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.

Nick Dunn

Nick Dunn is a 25-year old infielder for the Cardinals’ Double-A Springfield affiliate, where he has primarily played second base but seen a few innings at shortstop and third base. Dunn’s ability to get on base seems to be his primary skill at the plate, posting a .379 OBP last season while bringing his OPS all the way up to .770 for in 472 PA.

Dunn received some high praise from FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, saying Dunn “is like a free-swinging Brendan Donovan – same hair and everything”. While Logenhagen nocked Dunn’s approach at the plate, he clearly figured it out this season, bringing his walk rate up to 13.3% and lowering his strikeout rate to 8.9%. If this trend continues, Dunn could be a valuable piece off of the bench for St. Louis.

For a guy not ranked within the Cardinals top 34 prospects, making a jump to the Major Leagues would be a breakout in itself, but his ability to get on base and put the ball in play could spell even better results once he gets there. The main issue the Cardinals are facing right now is that Dunn is eligible for the Rule 5 draft, so if a club sees that potential, they could take him from the Cardinals here soon.