Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Sitting against lefty Sunday
Rotowire
Crooks is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
Though Crooks is expected to settle in as the Cardinals' primary catcher, he ended up making just one start during the club's three-game series with the Cubs after being called up from Triple-A Memphis on Friday. Both of the left-handed-hitting backstop's absences have come versus lefties, with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages both receiving one start apiece behind the plate in place of Crooks.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Expected to see steady playing time
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol indicated Friday that Crooks is set to receive the lion's share of playing time at catcher, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Ivan Herrera will continue to serve as the personal catcher for Michael McGreevy and Andre Pallante, but it will be Crooks unseating Pedro Pages as the team's primary catcher for the rest of the rotation. Crooks earned a promotion Friday after slashing .262/.412/.567 with 13 home runs this season with Memphis. The left-handed-hitting Crooks is not in Friday's lineup against the Cubs -- southpaw Shota Imanaga is starting for Chicago and Herrera is doing the catching for Pallante -- but he should be in the lineup Saturday.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Recalled to St. Louis
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The Cardinals recalled Crooks from Triple-A Memphis on Friday.
The 24-year-old will join the big-league roster after posting a .262/.412/.567 slash line with 13 homers in 39 games for Memphis. Yohel Pozo was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. It's not clear how much playing time Crooks will get, as Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages have split most of the starts at catcher this season, but Pages' .622 OPS in 125 plate appearances could make him the odd man out.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Beginning season in Memphis
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The Cardinals optioned Crooks to Triple-A Memphis on Saturday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
With five catchers on St. Louis' 40-man roster, Crooks had a considerable amount of competition for an Opening Day spot, and despite going 4-for-12 at the plate with a homer, four RBI and two runs scored in the Grapefruit League, he will ultimately fall short. He's had consistent success hitting in the minors, posting a .773 OPS in 435 plate appearances at Triple-A last season, and he could be called up to St. Louis later in the year if the trend continues.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Sitting again Sunday
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Crooks is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
The left-handed-hitting Crooks was expected to get a look as the Cardinals' top backstop over the final few weeks of the season, but he's now sat in four of St. Louis' last five matchups, with three of his absences coming against right-handed pitching. Entering Sunday, the 72-77 Cardinals sit just four games behind the pace for the final wild-card spot in the National League, which may be a factor in the team's decision to lean more heavily of late on Pedro Pages, who lacks Crooks' upside as a hitter but is a more trusted defender behind the dish.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Sitting Wednesday
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Crooks isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.
It initially seemed like Crooks would take over as the Cardinals' primary backstop to close out the regular season, but a 2-for-17 start to his MLB career will now cause him to miss his third start in four games. Pedro Pages will start behind the plate instead Wednesday, and it seems likely that the two players will split time at catcher during the final stretch.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Sitting out day after homering
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Crooks is out of the lineup for Monday's game versus the Athletics.
Crooks drew his first major-league start in Sunday's 7-4 loss to the Reds and cranked his first big-league home run, but he finds himself back on the bench a day later. The young catcher has started just one of four games since being recalled from Triple-A Memphis. Pedro Pages will catch and bat seventh for St. Louis on Monday.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Officially added to MLB roster
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The Cardinals selected Crooks' contract from Triple-A Memphis on Friday.
Crooks has slashed .337/.404/.518 with three home runs in August with Memphis and has hit .274/.337/.441 with 14 home runs there for the full season. The left-handed hitter could be worth a look in fantasy leagues if the Cardinals use him on the long side of a platoon at catcher with Pedro Pages. Crooks is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Cincinnati against righty Zack Littell, though the Cardinals could just be giving him a day to get settled in.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Slated for promotion to majors
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The Cardinals will call up Crooks from Triple-A Memphis prior to Friday's game against the Reds, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Crooks is ready for an opportunity at the major-league level after slashing .274/.337/.441 with 14 home runs this season with Memphis. The 24-year-old has been red hot in August, producing a .337/.404/.518 line with three long balls. It's not clear what the corresponding move will be to get Crooks on the active roster, but Yohel Pozo was shaken up by a foul tip off the mask Thursday. If Pozo needs to miss time, Crooks could share catching duties with Pedro Pages.
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Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Lands on IL
Rotowire
Crooks (undisclosed) was placed on Double-A Springfield's 7-day injured list Tuesday.
Crooks has excelled in Double-A this year with a .321/.411/.503 slash line, 11 home runs, 60 RBI and 40 runs scored over 86 contests. He'll be sidelined at least a week, though there was no further indication of what injury he's dealing with.
