Ranking the 15 best St. Louis Cardinals players under 25

#1 SS Masyn Winn

Shortstop Masyn Winn is deserving of his own page here. He will be a leader on the team for many years to come, and he deserves to become the face of the franchise. He's an elite defensive shortstop who has proven that he can hit at the major league-level. Additionally, Winn has already started embracing the spotlight with his performance at Rickwood Field against the San Francisco Giants in June.

Masyn Winn will likely finish third in National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill, but that shouldn't take away from what he's been able to do this year. Winn finished 2024 with a .267/.314/.416 slash line, 15 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 57 runs batted in for a 102 OPS+.

More impressively, however, was Winn's superb defense at one of the toughest positions on the diamond. Winn had 14 defensive runs saved, tied for seventh-most in all of baseball; that figure did give him the most among all rookies. Winn also finished with three outs above average and an ultimate zone rating of -0.9.

Masyn Winn, still only 22, deserves a long-term extension to keep him in St. Louis for many years to come. As things currently stand, he won't be a free agent until at least 2029. However, he deserves to be a player the front office builds around for many years.

Winn, paired with other players on this list, should put Cardinal fans at ease for the team's future. With guys like Jordan Walker, JJ Wehttherholt, and Quinn Mathews at the forefront of the team's new youth movement, the organization is set up for plenty of success in 2026 and beyond.