St. Louis Cardinals: Rebooting the Cardinals top 10 prospects

3. Andrew Knizner, Catcher

With the departure of Carson Kelly to the deserts of Arizona, Andrew Knizner has become the new heir apparent to Yadier Molina‘s throne. The surprising rapid advancement of the right-handed Knizner from Low A to AA in 2017, made the departure of Kelly possible.

The 24-year-old was a seventh round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft and then assigned to the Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals, where he first started showing his power. But it in 2017, the Cardinals started taking notice of the right-handed bat when he hit a combined slash line of .302/.349/.471 with 12 HR and 51 RBI in 95 games.

The following year, he continued his ascent in the organization by hitting a combined slash line in AA/AAA of .313/.368/.430 with 7 HR and 45 RBI in 94 games. Knizner also shows remarkable plate discipline for a prospect with a  potential power bat by striking out only 48 time in 374 plate appearances. His 2018 performance earned him a spot representing the Cardinals in the 2018 All-Star Futures Game.

Even though Knizner is already showing a steady glove behind the plate, baring an injury to Molina, he will likely stay in AAA Memphis most of the year to fine tune his game. With Molina signed through 2020, Knizner should be ready to take over behind the plate in 2021.

2. Elehuris Montero, 3B

Montero has become one of the best hitters in the Cardinals system and should continue the trend in 2019. The 20-year-old Dominican hit a combine slash line of .315/.371/.504 with 16 HR and 82 RBI in 127 games between Low A and High A in 2018.

While at Low A ball in Peoria, he won the Midwest League MVP, the first Cardinal prospect to do so since…well, Albert Pujols.

Although he doesn’t have much speed, he can hit to all fields with power. Montero has a nice and easy swing that generates plenty of bat speed. Additionally, he shows patience at the plate and is willing take walks. In the Florida League, he showed the ability to hit line drives when needed, in parks that are usually pitcher friendly.

He is considered at this point in his career only an average fielder, but does have a strong-arm, which could keep him at third as he advances. Look for Montero to start the season at High A in Florida, but he will be in Springfield before the year ends.

1. Nolan Gorman, 3B

Nolan Gorman is beginning to get attention, not only from Cardinals fans, but across baseball as one of the top prospects in the game. In fact, Jim Callis of MLB.com has identified Gorman, as one of the five top prospects in baseball, even comparing him to a left-handed Kris Bryant.

This is pretty heady stuff for a guy who has not yet turned 19. But the Cardinals seemed to have seen this when they picked 19th overall in the 2018 MLB Draft. He made an immediate impact in the Rookie Appalachian League, where he hit a slash line of .350/.443/.664 with 11 HR and 28 RBI in 38 games.

However, when he was promoted to Low A in Peoria, he cooled off and came down to earth.  In 25 games he hit a slash line of .202/.280/.426 with 6 HR and 16 RBI. Strikeouts, caused by lack of plate discipline and struggles against left-handed pitching, was the boogie man for Gorman in Peoria.

However, the young left-handed bat has a strong, quick snapping wrists that help generate easy bat speed. Gorman showed a bit of that talent when he was inserted on March 16th in a spring training game vs the Nationals. when he hit a home run off Kyle Barraclough.

Nolan Gorman isn’t expected to arrive in St. Louis until 2022 and will likely start the year in Peoria. Nevertheless, the Cardinals are banking on this young 6′ 1″ 210 lb prospect to rise and eventually be an answer for them at either corner infield position.