Sam Freeman

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #22 prospect in 2013
  After losing the 2010 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Freeman made his major league debut last June and scored a place on the Cardinals' wild-card playoff roster. Primarily an outfielder at North Central Texas CC, he became a full-time pitcher at Kansas in 2008, recording an 8.53 ERA before signing for $10,000 as a 32nd-round pick. Still relatively inexperienced on the mound, Freeman has a slight frame that belies his velocity and stamina, which result from being one of the best athletes in the system. He regularly throws 94-95 mph with his four-seam fastball, mixes in a low-90s sinker and owns a decent 78-82 slurve. He has worked to correct his habit of slowing his arm when delivering his breaking ball or fringy changeup. Freeman still doesn't dominate lefties as much as he should because he doesn't command his pitches. St. Louis sent him to the Arizona Fall League instead of keeping him on its playoff roster for the next two rounds, but he came down with a sore shoulder. The Cardinals signed veteran Randy Choate to a three-year deal, which will put Freeman back in Triple-A to start 2013 but not out of mind when another lefty is needed.
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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #30 prospect in 2012
  A full, healthy season removed from Tommy John surgery, Freeman is poised to pick up where he left off as a rising lefty specialist. A wiry athlete, he spent most of 2011 trying to regain arm strength, watching his velocity return steadily to the high 80s and finally to 90-91 mph. He took to Venezuela for extra innings this winter, earning a spot as the lone minor league lefty on the Cardinals' 40-man roster by allowing one earned run in 15 appearances. Once a fleet-footed outfielder, Freeman became a full-time starter at Kansas a year before signing for $10,000 as a 32nd-round pick in 2008. Despite his inexperience, he reached Double-A in his first full pro season while not allowing an extra-base hit to a lefty. Elbow soreness halted his progress that July, and he didn't return to the mound until 21 months later. Freeman pitches mainly off his fastball. Neither his sweeping curveball nor his tailing changeup was effective in 2011, in part because he slows his arm when he delivers his offspeed pitches. His control and command have never been his strong suits, though St. Louis hopes he'll gain more feel for pitching as he puts his elbow reconstruction further behind him. Freeman will get an extended look in big league camp this spring and is positioned to be a late-inning reliever in Triple-A and the first lefty specialist summoned by the Cardinals.
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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #20 prospect in 2010
  As a freshman at North Central Texas CC, Freeman stood out more as a fleet-footed outfielder than as a pitcher. He started to realize his arm was his ticket when he was a full-fledged two-way player as a sophomore, and he became a full-time pitcher after transferring to Kansas in 2008. The Cardinals failed to sign him as a 24th-round pick in 2007 but landed him in the 32nd round a year later, after he had posted an 8.53 ERA as a swingman for the Jayhawks. They believe he could scoot swiftly through their system as a lefty specialist or even a set-up man. Despite his relative inexperience, he reached Double-A at the end of his first full pro season. Wiry and athletic, he has a quick arm that generates 92-95 mph fastballs. He also throws a cutter/slider and has toyed with a changeup. He came out of college with a herky-jerky delivery that he has smoothed out with more experience and instruction. Freeman likes to pitch inside, sometimes almost to a fault, leading to walks. In short-burst relief, he has done well against lefthanders, who batted 9-for-60 (.150) with no extra-base hits and 15 strikeouts against him in 2009. A sprained elbow ended his season in late July, but the Cardinals think he'll be healthy for 2010, when he'll return to Double-A.