Unexpected Cardinals prospect might be team's next answer at first base

The Cardinals are seeing some early success from a few members of their 2024 draft class early on in the 2025 season.

First-round pick JJ Wetherholt has been doing his thing for Double-A Springfield and currently is carrying an OPS over .900. Fourth-round pick Ryan Campos has been showing elite plate discipline, as he has 14 walks in 15 games for High-A Peoria. Ninth-round pick Cade McGee has come out of the gates swinging and picked up a Player of the Week award for Low-A Palm Beach.

However, the draftee off to the hottest start to 2025 has been sixth-round pick Josh Kross. The 22-year-old has been almost evenly splitting his playing time between catcher and first base this season for Palm Beach.

Josh Kross is on fire this year and has fans dreaming about his future as the Cardinals' first baseman

With four catching prospects in the team's top 30 prospects rankings, could Kross end up being the Cardinals' first baseman of the future?

"What's clicking is the team as a whole," Kross told Redbird Rants of his hot start to the season. "Our pitchers are making their pitches and getting outs. Our defense is getting outs and doing their best to keep a zero in the error column. Personally, what's clicking for me is seeing the ball that I can do damage on and crushing it. I am not chasing the pitches that are balls and rolling those over. Getting off to this start was important to me because it builds up my confidence for the long season ahead of me. It also teaches me that when I get into a slump, to go back and remember what I did during my start to the year and build that confidence back up."

The Cincinnati product has been arguably the hottest hitter across the entire system, as he has 6 home runs, 29 RBIs, 6 doubles, and 2 triples and is posting a 1.048 OPS across 19 games played. Along the way, he was named Low-A Player of the week across all of Low-A for one of the weeks he put up.

That week of game action also included hitting for the cycle.

"It feels awesome to win a Player of the Week award," Kross said. "Not everyone gets to win those awards during the season, so I soaked it up the day I found out. But it was back to work the next day. It's in the past now, and I am now focused on winning another Player of the Week award. I want to play the best baseball I can for the Palm Beach Cardinals and wherever I end up at the end of the year is where I end up. The biggest thing is keeping my head on my shoulders, supporting my teammates, and getting us to another championship."

At times, it can take new draftees some time to get adjusted to the ins and outs of the professional affiliate ball lifestyle. Kross did have a chance to debut last season in Low-A after the draft, as he appeared in 23 games. However, this season will be a much longer haul, and he is prepared for it.

"I think it's going to be a long season, and I need to keep grinding," Kross noted. "There is always someone out there that is going to be working when you aren't, whether it's on the field or off the field. If I want to succeed, I need to keep a level head focused and keep working. Some adjustments I needed to make coming into the year was keeping my defense as fresh as my offense. Your defensive game can get lost with all the focus of training in the cages we do throughout the year."

To have this kind of start to the season, an offseason of prep was needed going into his first full season in professional baseball.

"I worked on my strength and consistency in my routines this offseason," Kross noted. "I think those are the two main focuses I had in mind going into the offseason so I could come back this year and crush the baseball."

As Kross approaches the 50-game mark in Low-A as well as 200 plate appearances, a promotion to High-A Peoria will be coming sooner than later with the production being put up at the level.