Cardinals Gold Glove star is becoming the premier defender in Major League Baseball

St. Louis is known for one thing in all of Major League Baseball: fundamentals. The organization has taken much pride in playing sound and clean baseball with no mistakes, perfect execution, and controlling the game from your decision-making. Fans have seen this throughout its history with many talented defenders, like Ozzie Smith, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Yadier Molina, and Nolan Arenado. As old chapters ended, new ones have started with a turning of the page. The Cardinals are in the next phase of this novel with shortstop Masyn Winn.

The young shortstop came into the big leagues known for his rocket arm that seemed to be more hype than heroic. The media took immediate attention to the velocity of his throws, veteran players began to look down on the one-trick pony, and fans are clamoring for him to discover an offensive profile before showing off the cannon. But what Winn has done since his rookie season is developed into one of the more premier defenders not only at shortstop but across the diamond. The 2025 Gold Glove winner made himself known as more than just an arm, making highlight throws. Winn posted 17 run value, 21 outs above average, and .994 fielding percentage, and only allowed 3 errors across 1107.2 innings played. Posting these elite numbers at just the age of 23 is more than exceptional. This is just the coming-out party for Winn and what type of player he will be.

2026 is showing the next level to Winn's game. He has been a human highlight reel all season with his elite range, athleticism, and, of course, the arm strength. It feels like he is making the MLB social media pages on a nightly basis for just how incredible his plays are. His stats so far are not showing as efficient as the 2025 campaign. But the more aggressive play style has been more high-risk/high-reward for the Cardinals, which has mightily contributed to the team's unexpected success in 2026.

He has played 44% of the total innings from the prior season so far in 2026 and is on track to surpass most of every counting stat for defensive metrics. Winn is also on track to surpass his 2025 WAR with an even worse offensive profile. While the hitting is of question, the fielding most certainly is not. Winn is becoming the premier model for shortstops in MLB and is taking over to be a favorite for the Gold Glove on a yearly basis.

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