Cardinals: These two prospects have the tools to break out in 2023

The St. Louis Cardinals are boasting some of the most exciting prospects in baseball at the moment. The much anticipated debut of Jordan Walker will happen in 2023, who is already looking like a future star. Three other names from that same 2020 Draft are looking like studs as well in shortstop Maysn Winn, right-handed pitcher Tink Hence, and OF/DH Alec Burleson, who has already made his big league debut.

Still, if you know anything about the Cardinals, the club tends to have some under-the-radar prospects come up and make a splash, names that not even their own fans expected. Guys like Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan have been those names in recent years, embodying the “Cardinal Way” and looking like veterans as youngsters.

Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors predicted the breakouts of Steven Kwan and Isaac Paredes last season by looking at young players with strong BB/K rates in the minor leagues. He took players who had at least 300 plate appearances in Double-A or Triple-A in 2021 to predict those breakouts, and he did so once again for 2023 looking at the 2022 data.

This time around, two St. Louis Cardinals middle infielders popped up on his radar, and neither guy is getting much attention among the fanbase. Yet, both are showing signs of players who could breakout as true, pure hitters in 2023, specifically at the big league level.

For a club that lacks middle infield depth, with Paul DeJong being their backout there at the moment, having other options to turn to would be huge for the club. Let’s look at the two players that McDonald projected breakouts from in 2023.

Evan Mendoza

Evan Mendoza is a 26-year old infielder who spent the 2022 season in Triple-A Memphis, playing 54 games at shortstop, 47 at second base, 7 at third base, and 1 game at both first base and center field. His defensive versality and approach at the plate but seem very similar to that of Donovan as well.

Mendoza did not have his great BB/K rate translate to as much success at the plate this year, posting a .247/.348/.325 slash line in 109 games. He struck out and walked at even rate of 56 last season, and used his on base skills to steal 15 bags. If he can continue to increase his on-base ability this next season, he could be a dangerous threat with his ability to swipe bags as well.

Like Dunn, Mendoza does not crack the top 30 prospects for the Cardinals, but have the underlying peripherals of a guy who could sneak his way into St. Louis in the near future. Also like Dunn, he is Rule 5 eligible in 2022, meaning he could be the success story of another club in 2023 if the Cardinals are unlucky enough to have him selected by another team.

Does an excellent BB/K rate guarantee success is coming for Dunn or Mendoza? No, but it is a great indicator of success, and makes both of these middle infielders names to watch in the near future.