This former Cardinals prospect is going to revive his career in a big way in the KBO

The rise, fall, rebirth, and fall again of Patrick Wisdom has led him to one final attempt at resurrecting his career in 2025, and while it's likely disappointing to him that it will have to happen in the KBO, this may end up being the best thing to happen to the former St. Louis Cardinals' prospect.

Drafted by the Cardinals with the 52nd overall pick back in 2012, Wisdom always boasted huge power from the right side of the plate, but the swing and miss in his game was far too extreme to be taken seriously as a future regular at the big league level.

While Wisdom had a respectable walk rate in minor league baseball, his K% consistently ranked between 25%-30%, which is not crazy by today's standards, but a high enough mark that he would have to do damage frequently when he did hit the ball in order to maintain a career.

Wisdom only got a cup of coffee with the Cardinals at the major league level. In 2018, Wisdom saw 58 plate appearances, and while he posted a 142 wRC+ with four home runs, it was not enough to convince the Cardinals to hold onto him. That following offseason, Wisdom was sent to the Texas Rangers for utility man Drew Robinson.

At age 27, Wisdom received an even smaller opportunity at the big league level with the Rangers, and it was not until the 2021 season when he had latched on with the Chicago Cubs that Wisdom truly got a chance to make an impact for a major league club.

In 106 games for the Cubs that year, Wisdom slashed .231/.305/.528 with 28 home runs and 61 RBI, finishing fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting despite a horrible 40.8 K%. Still, hitting 17% above league average was a huge accomplishment for Wisdom, and it gave the Cubs hope that they may have struck gold with the journeyman third baseman.

While Wisdom cut down on his strikeouts a bit, he still lingered between 33.9%-36.8% each year, and as some of his batted ball luck game down, so did his production. Wisdom played in just 75 games with the Cubs in 2024, and after being designated for an assignment this offseason, is not latching his hopes onto an overseas odyssey to revive his big league career.

Wisdom will spend the 2025 season with the Kia Tigers, which I think could end up being the best choice for his career.

Trips to the KBO and NPB have proven to be worthwhile for big leaguers who have fallen on hard times in their career as of late. Over the last number of years, names like Merril Kelly, Jared Young, Brandon Waddell, Ben Lively, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, and more have used a stint in Asia to rebound and get another chance in Major League Baseball.

Wisdom has already had levels of success that many who go down the KBO or NPB route had not had prior to their journeys overseas. That doesn't ensure that Wisdom can turn things around, but there is quite a bit of precedent for such a move working out.

I'm expecting Wisdom to put up some eye-popping numbers in the KBO this year, and with power bats always being something teams are in the market for, my guess is he'll have a new Major League home next offseason.