3. Chandler Redmond
Chandler Redmond is really a great story. After a 4 year career at Gardner-Webb University, the Cardinals took him in the 32nd round back in 2019, the MLB draft doesn't even go that far anymore, and he has had a successful minor league career so far.
He showed right away with Johnson City in Rookie Ball that he has some huge power, as he hit 12 home runs in just 54 games. Then in his second minor league season in 2021 with Peoria, he hit 13 long balls in 64 games which led to a quick promotion to Double-A Springfield. He has stayed in Springfield since that early promotion but he has put up big numbers while in Double-A.
In August of 2022, Redmond accomplished an extremely rare feat as he hit what is called the "home run cycle ". Redmond hit a solo home run, a 2 run home run, a 3 run home run, and a grand slam all in the same game. In 2023 he had a 3-homer game, a 485-foot home run, and on September 17th, he became Springfield's all-time RBI leader, passing Xavier Scruggs with 196 RBI with Springfield.
Despite his torrid run in Double-A, he has yet to get a promotion to Memphis. Redmond has made at least one start at 5 different positions during his minor league career, but most of his playing time has come at 1st base. Paul Goldschmidt is under contract for one more season and it is possible that the Cards could bring him back, Luken Baker got 86 at-bats with the big club while winning the International League MVP this year in the minor leagues, so he could be the choice to replace Goldschmidt at 1st base if the Cards decide to go that route.
If the Cardinals wanted to go after pitching through the trade market, Redmond's combination of huge power and defensive versatility could interest teams in a potential deal. The fact that he has not seen a promotion in the past couple of seasons leads me to believe that the Cardinals may not see him in their future plans. However his attributes and potential could attract some teams this off-season.