Amazing Job by Cardinals Front Office and GM John Mozeliak

Here's something amazing... if you look back at just two years ago when the Cardinals won the World Series, there are only six players (five position players and one pitcher) who will be on the 25 man roster for this year's opening round:

Matt Holliday
Jon Jay
David Freese
Daniel Descalso
Yadier Molina
Lance Lynn

Meanwhile, of the other nineteen players on the current playoff roster:

• Seven position players came up through the Cardinals farm system:  Robinson, Chambers, Kozma, Wong, Adams, Cruz, Matt Carpenter.
• One position player was signed as a free agent:  Carlos Beltran.
• Two pitchers were acquired via trades that gave up only minor leaguers who weren't doing anything for us and haven't done much since:  John Axford (Michael Blazek) and Edward Mujica (Zach Cox).
• One pitcher was signed as a free agent:  Randy Choate.
• One pitcher was on the DL in 2011:  Adam Wainwright.
• Seven pitchers came up through the Cardinals farm system: Miller, Kelly, Wacha, Rosenthal, Maness, Siegrist, Martinez.

Wow.   Fourteen minor leaguers graduating to form nearly 60% of a team with the best record in baseball.  And remember, last year we were 1 game away from the World Series too.   Of those, nine are officially rookies -- Kozma, Wong, Adams, Miller, Wacha, Rosenthal, Maness, Siegrist, and Martinez.

If Mozeliak doesn't win the Executive of the Year, something's crazy.