6 Cardinal prospects whose stocks have risen and 4 whose stocks have fallen

Won-Bin Cho's stock has fallen after lackluster performances this year.

Prior to the start of the 2024 season, I believed, with some professional help, that Won-Bin Cho would be the breakout hitter in the organization this year. That hasn't been the case, as the South Korean outfielder hasn't been able to continue his offensive ascent that he started last year.

Instead of building upon his 2023 season that featured him slashing .270/.376/.389 with seven home runs and 32 stolen bases, Cho has taken a huge step back. He was promoted to High-A Peoria to start the year, and he's stayed there for the entirety of the 2024 campaign. He is slashing .228/.314/.306 with only two home runs and 10 stolen bases.

Heading into this year, Cho needed to lift the ball more, as his fly ball rate between 2022 and 2023 was nearly cut in half. He's done just that, as he has been hitting fly balls at a 32.1% rate; however, his line drive percentage fell to just 20.6%, and his groundball rate remained elevated at 47.4%. To make matters worse, he's striking out 31.3% of the time (21.7% last year), and he's taking walks just 8.6% of the time (14.2% last year).

Cho is still only 21 years old, so he has ample time to fine-tune these skills. The Cardinals seem intent on developing him as a center fielder, as he's played 638.1 innings out there this year with just one error. He has decent speed, and his arm should play given the fact that he was a pitcher.