Cardinals pitching prospect putting up impressive bat-missing stat for Palm Beach

St. Louis is seeing some positive signs out of their most recent draft class this season. First-rounder JJ Wetherholt is doing exactly what everyone thought he would. Fourth rounder Ryan Campos is starting to get comfortable in pro ball. Sixth-rounder Josh Kross has been swinging an incredibly hot bat. Ninth-rounder Cade McGee is making strides and winning Player of the Week awards.

That also leaves their fifth-round pick and the second pitcher drafted by the organization last season. The Cardinals selected pitcher Braden Davis out of the University of Oklahoma with their fifth-round pick after putting up a good final season for the Sooners on the mound. His success has continued so far into his first full professional season in Low-A for Palm Beach. The left-hander has a 4.35 ERA over 31 innings thus far and has struck out 39 over that span. The walk numbers are a bit of a work in progress at the moment, but he has shown increased velocity coming into the year that may be factoring into the high walk rate.

The uptick in velocity is a very positive sign and has brought on additional bat-missing numbers than we saw from his time in college. Even a small uptick from 91 to 93 MPH is a world of difference, as you can get away with missing your spot the harder you throw. The 22-year-old ranks sixth in all of Low-A in Whiff% among qualified starters across the level this season.

While the uptick in velocity and bat-missing numbers might not be enough to crack any top prospect lists for the Cardinals, Davis represents much needed healthy pitching depth in the lower system. With top pitching prospects Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, Cooper Hjerpe, Chen-Wei Lin, Sem Robberse, and Brian Holiday all missing at least a month of action this season, pitching depth in the system gets that much more important.

Davis will look to build upon his season this weekend as he is in line to start against the Reds Low-A affiliate in Daytona.