Ranking the 10 most valuable young players in the St. Louis Cardinals organization

#3 - Brendan Donovan

I had a really difficult time choosing between Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan for number three on my list, but Donovan got the slight edge for a number of reasons.

Donovan is one of the most versatile players in all of baseball, truly deserving of consideration for his second career utility man Gold Glove for his ability to play tremendous defense in the corner outfield spots and all four infield positions as well. Donovan has gotten the opportunity to settle in at second base more than usual this year, and he continues to make incredible plays for the Cardinals as they boast MLB's best defense.

Saturday night's 1-0 win over the Royals was a perfect example of Donovan's impact on the club defensively. With two runners on and no outs in the bottom of the 8th inning, Donovan fielded a tricky one hopper at second base and made a quick flip to Masyn Winn at second, allowing them to get the runner at second into a run down to turn two and leave just a runner on first with two outs. The very next at-bat, Bobby Witt Jr. smoked a ground ball up the middle, but Donovan made an incredible diving stop and flipped the ball to second to end the inning.

Donovan continues to flash incredible leather for the Cardinals, but it is his bat that has made the most noise so far this year. Donovan is slashing .321/.382/.458 with three home runs, 21 RBI, and 25 runs scored, good for a 138 wRC+. Donnie's .371 wOBA is 28th in baseball, but his xwOBA of .391 actually indicates he still has even higher production in the tank.

While Donovan may not have the power stroke that others bats have, he does have sneaky power and could push 20 home runs on the year, but he does most of his damage in the form of doubles. Donovan's 14 doubles rank fifth in all of baseball so far this year, just three away from Bobby Witt Jr.'s MLB lead.

Nootbaar has the higher ceiling offensively, but Donovan's bat has been incredible as well, and his defense and versatility can't be matched. And while Donovan did have season-ending elbow surgery back in 2023, he has been far more reliable health-wise than Nootbaar so far in his career.

On top of all of that, Donovan has emerged as a leader in the Cardinals clubhouse, and not to say that Nootbaar or others aren't, but I think it is clear that Donovan can be a pillar in their clubhouse for a long-time, should they choose to keep him around (and that should be the plan). For a young team looking to create a new era of Cardinals baseball, Donovan is a perfect fit long-term.

If you haven't checked this out already, we had Donovan on the Dealin' the Cards podcast during spring training, and it further cemented for me the kind of person he is and why he brings so much value to this Cardinals ballclub.

Again, so many of these guys could be moved around on this list based on your preferences, but if I were leading the Cardinals front office, Donovan would be on my shortest of shortlists of guys to keep long-term.