Exit Interview: Marcus Hatley

For the fourth straight year, we’re taking some time in that time between the end of the season and the winter meetings to discuss each player that made an appearance on the St. Louis roster this season.  Whether they played almost every day or never actually got into a game, they get covered in this series.  All stats are exclusively their time in St. Louis.  Just think of this as them stopping by Mike Matheny‘s office for a quick evaluation before heading home for the winter.

Player: Marcus Hatley

Season stats: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 games, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2.250 WHIP, 4.63 FIP, 0.1 bWAR

Hero/Goat: None

Overall grade: C

Positives: Another one of the Cardinal minor leaguers that made his major league debut this season….had a nice debut game, throwing a scoreless inning while giving up just one hit and striking out one….had a solid season in Memphis, throwing 36 innings with a 3.14 ERA….tallied five saves in six opportunities in AAA….was better during the day in Memphis, posting a 1.50 ERA in the sunshine….had a strong May as well down there, with a 0.55 ERA and three of his saves.

Negatives: Was designated for assignment at the end of July when the club traded for Jonathan Broxton, though he cleared waivers and returned to Memphis….while never being charged with a run, he did allow one of the runners he inherited from Tyler Lyons to score in his outing against the Cubs, walking two batters to load the bases then to force in a run….enjoyed home games in the minors more than away games, as he put up a 4.79 ERA outside of AutoZone Park.

Overview: Relievers are so hard to judge given the small sample size and Hatley had an amazingly small one this season.  The little we saw of him, he looked all right, though those walks against the Cubs make you wonder if it was something that we’d see regularly if he had more time or if it was just a bad day.  Being that his K/BB ratio in Memphis wasn’t much over 1.50, it’s probably somewhere in the middle.  Hatley seemed to be one of those fairly interchangeable arms that we see come up and down a lot from the minors, keeping costs down and filling in when they are needed.  While they aren’t a huge deal, they are an important part of a winning team.

Outlook: Like Nick Greenwood, he’s no longer on the 40-man roster but he’s still in the organization.  Hatley will be 28 next season and it’s not inconceivable that there will arise situations where he winds up back on the 40-man and back in St. Louis.  Of course, he could just as easily be set free to find another job in baseball, but I expect the Cards will keep him around if they can.

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