St. Louis Cardinals’ 2015 Top Prospects

The minor league season for the Cardinals has been over for a couple of weeks now about a week now. Unfortunately none of the Cardinals’ teams made it very far in the postseason this year which means that the players that had any chance at a September call-up are already on the team.

I wanted to go ahead and look at the best prospects at each level this season. This is going to be more of a season review of the top performers at each level instead of a look at the top prospects in the organization.

AAA Memphis Redbirds – OF/1B Stephen Piscotty

Sep 21, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Stephen Piscotty (55) celebrates after driving in the go ahead run on a double off of Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher

(not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Reds 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

This was a bit of a tough one. Of the players that spent the entire season with Memphis there wasn’t many that stood out to me as a “Player of the Year” type. So, I went ahead and went with one of the young rookie phenoms on the Cardinals right now in Stephen Piscotty.

Not even looking at the impact he has had on the big league club, it is obvious that Piscotty was in the midst of a special season, a season that probably could have earned him “Minor League Player of the Year” votes had he stayed in Memphis a while longer.

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In just 87 games and 320 at bats, Piscotty hit .272/.366/.475 with 41 extra base hits (career high 11 home runs), drove in 41 runs, and still was the team leader in doubles at the end of the season. Piscotty, was said to have changed his swing a bit in the offseason to add a bit more power and add more power he did.

When you add in his MLB extra base hits, he currently sits at 64 for the season which is a career high for the Cardinals’ rookie. I gave some look at Rafael Ortega for this spot, but in the end Piscotty’s season is still better despite playing 44 less games with Memphis.

AA Springfield Cardinals – C Mike Ohlman

Feb 21, 2015; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager

(right) talks with catcher Michael Ohlman (left) during practice drills at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

This was another tough one, there were really two great offensive stars on this team that had great years. When I was doing my homework last week for this post, I initially had chosen Charlie Tilson who finished the season with 46 stolen bases.

However, upon further review of the whole range of statistics, it is clear to me that Mike Ohlman had the better year. No, Ohlman didn’t have a jump off the page statistic like Tilson’s 46 SB.

Ohlman, instead finished with the better slash at .273/.356/.418 and a lower BABIP than Tilson (.313 vs.333). The important thing here, is that Ohlman had 173 less AB than Tilson and he had eight more home runs, three less doubles, and the same amount of walks as Tilson. Ohlman also finished with 37 more RBI than Tilson.

The best stat that stands to be the difference between the two players is a stat that is gaining in popularity as being a really keen stat in measuring the value of a player, that is wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created per AB. Park and league adjusted). Ohlman’s wRC+ is 118 and Tilson’s is 107, which points to Tilson being closer to an average player and Ohlman being a more above average offensive performer.

Advanced A Palm Beach Cardinals – SP Luke Weaver

Remember when I told you about this guy back in March and predicted he could make the big league roster? Well, turns out I was wrong about that. What I wasn’t wrong about, was that he is going to be a really good pitcher. Entering into his first full season at the big leagues he has been rated in the top ten of Cardinals’ prospects already by many.

Let’s dig into these stats. In just 19 starts this season Weaver amassed a dazzling 1.62 ERA, which even bested teammate and fellow top prospect Alexander Reyes. Weaver possessed amazing control for a pitcher at this level and in his first professional season, only walking 19 batters the entire season (compare that to Reyes who walked 31 in 13 starts at same level). Weaver wasn’t susceptible to the long ball either, allowing just two throughout the season. 

Now, Weaver did posses a 2.28 FIP (Fielding Independent ERA), so his overall ERA could have climbed a tad bit had he made a few more starts. However, that is not even a full run over his overall ERA, that is fantastic and makes his 1.62 ERA even better.

A Peoria Chiefs – SP Austin Gomber

Just when you thought the Cardinals couldn’t get any more pitching rich. They develop another young stud that surpasses expectations and jumps up the prospect board. It really is amazing how good this organization is at developing pitching talent. I really think we are in an era, where we won’t see the Cardinals land a big named starting pitcher from another team via trade or free agency for some time.

In 22 games started, the late 4th round draft pick from 2014 completed the year with an ERA of 2.67, 9.33 strikeouts per nine innings, and 2.67 walks per nine innings. Again, with only 34 walks allowed control was not much of an issue for Gomber.

