5 players the Cardinals should consider selling high on

C Jimmy Crooks

I've chosen to start with a prospect. Catcher Jimmy Crooks rose in the organization's prospect rankings this year. The 23-year-old was drafted in the fourth round in 2022 out of Oklahoma University, and he spent all of 2024 with Double-A Springfield.

While in Springfield, Crooks slashed .321/.410/.498 for a wRC+ of 156. He walked 11.6% of the time while striking out just 21% of the time. Both of those figures are par for the course for the lefty in his career in the minors thus far. Crooks isn't much built for power, as he hit 11 home runs this year in 315 at-bats and 12 home runs last year in 413 at-bats.

Where Crooks continues to impress is defensively. He's known mostly for his receiving and blocking abilities, though pitchers have been quite open about their preference in throwing to him. He has a 55 arm and field grade on the 20-80 grade prospect scale that is used.

Jimmy Crooks's improvements at the plate paired with his continued development defensively have made him the organization's best catching prospect and their fifth-overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

With Willson Contreras, Ivan Herrera, and Pedro Pages under team control for at least the next three years, the Cardinals could seek to trade high on Jimmy Crooks this offseason. The Cardinals have a glut of catchers in the fold for 2025, so at least one should be moved this offseason to fill a need in another area.