Gomber Goes Back To School

ST. LOUIS—When the Cardinals gave lefthander Austin Gomber an offseason assignment, he did what anyone else his age would with such a challenge: He took it to school.

Told to add a curveball to his repertoire following his 2014 pro debut, Gomber returned to his alma mater, Florida Atlantic, and worked with his pitching coach there to understand and utilize his breaking pitch.

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He showed Jason Jackson a new grip on the pitch he had learned and explained a new intent: to throw it with force and watch it bend instead of throwing it for movement and watch nothing happen.

Jackson had one response after seeing the curve. “This pitch is going to take you to the next level,” he said.

Said Gomber of his curve: “It got better (and) better. The year I had (in 2015), I don’t think that’s possible without the curveball.”

In his first full season in 2015, Gomber went 15-3, 2.67 at low Class A Peoria and led the Midwest League in wins, strikeouts (140) and opponent average (.196). That performance vaulted the 2014 fourth-rounder onto the organization’s prospect radar.

Gomber, 22, turned a strong spring this year into a spot in the high Class A Palm Beach rotation. Through five starts, he went 3-2, 2.51 with 27 strikeouts in 29 innings.

He reached the 2014 draft viewed as a reliable, durable lefthanded starter with a 6-foot-5 frame that projected well. He had two solid pitches with his 89-91 mph fastball and a changeup the he used for swings and misses, a lot like other pitchers the Cardinals had selected out of college in recent years.

Gomber had a slider that he threw for show, and the Cardinals felt a curveball would be more valuable for him. Pitching coordinator Tim Leveque showed him a grip for a curve, believing that if he could get it to come from the same arm angle as his fastball, both pitches would benefit. He was right.

That’s next level.

REDBIRD CHIRPS

• Shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who the Cardinals signed in 2014 as free agent out of Cuba, started his major league career 26-for-52. He finished April hitting .423/.453/.732.

• The offense the Cardinals expected to see from catcher Carson Kelly after a promotion to Double-A Springfield percolated in late April. Kelly hit .314 in a 10-game span to raise his line to .247/.267/.315 through 20 games.