Cards calling up Reyes, Weaver for debuts

St. Louis' next big arm is on his way to the Gateway to the West.

The Cardinals called up top prospect Alex Reyes to the Majors on Tuesday for the first time following the news that right-handed starter Michael Wacha has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Catcher Brayan Pena, who is out with left knee inflammation, has been moved from the 15-day to the 60-day DL to make room for Reyes on the 40-man roster.

Although he replaces Wacha on the Major League roster, Reyes will be used out of the bullpen at least initially during his time with the Cardinals.

The 21-year-old right-hander has gone 2-3 with a 4.96 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 93 strikeouts and 32 walks in 65 1/3 innings in his first season with Triple-A Memphis before Tuesday's move. His 12.8 K/9 strikeout rate is tops among all Pacific Coast League pitchers who have pitched at least 60 innings this season, while his 4.4 BB/9 walk rate ranks 72nd out of the 75 pitchers in that same group. Reyes last pitched Saturday, giving up one earned run on six hits and two walks while fanning eight in a six-inning outing against Omaha.

MLB.com's No. 9 overall prospect has two plus offerings in his fastball and curve with the former hitting triple digits in the past. But as good as the stuff has been -- and the strikeout numbers certainly back that up -- Reyes has always struggled with control in the Minors with a career 4.6 BB/9. Still, he could provide St. Louis with immediate value as a reliever, a role in which his arsenal can play up.

The Cardinals signed Reyes to a $950,000 signing bonus out of the Dominican Republic in December 2012 after the right-hander moved from his native New Jersey to the Dominican Republic, in part to avoid the First-Year Player Draft. His breakout season came in 2015, when he posted a 2.49 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings at three levels (mostly Class A Advanced Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield) before earning a call to the Arizona Fall League. It was there that he tested positive for a drug of abuse, which he admitted later was marijuana, leading to a 50-game suspension that kept him out until May 22 this season. Reyes was the World roster's starting pitcher at this year's Futures Game in San Diego, where he struck out four and scattered two hits and a walk over 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Despite his initial role in the Majors, Reyes still projects as starting pitcher given his stuff, size (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) and age and could still be used in that role this season should the Major League club experience more injuries to its rotation. With a 59-53 record, the Cardinals are tied with the Marlins for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

Cardinals also calling up Weaver: News involving top Cardinals pitching prospects didn't stop with Reyes. Not long after St. Louis announced it was bringing up Reyes, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reported that No. 2 Cardinals prospect Luke Weaver will be called up for his Major League debut against the Cubs on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

The 22-year-old right-hander made his Triple-A debut Monday night, when he scattered two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings at New Orleans. Prior to that, he had gone 6-3 with a 1.40 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 88 strikeouts and 10 walks in 77 frames at Double-A Springfield. The 2014 first-rounder missed the first two months of the season with a left wrist fracture but has seen his stock climb in 2016 and cracked MLB.com's top 100 rankings at No. 94, thanks to a four-pitch mix that includes a plus fastball and changeup.

Though he doesn't match Reyes in terms of stuff, Weaver has yet to post an ERA above 1.62 at a full-season level and has shown much better control with a career BB/9 of just 1.6, thus earning him a starting nod over his prospect counterpart. 

The official news of Weaver's promotion won't likely come until later in the week. As was the case with Reyes, an official roster move will be required to get the Florida State product onto the 40-man roster.