After news broke late last night that the St. Louis Cardinals were promoting infielder Cesar Prieto to their Major League roster, we have been anxiously waiting to see what kind of roster move they would be making to clear room for Prieto. Well, the Cardinals need to find two spots now, as they've tapped the shoulder of an even more exciting prospect to join him.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch just broke the news that catching prospect Jimmy Crooks III is getting his Major League call-up as well, and both Crooks and Prieto are expected to join the team in Cincinnati today. There is still no news on what the corresponding moves will be for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are calling up their potential catcher of the future in Jimmy Crooks
The Double-A Texas League Most Valuable Player in 2024, Crooks entered 2025 in the eyes of most as the Cardinals' top catching prospect, and he's had a really nice year in Triple-A to accompany that pedigree.
In 98 games for Memphis this season, Crooks is slashing .274/.337/.441 with 14 home runs and 21 doubles, driving in 79 runs and scoring 61 times as well. His .778 OPS has dropped off from the .908 OPS mark he set in Springfield last year, but he's really caught fire as of late. During the month of August, Crooks has a .922 OPS for Memphis, and is now going to get his chance to show the Cardinals what he is capable of for the final month of the season.
Most outlets don't actually have Crooks as the Cardinals' top catching prospect anymore, but that has far more to do with the strides that Leonardo Bernal and Rainiel Rodriguez have made this year than Crooks falling in stature. Some outlets have Crooks as a borderline top 100 prospect right now, while Rodriguez and Bernal are firmly within most top 100 lists.
MLB Pipeline has Crooks as the Cardinals' sixth-ranked prospect while Baseball America has him slotted in as their 12th-ranked guy. While the Cardinals have leaned heavily on Pedro Pages behind the dish the last two years because of their comfort with his game calling, Crooks offers them the potential of both an above-average bat and defense for the position long-term.
Batting from the left side, Crooks is more of a "hit first" tool guy when it comes to his offensive profile, but offers average power to give him nice upside offensively for a catcher. Defensively, he's an above-average framer and does a solid job of controlling the run game as well.