Tuesday night at AutoZone Park, the Memphis Redbirds will host their first conventional Opening Night in three years. After losing the entire 2020 season to pandemic restrictions and opening a shortened 2021 campaign in May, the ballpark’s lights will shine for the “lid-lifter,” with a full, 150-game season on the calendar. Thus will begin the franchise’s 24th season (and 22nd at AutoZone Park).
Some news and notes for the season ahead:
• Ben Johnson is back for his third season as manager of the Redbirds. The pride of Germantown High School will be the first manager to lead Memphis for three seasons since Pop Warner held the job from 2012 to 2014. After a 69-71 record in 2019, Johnson’s club posted a 61-67 mark last year. The ’21 Redbirds established a franchise record with a 15-game winning streak.
• The Redbirds will compete for the first time in the International League, part of the Southeast Division along with Charlotte (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox), Durham (Tampa Bay Rays), Gwinnett (Atlanta Braves), Jacksonville (Miami Marlins), Nashville (Milwaukee Brewers), and Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles). Memphis was a member of the Pacific Coast League from 1998 through the 2019 season, before minor-league baseball was restructured with regional travel a priority. They will play a pair of familiar foes from the IL’s Midwest Division: the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs) and Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals).
• Memphis should be stocked with premium prospects, at least until the parent St. Louis Cardinals have needs to fill. Infielder Nolan Gorman will open the season with the Redbirds, with hopes of taking his left-handed power to the Cardinals in the near future. Gorman hit .274 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs in 76 games for Memphis last season. He made a rather seamless transition from his natural position of third base (occupied by Nolan Arenado in St. Louis) to second base.
Ranked third among Cardinal prospects, just below Gorman, is left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore. (19-year-old slugger Jordan Walker tops the rankings and will get time at Double-A Springfield before he appears at AutoZone Park.) Liberatore skipped Double A (with the lost 2020 season) and grew on the mound as a Triple-A pitcher last summer. He split 18 decisions and posted a 4.04 ERA while leading the Redbirds with 124 innings pitched. Still only 22, the lanky (6’4”) lefty is targeted for the Cardinals’ starting rotation, one that took a hit last month when Jack Flaherty was shut down with shoulder tenderness. Liberatore will start the season in Memphis, but expect him to make his major-league debut in 2022.
The Cardinals’ fourth-ranked prospect, Ivan Herrera, should take over catching duties for Memphis. Herrera displayed some power last season at Springfield (17 home runs). As Yadier Molina plays his 19th and final season for the Cardinals, Herrera aims to compete for a 2023 job-opening in St. Louis, one that hasn’t existed in almost two decades.
Another pair of top-10 Cardinal prospects likely to suit up for Memphis are pitcher Zack Thompson and outfielder Alec Burleson. A left-handed hitter with pop (like Gorman), Burleson slammed 14 homers and put up a .488 slugging percentage for Springfield in 2021 before a late-season promotion to Memphis. Infielder Brendan Donovan contended for a roster spot with the Cardinals until the final week of spring training. He’ll likely be the first Memphis promotion (among position players) when/if the Cardinals are hit with an injury.
• Juan Yepez hit 22 homers and posted a .289/.382/.589 slash line for Memphis last season on his way to recognition as the Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year. Yepez entered spring training as a prime candidate for designated hitter with St. Louis. (The National League has adopted the DH as part of the new collective bargaining agreement with the players.) Trouble for Yepez, though, is the return of Cardinals icon Albert Pujols, signed last week to a one-year deal, one that allows Pujols to finish his career where he played his first 11 seasons (and won three MVP awards). Pujols and Yepez are both right-handed hitters with limited value in the field. (Yepez appeared rocky at first base during spring training.) The 24-year-old Venezuelan could be the centerpiece of the Redbirds’ offense, and a prime trade candidate if Pujols finds his groove (again) with the Cardinals. Should Pujols struggle with the big club and Yepez slug for Memphis, youth may end up being served in St. Louis.
