St. Louis Cardinals: What happened to Bryce Denton?

Bryce Denton is a name that once graced the St. Louis Cardinals top 30 prospect list. He showed a lot of promise in the outfield, but has since fallen off.

In 2015, Bryce Denton held down the number 14 spot on MLB Pipeline’s list for the St. Louis Cardinals. The following season saw him drop to number 21. In 2017, he was 29th. Now, in 2018, he is nowhere to be found on the top prospect list. That is for good reason, he did not have the most graceful of starts to his career.

Who Is Bryce Denton?

Denton was the Cardinals second round pick in 2015 as a high schooler. His bat projected in a big way, the optimal tool being power. Overall, he was thought to be a pretty complete hitter, and a solid selection for the Redbirds.

Why No More List?

To call the start of Denton’s professional career slow might be doing it some favors. His opening season in 2015 was 44 games and a sub .200 batting average. 2016 was better, as he hit .282 in rookie ball. Last year got little better, he found his way to A ball, and hit .268 in short season. Then with Peoria, his average dipped back below the Mendoza Line. Before this year, the power hitter had eight homers to speak of.

The 2018 Season

This year, Denton is back with Peoria. This year is going quite a bit better than his first 19 game attempt last year. Through 52 games, he is hitting .251 with two homers. They still aren’t mind boggling stats, and the power is not there, but he is just 20 years old.

Remember Bryce Denton’s Name

The best baseball players are smart. Denton is proving to be smart. At 20 years old, he improves every year, even if he struggled the season before. The St. Louis Cardinals will have a solid left field option in the future if he continues to learn. If the power has not come around yet, he will find a way to turn it.

He already has, the fence power was holding him back early on. But a glance at his stats shows that his gap power and extra base hits have been going up every year. That is not luck, that is an adjustment.

The Future

I don’t expect Denton to be a superstar, but he was a top pick for a reason. He was a top prospect for a reason. That will show through, especially if he continues to make adjustments. We are talking about a 20 year old kid who has been getting nothing but better so far.

Next: Greg Holland to start his second rehab stint

If nothing else, I am bought in to his future. I would expect him to make a re-appearance on the top 30 list at some point in time. He will likely end up in the outfield, but he could make a very good fourth outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals one day.