Ranking the 10 most valuable Cardinals who will define their future

#4 - SS Masyn Winn

Previous Rankings: Sep. '25 - #3, May '25 - #2

While Masyn Winn lacks the flashy offensive upside of other position players on this list, he has already developed into one of the best defensive players in all of baseball at one of the hardest positions to play, raising his floor as a player as he continues to find his identity with the bat.

Since his rookie year, Winn has sneakily been one of the most valuable players in baseball, tied with Mookie Betts for 38th in all of baseball in fWAR over that stretch (7.9) and ahead of players like Cody Bellinger, Manny Machado, and Will Smith. Per FanGraphs' defensive rating, Winn has been the sixth most valuable defender in baseball since 2024, ranking 10th in OAA and 21st in DRS.

After a down year at the plate during his sophomore campaign, Winn is back to hitting the ball to all fields, and for the first time in his career, has upped his walk rate to close to 10%, helping to make him an on-base machine, which is a better fit for his offensive profile than trying to sell out for power. When Winn is at his best, he'll run into home runs, but the majority of his damage will come from line drives to the outfield grass.

Because of that, Winn is slashing .265/.350/.363 with one home run, six extra-base hits, 13 RBIs, and 14 runs scored while already swiping four bags, almost half of the number he did in 2025. His 107 wRC+ would be a career high at the plate, allowing him to be a productive bat in the bottom half of the lineup.

Last season, Winn posted 3.5 fWAR while being 9% below league-average at the plate, so if he's able to produce like an above-average bat this year, you can expect him to post his first 4 fWAR season in 2026.

It's hard to imagine Winn ever being the best player of this core, but he also has one of the highest floors of the bunch because of just how elite and stable his defense is, and how he can continue to grow as a contributor at the plate and on the basepaths.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow