Edwin Jackson, Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel have been pretty solid for the most part since coming to the Cardinals in the Colby Rasmus deal at the end of July. Jackson has pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Cardinals so far and he is 3-2 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He has given up 46 hits in his first 38 1/3 innings with the Cardinals, so he hasn’t been missing a lot of bats. Marc Rzepzynski has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals and is 0-0 with a 0.90 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP as he has given them a solid lefty out of the pen. Octavio Dotel has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 3.18 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP as he is throwing the ball well. These guys are doing their part and the Cardinals might still have a run in them as they are too talented to keep playing like they are right now.

33-year old switch-hitting SS Rafael Furcal has played in 18 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 16 for 74 (.216 avg, .632 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. He has now played in 55 games for the Cardinals & Dodgers so far this year and he is 43 for 211 (.204 avg, .559 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 3 homers, 18 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Despite his slow start, the Cardinals are going to stick with Furcal because when he’s in a groove at the plate he is still a good hitter, which he proved last year.

31-year old righty swinging 1B Albert Pujols got off to a slow start to his 2011 season but he’s trying to make up for lost time now. He has played in 16 games for the Cardinals so far in August and he is 21 for 68 (.309 avg, .971 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 6 homers and 11 RBIs. Pujols has now played in 110 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 125 for 436 (.287 avg, .893 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 30 homers, 76 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Pujols is a lock to set new career lows in batting average (.312) and OPS (.955) this season, but, he can make up for that by getting hot and getting the Cardinals back into the Wild Card or Central Division race.

The Cardinals have released 30-year old righty reliever Blaine Boyer. Boyer pitched in 7 games (all starts) in A+AAA-ball for the Cardinals this year and he was 1-3 with a 10.12 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP. He has pitched in 18 games (7 starts) overall in the minors this year and he is 1-3 with a 10.90 ERA and a 2.16 WHIP. This is absolutely no loss for the Cardinals moving forward.

22-year old righty reliever/starter Jordan Swagerty came into this season as the Cardinals’ #9 prospect according to Baseball America. He was a 2nd round pick of the Cardinals in the 2010 Amateur Draft. Swagerty is looking good so far in his professional career. He has pitched in 27 games (12 starts) in A-ball so far this year and he is 5-3 with 5 saves, a 1.71 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He has only given up 60 hits in his first 84 1/3 innings this year while only walking 18 batters and whiffing 82. Those are impressive enough numbers for the Cardinals to put him on the fast track to the show.