Reflecting on the 2013 Cardinals’ top 30 prospects

15. Ryan Jackson (SS)

Ryan Jackson was an elite defensive shortstop in college whom the Cardinals took in the fifth round in 2009, but like so many defensive stalwarts, his bat was never able to catch up to the glove. He lacked power, and he wasn’t able to make up for it with speed; his career high in stolen bases was nine with Memphis in 2013. Jackson received a bit of time with the Cardinals in 2012 but was unable to make an impact, getting only two hits in 17 at-bats.

Jackson slowly lost playing time to fellow prospect Pete Kozma in Triple-A that year, and after the 2013 season where he hit .278 in Memphis, the Houston Astros claimed him off waivers. Jackson would then begin a nomadic journey throughout the minor leagues with nine other teams, hitting .268 in nearly 3,000 minor league at-bats but only .061 in his brief tastes of the major leagues. In 2021, Jackson played for the independent league Long Island Ducks, where he hit .287 in 188 at-bats.

14. Kevin Siegrist (LHP)

For a couple of years, Kevin Siegrist looked to be a draft steal. He was taken in the 41st round in 2008, but injuries slowed his progress through the system. He broke out in 2012 with High-A Palm Beach, where he had a 2.28 ERA in 10 games. The Cardinals then converted Siegrist to a reliever, which amped up his velocity. The next year, he debuted with the Cardinals and surrendered only two runs in 39.2 innings, while opponents hit only .128 against him.

A forearm injury affected Siegrist’s production in 2014, but he became the setup man for Trevor Rosenthal the next year. In 2015 and 2016, he had a 2.44 ERA and led the major leagues in 2015 with 81 games pitched. However, injuries nagged at him again in 2017, and the Cardinals designated him for assignment in August.

Siegrist briefly pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, appearing in seven games, and later signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates but opted not to report to the minor leagues. In July 2022, Siegrist signed with the Atlantic League’s Charleston Dirty Birds.

13. Pete Kozma (SS)

The Cardinals took Pete Kozma with their first pick in 2007, picking 18th, their highest placement in the draft since 2000. He was deemed a strong fielder with potential for his bat to grow, but he struggled to bring that part of his game around despite a solid eye at the plate. Despite his hitting only .232 in Triple-A in 2012, the Cardinals brought him up to the major leagues after Rafael Furcal’s elbow injury. A torrid stretch ensued where Kozma hit .333 in 26 games, and he enjoyed his signature major league moment when he dove in the winning run of the National League Division Series in Game Five.

Kozma took over for Furcal to be the team’s starting shortstop in 2013, but he fumbled the opportunity, hitting .217 in 410 at-bats on the season. The Cardinals signed Jhonny Peralta to replace him in 2014, and Kozma spent most of his time in Memphis, hitting .248.

After having more trouble at the plate in 2015, Kozma elected free agency and later played a few games with the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. He spent 2022 with the American Association’s Kansas City Monarchs.

12. James Ramsey (OF)

James Ramsey possessed the character makeup coming out of college that the Cardinals coveted, so they grabbed him with the 23rd pick of the draft. His charisma and leadership that earned him a Rhodes Scholarship nomination followed him to the professional ranks, and he developed more power than he showed in college. After starting off hot in High-A in 2013, Ramsey received a promotion to Double-A, where he hit .251, but only .208 against left-handers.

The Cardinals traded Ramsey to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Justin Masterson at the 2014 trade deadline, and while Ramsey spent time in Triple-A with the Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins, he was never able to make the last jump to the big leagues. His struggles against left-handed pitching never abated, and the Twins released him in 2018.

Ramsey then took a job as a coach at Florida State University and moved to Georgia Tech in 2019, where he is now the team’s associate head coach.

11. Patrick Wisdom (3B)

Patrick Wisdom was a discount first-round signing by the Cardinals in 2012 after a subpar final season at St. Mary’s College of California. He was a power-over-contact hitter throughout his minor league career, hitting .244 with 134 home runs in his minor league stops from 2012 to 2021. In 2018 with Triple-A Memphis, Wisdom hit for a career-high .288 average and received a cup of coffee with the Cardinals, where he hit .260 with four home runs.

The Cardinals dealt Wisdom to the Texas Rangers for outfielder Drew Robinson in December 2018, and after a short stint with Texas and the Seattle Mariners organization, Wisdom signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2020 and re-signed a minor league contract with them the next year.

In 2021, Wisdom received his first prolonged major league exposure and was emblematic of the three-true-outcomes hitter: He set the all-time Cubs record for home runs by a rookie, with 26, but he hit .231 and whiffed in 40.8% of his at-bats. In 2022, Wisdom led the majors in strikeout percentage and was second in the league in errors at third base with 14.