrade, if he makes the club out of spring training. If not, there is no such thing as a bad minor league deal. 

Welcome to the family Pete. You have a tendency of being in the middle of things in a big spot and coming up even bigger, we should enjoy you here in the Bronx.