These are the 5 Most Exciting St. Louis Cardinals Prospects

The St. Louis Cardinals have drafted and developed at an elite level over the last few seasons, and now have a bunch of exciting prospects.

The St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in the thick of a division title race and may be positioning themselves now as a dark horse contender for the 2022 World Series. With vastly improved starting pitching, two MVP candidates in the middle of the order in Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, and a great mix of young and veteran talent, the Cardinals have the pieces to win right now.

And yet, when you look at the future of this organization, it’s likely that their true window for World Series contention is in 2023 and beyond. Yes, the team could make a magical run down the stretch and win a championship this season, but the front office has positioned this club to not just be a team to watch in future seasons, but one of the teams to beat come October.

One of the biggest reasons this is the case is the elite farm system that has been forming in recent seasons. The major league core in St. Louis, outside of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and possibly Adam Wainwright, are not going anywhere, and yet the club has top level prospects that they can add to the mix as early as 2023.

The arrivals of players like Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, and Juan Yepez has taken the club a step further in 2022, and there are still a list of names in the Cardinals system who can make similar, if not larger, impacts upon their call ups to St. Louis. While there are a lot of names to choose from, here are the five prospects that should get St. Louis fans most excited.

SS Maysn Winn

Drafted as a two-way prospect in the 2020 MLB draft, Maysn Winn has made the full time commitment to shortstop, and since then, has skyrocketed MLB’s top prospect listings.

Winn boasts a high floor as a prospect due to his elite defensive skills and base running ability. Winn has already shown he can swipe bags at a high rate, stealing 32 bases in 2021 and has 15 so far in 2022. As a former flamethrower pitcher, Winn’s arm has translated to shortstop in an incredible way, and would instantly have the best arm at the position upon a call up to St. Louis.

The questions surrounding Winn have never been about his defense or speed though, but rather if he would be able to be an impact bat at the major league level. While he was only able to amass a .680 OPS his debut season in the minor leagues, Winn is slashing .297/.365/.497 with 11 HR and 51 RBI at age 20 across A+ and AA this season.

Winn boasts more power than you would expect, and is projecting to be the kind of hitter than slashes in a very similar vein as his 2022 numbers with 40-50 doubles a year and 20+ HRs. That kind of player can be one of the best shortstops in all of baseball quickly. Even if he is only 60-70% of that hitter long term, he would still be among the cream of the crop.

Watch out for Winn. He has the potential to be a guy who makes highlight plays at shortstop, at the plate, and on the basepaths night in and night out.

RHP Tink Hence

Another selection from the 2020 MLB Draft, Tink Hence has exceeded expectations thus far, and although it is still early in his development, is showing the traits of a front line starter in St. Louis for years to come.

In 12 games pitched this season, Hence has a 1.18 ERA with 64 SO in 38 innings of work for their Single A affiliate. Hence just turned 20 last week, and so the club is being especially cautious with his innings and workload early on, but his stuff is already playing.

Boasting a 0.79 WHIP and 15.2 strikeouts per 9 innings is about as elite as you can get at any level. There is still a long road ahead toward Hence being built up and seasoned enough to be a starter at the major league level, but when a prospect has just turned 20 years old, you are much more concerned with developing their stuff at this stage.

The excitement around Hence is real. If he can continue to translate his swing and miss stuff throughout the minor league levels as he increases his workload, the 6’1 right hander has a chance to be truly special.

3B/OF Jordan Walker

This isn’t news to anyone at this point, but Jordan Walker is really, really good at baseball.

Standing at 6’5, there has never been any doubt that Walker has the ability to mash the baseball when he puts the barrel on it. What has truly made Walker an elite prospect and has many believing he is baseball’s next star is how he has paired that power with elite bat to ball skills.

In 2022 at the AA level, Walker is slashing .309/.392/.513 with 13 HR and 49 RBI at just 20 years old. His .905 OPS, which seems to be climbing every week, is unheard of from a player his age at that level.

The combination of elite talent and results at this age already has Walker has favorite to be in the starting lineup for St. Louis on Opening Day in 2023, but the question has always been “Where will he play?”.

Right after the trade of Harrison Bader, Walker began to take everyday reps in the outfield, and is already showing he can hold his own. The club is trying him out at all three positions, giving the Cardinals more lineup flexibility and increasing Walker’s chances of playing every day.

Walker is coming, and when he makes his debut in St. Louis, it will only be a matter of time before the MV3 conversations returns in the form of Goldschmidt, Arenado, and Walker.

Gordon Graceffo

Drafted in the 5th round of the 2021 draft out of Villanova, Gordon Graceffo has caught the attention of talent evaluators around the league and could find himself as a key member of the Cardinals rotation in 2023.

Graceffo got off to a dominate start in 2022, sporting a 0.99 ERA in 45.2 innings of work in High-A Peoria, and was quickly promoted to AA Springfield. Graceffo has not been dominate at that level seeing his ERA bump to 4.66, but the club is still equally excited about the projections for the 22 year old right hander.

Graceffo has strikeout stuff and is getting critical reps against more developed hitters at the AA level. As he continues to better his command and feel for the game, his stuff will play, making him a legit option to start for St. Louis next season.