St. Louis Cardinals’ 2016 Top Prospects: #6 Nick Plummer

Today we will be tackling the first St. Louis Cardinals’ 2015 MLB draft pick and the last one to be covered in our top prospect series.

You will keep hearing from me that the St. Louis Cardinals had a really good draft this year. Unfortunately, as we near the end of our “Top Prospects” series, we won’t have any more awesome prospects from the 2015 draft. However, soon we will be getting you some information on who the Cardinals could be looking to draft this year in an early 2016 draft preview.

Nick Plummer got the St. Louis Cardinals 2015 draft of to a bang and set the tempo for much of the Cardinals next few picks, and some believe his sort of talent was the theme of the entire draft for the Cardinals. It had been some time since the Cardinals took a position player with this much upside in the first round, so it doesn’t surprise me that Plummer finds himself so high on this list.

So, what makes Nick Plummer stand out?

#6 Nick Plummer OF

Season Stats: 

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Scout Grade: Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 55 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50*

Analysis: Plummer is already widely considered as a Top 10 prospect for the Cardinals. While he may have struggled a bit in his first professional season, there is a silver lining, as he had a .379 OBP despite striking out 56 times in 228 plate appearances. 

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He was drafted out of high school, so he will likely take a little while to develop. Plummer’s number one tool is his bat, despite his struggles to start his career. Defensively, Plummer has the speed and glove to stick in center, but his sub par arm will likely put him in LF.

Seeing a player like Plummer drafted by the Cardinals this year is a refresher, as too often the Cardinals have gone the safe route by drafting a college pitcher. I think that Plummer has a lot of potential and along with the others drafted in this previous draft. What the system is lacking currently is high end talent and Plummer brings that potential.

Derek Shore of Scout.com has some interesting information on Plummer from some early scouting reports of the left-handed outfielder:

“Early scouting reports on Plummer suggest there should be no issue remaining in center field with an adequate arm and speed as one of his better present tools. The scouting reports note little over-the-fence power, with much of it coming from the gaps and via his speed. It sees Plummer having a lead-off style profile with an everyday ceiling hanging on his bat and his ability to get on base proficiently.”

Referencing his current lack of power, “The Red Baron” from Viva El Birdos has this to say “Physically, Plummer has above-average bat speed, another point in the mini-trend of the Cards’ 2015 draft class. That should allow him at least average, and possibly better, power down the road, although he’s probably never going to be a thumper.” This is interesting, as it reminds me of another Cardinals’ OF prospect in Magneuris Sierra.

Regardless, what we know about Plummer is a little limited, but all signs point to him being a solid get for the Cardinals in the 2015 draft. This almost makes you think of what Chris Correa could have continually done with this system and the draft, had he not decided to hack into the Astros.

Roster Prediction: A Short Season Johnson City

I could see Plummer getting another shot at the GCL, as he didn’t really do much there in his first taste of professional baseball. He should see a promotion to allow for some other players to get time at GCL and to keep the progression going.

Next: Cardinals' 2016 Top Prospects: #7 Carson Kelly

Tomorrow, we will start the countdown of the top five prospects, if you have missed any of our previous prospects you can check them out here.

*Scout Grade via MLB.com