Cardinals' former first-round pick breaks three-year spring training drought

For the first time since 2023, a St. Louis Cardinals player has hit multiple home runs in a spring training contest. This latest explosion comes courtesy of Chase Davis, a first-round pick in 2023.

Davis' story is well known around these parts, as the Arizona product has yet to fully deliver on his massive potential. Despite 60-grade raw power and 50-grade speed, the 24-year-old is yet to hit more than 12 home runs or steal more than nine bases in any of his professional seasons.

Last year, he stalled at Double-A, hitting .242/358/.353 (105 wRC+) in 113 games, posting solid walk (13.6%) and disastrous strikeout rates (29.6%).

Prior to his two-homer outburst, it was more of the same in spring training, as Davis owned a 17 wRC+ and 42.1% strikeout rate in 19 plate appearances. Here's hoping that his latest effort will mark the start of a quick and decisive turnaround at the plate.

Chase Davis needs hot streak in the worst way to remain on Cardinals' radar in 2026

Part of the issue with Davis' performance last year was that he was technically repeating the Double-A level after getting a cup of coffee there in the final weeks of the 2024 season. Despite some hot streaks early in the year in 2025, he couldn't muster much more than an average batting line against competition he should be more advanced than by now.

Odds are he'll return to Springfield to open up the 2026 campaign, but he needs to move quickly to salvage his career in St. Louis. He's Rule 5 eligible next offseason, meaning he has to convince the front office to place him on the 40-man roster, lest another organization gets the chance to pluck him away in December.

Even in a best-case scenario for Davis — in which Lars Nootbar is traded and Jordan Walker can't lock down a starting outfield spot — he'd need to overcome higher-ranked prospects like Joshua Baez on the organizational depth chart just to get a sniff of playing time in the majors. That also fails to mention someone like the recently acquired Tai Peete, who could be nipping at Davis' heels soon enough.

In effect, this will be the most important season of Davis' career thus far. More highlights like his multi-homer effort in spring training will always be welcome, but it'll be his night-to-night consistency that determines his future with the Redbirds.