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It’s about that time of year that the baseball prospects lists start coming out and Oscar Taveras tops the list amongst St. Louis Cardinals prospects.
Mar 19, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Oscar Taveras (87) rounds third base and scores a run in the fourth inning during a spring training game against the Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium. Image Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
When Baseball America did their rankings, there were 14 Cardinals–five alone in the top 20 for the Pacific Coast League. It just shows the power of the farm system and player development for the Cardinals. For that, I tip my cap to Cardinals farm director John Vuch for the amazing job that his team has done.
Regarding Taveras, who tops the PCL list with the #1 ranking, Matt Eddy writes “Taveras is the jewel of the deep Cardinals system, and even an injury-marred season did not diminish his obvious skills. He does everything well, and the lift in his swing suggests his power will flourish as he matures.”
What other Memphis Redbirds/St. Louis Cardinals were ranked? At #5 was pitcher Michael Wacha. At #7 was pitcher Carlos Martinez. Finally, at #16 was second baseman Kolten Wong.
The fact that Wacha and Martinez are both ranked in the top ten gives off the vibe that general manager John Mozeliak has no plans to trade them away in the near future.
Elsewhere in the minor league system, outfielder Stephen Piscotty made the Florida State League list rankings at #14 while he was #9 in the Texas League.