Gomber will be someone to look out for next season. With this success, expect him to start the year with Palm Beach next season and maybe get a call up to Springfield depending on how the organization views his readiness.

Short Season A State College Spikes – 1B Casey Grayson/ OF Orlando Olivera 

Casey Grayson flips a ball to first. Mandatory credit; Christopher Shannon

Here’s a player I have not heard much about until just recently. Grayson was the Cardinals’ 21st round selection in 2014 and earned MVP honors from State College this season. Grayson finished the year hitting .308/.414/.420 in 298 ABs. He compiled 22 extra base hits with just two of them being home runs.

The concerns that pop up for this prospect are his “older age” for a short season player (24 years old) and his abnormally high BABIP this season of .405. Grayson also nearly doubled his strikeout total from last season in only nine more games without adding much power. This will be a player to watch over the next few seasons. He will get the bump up to Peoria next season for his first full season and we shall see what he becomes and what the organization thinks of the 21st round draft pick after next season.

The player I originally would have picked here would have been the kid drafted this year from Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis who in 42 games with State College hit .347/.397/.521 with 14 extra base hits (5 home runs and 9 doubles). Olivera was a 38th round draft pick in this year’s draft which makes his numbers even more impressive.

Another impressive note about Olivera, is that he was promoted to Class A Peoria for the final ten games of the season. In those games he doubled three times and homered twice driving in ten runs. The Cardinals are starting to become pretty loaded in the OF and Olivera is almost 25, so it will be intriguing to see how the Cardinals move him through the system over the next couple seasons. It wouldn’t be far fetched to see them start him in either Palm Beach or Peoria next season, a strong start with either team could see him finishing the season with AA Springfield next season.

It really is neat to see the mid to late round draft picks performing well.

Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals – Edmundo Sosa SS

Wow what an impressive season for Sosa. He wasn’t necessarily heads and shoulders above everyone else on his team. However, knowing that the Sosa has been ranked in the top 20 of many Cardinals’ prospect lists including Kylie McDaniel’s post earlier this year on the Cardinals system, makes his season stand out more to me. Sosa compiled a slash of .300/.369/.485, posting his highest OPS of his young career at .854. The OPS and the seven home runs Sosa totaled this year make him stand out the most.

Sosa has been considered to have below average power with his small frame. However, Sosa is entering that time where a lot of young hitters start to grow into their bodies and figure their power stroke out. It’s hard to look too deep into a lot of these players stats when they only play 49 games, but regardless Sosa is going to be another top prospect to look out for especially as he will likely start the year out in Peoria next year, making that his first full year in the minor leagues. If this is the case, I may have to make a trip up there and see him play.

Organizational Player of The Year – SP Luke Weaver

To me, you can’t find anyone with as great of a season as Luke Weaver across the Cardinals’ system. Weaver had a tremendous season and is a very talented pitcher who could find himself on the big league roster before the season ends next year.

Honorable Mention – OF Harrison Bader and C Chris Chinea

Wow what great seasons from the two 2015 draft picks. Had they had been in the system for the entire year, I would definitely have considered them as one of the best in the organization.

Bader started the season with State College after finishing off a great year with Florida where he performed well and played into the semi finals of the College World Series. It only took seven games at State College for the Cardinals’ organization to realize he was outclassing the New York Penn League (2 Homers and 2 Doubles in 7 games). Bader was then sent up to play in Peoria where he finished the season hitting .301/.364/.505 with 22 extra base hits (9 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs) and 28 RBI in only 54 games as well as posting a 154 wRC+.

It would be a miracle if Bader doesn’t start out with Palm Beach next season and potentially end the season in Springfield depending on how well he does in Palm Beach.

Chinea had a very successful season as well. Starting out in Johnson City and ultimately playing all but two of his games there. Chinea’s season line in Johnson City looks like this, .313/.356/.506 with 18 extra base hits (11 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs) while posting a 134 wRC+. Very good numbers for the catcher who earned a call up to Peoria for the final two games of the season. This is likely where he will start next season. With the emergence of Ohlman and Chinea it shall be interesting to see how they develop along with Carson Kelly. Eventually for them to usurp Yadier Molina, they are going to have to impress and improve defensively. 

However, with injuries and age starting to wear the potential future Hall of Fame catcher, it is nice to see some guys coming up through the system.

There you have it folks, my 2015 Cardinals’ top prospects are here. Got a player who you think I snubbed? Let me know in the comment section or on twitter!