St. Louis Cardinals: Dark Horse Prospects for 2016

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Feb 18, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak (left) talks with chairman and chief executive officer William O. DeWitt, Jr. (center) at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

We all know the St. Louis Cardinals have had a really good system over the past few years. Are there some good players we may not know about?

Last month, you saw me tackle the St. Louis Cardinals’ top 30 prospects, this showed that the Cardinals still have a pretty good system, but that it is bit backloaded at the minute. Meaning that most of the talent is in the lower levels right now.

The Cardinals also don’t currently have that one player that everyone is writing home about on the offensive side. They absolutely have that in Alex Reyes, but not with any of their current hitters.

In every system you have guys who fall through the cracks or guys that not many recognize as being a “Top Prospect”. The Cardinals have a handful of these guys right now. They may work themselves into the top 30 after this season, but as of right now, they are not on many people’s radar.

I have talked about a couple of these players in the past, but for the most part these guys are new to me as well. So, let’s get into it!

Next: Local Draftee #1

Oct 10, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; A postseason base on the field before game two of the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Orlando Olivera

The Cardinals pulled the hometown card in the 38th round, by selecting Olivera. Olivera was selected out of Missouri Baptist University in this past year’s draft. On paper it seemed like a typical late round pick giving a local guy the honor of being drafted by the hometown team.

However, Olivera proved right away that he was not a throw in pick. Olivera was placed in the Gulf Coast League after the draft, and proved he was a step ahead of the players there hitting two homers and three doubles in his first three games there.

Olivera was then promoted to State College and over 42 games there the right-handed hitter hit .347/.397/.521 with 14 extra base-hits (eight doubles, five homers, and one triple), while driving in 24, all in just 156 plate appearances.

Olivera showed good versatility playing both in the outfield and at first base, giving the Cardinals another option at first base down the road. Olivera has displayed that he has some pop in his bat and a good plate presence. As an outfielder Olivera doesn’t have much of a chance to be much more than a bench guy. However, he could become a player for the Cardinals at first base.

However, Olivera is going to have to showcase his stats at a higher level before we can really consider him a “prospect”. If he can perform this well with Peoria in a full season of play, then we may be talking about another steal for the Cardinals. Until then, keep an eye on Olivera this season.

Next: Local Draftee #2

May 25, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman /

Luke Voit

Here we have a player who has not gotten a lot of attention in the Cardinals’ minor league system and I am not sure why. Voit is a local kid coming from Lafeyette High School (the same high school as David Freese and Ryan Howard), who was drafted by the Cardinals in the 22nd round of the 2013 draft out of Missouri State University. Voit is a bit older than most in the system as he just turned 25.

However, Voit has had some impressive numbers in his brief Cardinals’ career. After hitting just .242/356/.329 in 2013 with State College, the Cardinals pushed him through to High A Palm Beach at the start of 2014. Voit responded by hitting .276/.342/.442 with 35 extra base-hits (nine homers, 21 doubles, five triples) in 93 games. The big deal about this is that this was done in the pitching rich and pitcher friendly Florida State League.

This is a big accomplishment. However, the Cardinals apparently did not see enough to send him through to Springfield last season. He was assigned to Palm Beach again for 2015, and if you had any concern about his numbers not being legitimate he proved that to not be the case, as he hit .273/.360/.405 with 34 extra base-hits (18 doubles, 11 homers, five triples).

Not many are high on Voit though, I spoke with our own Chris Greene who covered Palm Beach for Scout.com last year, and he said this, “He was definitely the big offensive threat in Palm Beach last year. That said, he’s pretty old for a prospect, and I would guess that the Cardinals have a reason for not promoting him more aggressively.”

John Manuel of Baseball America doesn’t view him as a prospect either saying, “He had a nice year, but has limited athleticism and defensive ability. I asked a lot about him in the FSL for the reasons you mentioned and was shot down by managers and scouts alike. Here’s hoping Voit proves them wrong.” This is interesting, as even Manuel claims that it’s near impossible for a hitter to do great in the FSL.

Not only that, but the Cardinals normally have their top hitters skip this level. Carson Kelly even struggled there this year, as did Anthony Garcia before him and both guys are said to be good hitters. So, I don’t think we can count out Voit yet. He should do very well in Springfield this year, and from there we will know a bit more. Maybe just maybe he could factor in at first sooner than we know.

Next: More pitching?

Feb 18, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; A general view of an MLB glove on the practice field at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Matt Pearce – SP

Wait the Cardinals have another good pitcher in their system? Don’t they have enough? Nope. You can never have enough good pitching in your system and the Cardinals certainly do have a lot of it.

Matt Pearce doesn’t seem like a top prospect in the realm of an Alexander Reyes or Jack Flaherty, and he absolutely is not in the same realm of those guys. However, Pearce is definitely a solid pitcher. In his first full season as a professional, the 13th round draft pick from Polk College went 11-10, with a 2.43 ERA and a really good 1.11 WHIP.

The biggest thing from Pearce’s season with the Peoria Chiefs, was that the right-hander set a Midwest League record 46 1/3 innings pitched without a single walk allowed. These are some pretty good numbers for a guy who’s not much a prospect.

In a piece for Milb.com Pearce said this, “I like to pound the zone for the guys behind me, because I know they don’t like to be out there when a pitcher’s walking so man guys. When you think about it, a .300 average makes a hitter successful, and then he’s only getting hits in three of 10 at-bats. The ball’s in your hands as a pitcher.”

Pearce stands in at 6’3″, 205. So, he has a pretty athletic build and the control for a guy at this level of his career is quite impressive. Pearce will get rewarded with a promotion to Palm Beach, where he should have another solid season and could find himself being promoted to Springfield at some point in the season.

Next: Another infielder for the Cards

Feb 18, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; A general view of two MLB gloves on the practice field at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Allen Staton

Here we have a player that I had not heard of before the start of this list. Staton played at three different levels for the Cardinals in 2015 after signing on June 16 with the team. Staton started out at the Gulf Coast level, playing in eleven games. At that level he had 12 hits in his 40 at-bats, with three doubles and one home run in that time.

Staton was then promoted up to Johnson City, where he played in 42 games and impressively totaled a total of 23 extra base-hits (12 doubles, nine homers, and 3 triples). While at Johnson City, Staton slashed .307/.339/.571 . Not only was Staton’s .907 OPS best in Johnson City, but it was the 16th best OPS in all of the rookie leagues.

Staton, as an undrafted free agent isn’t your typical prospect, but his first taste of pro ball, was pretty good. Staton will throw his name into the large pool of infield prospects the Cardinals have been accumulating. It is a bit disappointing to see him not succeed much in the nine games he played in Palm Beach, but as we have mentioned that is a tough place to succeed offensively.

This season will be interesting for Staton in terms of placement. He won’t have much of a home defensively in the infield, unless the Cardinals prefer him to play a bench role with Peoria. However, if the Cardinals believe he is ready to make the jump to another level, he could see time at Palm Beach again even though the it’s not a great offensive environment. However, with his age, one could see the team more interested in seeing what he has at AA Springfield.

It will definitely be an interesting season for him, as we will see whether or not he is a flash in the pan or a legitimate prospect.

Next: Yet another pitcher

Trey Nielsen

In an organization stocked with top pitching prospects, you would normally look right past this 30th round draft pick, and think he’s not anyone to look twice at. However, Nielsen’s numbers will make you think otherwise. Nielsen did not pitch at all in 2013 after being drafted, but in 2014 Nielsen made his debut with the State College Spikes.