St. Louis Cardinals minor league re-assignments headlined by three top prospects

The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Sunday that they have sent several players to their minor league spring training camp in addition to optioning left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn to Triple-A Memphis.

These re-assignments come on the heels of the first player being transferred from the Major League camp to the minor league on Saturday. Chase Davis was the first player on the 66-man Major League camp to be moved down to the minor league camp. Davis, the organization's 7th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, had logged only five at-bats after a week in spring. He was 1-5 with a walk and a strikeout.

Davis was pretty far down on the depth chart, as Lars Nootbaar, Michael Siani, Brendan Donovan, Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, Victor Scott II, and Matt Koperniak were ahead of him. Now, he can get more consistent reps with the minor league squad.

Sunday's slew of demotions included top pitching prospect Quinn Mathews, pitchers Ian Bedell, Alex Cornwell, Cooper Hjerpe, and Edwin Nunez. Catchers Sammy Hernandez and Carlos Linarez were also re-assigned to minor league camp.

Mathews and Hjerpe are two of the most noteworthy inclusions on that list. Mathews had thrown only two innings all spring, but he struck out three batters in those innings and didn't allow a run. He did allow two hits and a walk, but he was able to get out of a bases loaded jam in his appearance on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Mathews was able to get a few weeks of information and brain picking accomplished since his locker was next to staff ace Sonny Gray's during camp.

Hjerpe had thrown just one inning up to this point in spring, and he gave up three hits, walked a batter, allowed one earned run, and struck out one batter. Hjerpe is the organization's eighth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Now, both Mathews and Hjerpe will be able to work on a normal five-day schedule.

These re-assignments allow these players to get more regular reps. Now, they won't be fighting for appearances or innings to either remain on schedule or show what they're capable of. It would have been a stretch for any of these players to make the roster out of spring, so it's no surprise to see top prospects like Chase Davis, Quinn Mathews, and Cooper Hjerpe moved to the minor league camp.

The Cardinals' camp now sits at 58 players. There are 18 non-roster invites left in camp, and the organization's 40-man roster is full. Spots will be fought for if these non-roster players intend on making the 40-man roster by the beginning of the season.

So far, infielders Jeremy Rivas and Jose Barrero have been playing well in the field. Rivas is slashing .500/.600/.500 in only four at-bats. Barrero has a .286/.375/.714 slash line with a home run and three runs batted in during spring. These non-roster players could squeeze out players on the 40-man roster for a spot.

Pitching spots are already limited, so expect to see more pitchers being re-assigned to the minor league camp in the near future.