ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals are more than a week into the 2023 season, but their minor league affiliates are just getting started.
The new Minor League Baseball seasons for the Memphis Redbirds, Springfield Cardinals, Peoria Chiefs and Palm Beach Cardinals are in full swing. Two other affiliates, the rookie league FCL Cardinals and Foreign League DSL Cardinals, will begin closer to summer.
Some baseball fans make it a yearly tradition to visit the minor league squads and catch prospects in action before their calls to the big leagues.
Each level of the minor leagues offers some talent that could find their way onto the St. Louis Cardinals roster within the next few years. In some cases, an injury or vacancy at the MLB level might allow some of the prospects to climb the ranks later this season.
If you have the chance to plan ahead and watch the Cardinals’ minor-league affiliates in action, these are the names you should know. For a player with a number next to their name, that represents their spot in the Cardinals’ latest prospects rankings, per MLB Pipeline.
Triple-A (Memphis Redbirds)
- Pitchers: Matthew Liberatore (6), Gordon Graceffo (4), Connor Thomas (17), Jake Walsh (24), Guillermo Zuniga (30), Kyle Leahy, Tommy Parsons
- Hitters: Masyn Winn – SS (2), Ivan Herrera – C (9), Moises Gomez – OF (14), Kramer Robertson – 2B, Scott Hurst – OF, Luken Baker – 1B
- Non-prospects: Dakota Hudson, James Naile, JoJo Romero, Jose Fermin, Oscar Mercado
Double-A (Springfield Cardinals)
- Pitchers: Michael Mcreevy (8), Ryan Loutos (26), Andre Granillo (29), Dalton Roach, Connor Lunn
- Hitters: Mike Antico – OF (23), Matt Koperniak – OF, Chandler Redmond – 1B, Pedro Pages – C
High Single-A (Peoria Chiefs)
- Pitchers: Tink Hence (3), Cooper Hjerpe (7), Inohan Paniagua (18), Austin Love (20), Ian Bedell (25), Zane Mills, Trent Baker
- Hitters: Jimmy Crooks – C (16), Jeremy Rivas – SS, Elijah Cabell – OF
Single-A (Palm Beach Cardinals)
- Pitchers: Brycen Mautz (13), Pete Hansen (15), Max Rajcic (19)
- Hitters: Leonardo Bernal (11), Joshua Baez (12), Won-Bin Cho (22)
- Non-prospects: Paul DeJong (Rehab assignment – currently on Cardinals IL)
Rookie – Florida Complex League (FCL Cardinals)
- Pitchers: Alec Willis (21), Ludwin Jimenez
- Hitters: Jhon Torres – OF, Kyle Skeels – C
Rookie – Dominican Summer League (DSL Cardinals)
- Pitchers: Miguel Martinez, Gerado Salas
- Hitters: Jonathan Mejia -SS (10), Yansel Guerrero – SS, Yordalin Pena – OF
Of the Cardinals prospects listed, only nine of these guys are part of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 40-man roster, and none are past the Triple-A level. That means St. Louis is most likely to promote a player from Memphis to the MLB level.
Keep an eye closely on the next few weeks of these players as hot starts and injuries could help many of these guys move up to the next affiliate. For a closer look at Cardinals prospects via MLB Pipeline, click here.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)