Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. SS Masyn Winn | 22 | MLB | 2023
The outcomes were awful in Winn’s first big league stretch. It was just 37 games, but you can’t slash .172/.230/.328 across any stretch without creating some question marks. They wear caps and sleeves at this level. The son of big leaguer Randy Winn, Masyn is certainly aware that he’ll have to hit to hold his spot in 2024, and I’m betting he will. He’s as physically gifted as anyone on the team and has typically figured a level out after a brief adjustment period. Feels like a pretty easy buy at his current NFBC ADP of 449. A .250 average with 15+ homers and 25+ steals is well within his range of outcomes.
2. RHP Tink Hence | 21 | AA | 2024
You can’t draft much better than the Cardinals did in 2020, plucking Jordan Walker, Winn and Hence in three consecutive picks then snagging Alec Burleson. Hence struggled in 54.1 Double-A innings, allowing a 1.51 WHIP and 5.47 ERA, but he was much younger than the league average age and has bounceback potential for the coming year thanks to a high-90’s fastball and plus curve. One concern is the club’s recent track record for developing arms, which is lackluster, and it’s not for lack of trying; they’ve thrown plenty of high draft picks (and Randy Arozarena) at the problem. Have to make a contextual carve-out for Jack Flaherty, of course. That’s just bad luck, but I guess that’s the nature of pitching. If all goes well, Hence could join his high school travel ball teammate in the majors by midseason.
3. OF Victor Scott II | 23 | AA | 2024
A throwback to the OG RBI Baseball Cardinals that could slash and dash an opponent into submission, Scott the second stole 95 bases in 132 games across two levels this year then added to that total in the Arizona Fall League. He doesn’t strike out much and produced wRC+ scores of 117 and 119 at High-A and Double-A, respectively. He’s not a big power threat but doesn’t get the bat knocked out of his hands. He even hit .323 and slugged .450 with seven home runs in 66 games at Double-A. Having just defended an AL-Only crown due largely to a $7 Esteury Ruiz, I find it hard to overrate Victor Scott II. I think we could argue that having more steals available in our game increases the value of standard deviation makers like these. If you miss on speed now, the penalty is something like minus-10 standings points off the top, whereas you might’ve been able to hustle up into the top five in past years just by paying attention. The question of whether or not St. Louis will give him a chance remains, and it’s not a small one given the organization’s struggles to sort its own prospects.
4. C Ivan Herrera | 23 | MLB | 2022
I didn’t know how to rank Herrera, who should have his chance to play a lot this season but who also should’ve had that chance last season, so . . . who knows? Willson Contreras blocks him in an everyday way but also kind of opens a path if the team is willing to rest Contreras at the designated hitter spot a couple times a week without making a public mess out of it. It wouldn’t be a big role unless Herrera hits enough to cover DH once in a while, at which point we’re up around 80 major league games, plenty of time for an athletic backstop to make a difference in deeper leagues. Herrera slashed .297/.451/.500 with 10 HR and 11 SB in 83 games at Triple-A. He struck out 77 times and drew 75 walks. He’s ready for a lineup spot.
5. 2B Thomas Saggese | 21 | AAA | 2024
Saggese slashed .306/.374/.520 with 26 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 139 games across two levels. Well, one level, mostly. His 13-game stint in Triple-A didn’t contribute much considering he hit .207 with zero home runs and a steal. He gets dinged on some rankings because he’s already mostly optimized as a 5’11” 175 lb second baseman with just above average tools, but I’ll take the relevance-floor here for a fantasy-first list.
6. RHP Tekoah Roby | 22 | AA | 2024
Came over (along with Saggese) from Texas in the Jordan Montgomery trade and immediately got to work winning over his new organization, posting a 0.75 WHIP with 19 strikeouts in 12 innings for St. Louis after carrying a 1.32 WHIP for 46.1 innings with Texas. At 6’1” 185 lbs, Roby generates intriguing spin on his plus fastball and double-plus curveball and demonstrates an aptitude for mixing speeds with a solid changeup and slider. It’s a starter’s arsenal all the way.
7. LHP Cooper Hjerpe | 23 | A+ | 2025
Hjerpe struggled early in High-A but reeled off four excellent starts (0.90 WHIP in 23.1 IP) before succumbing to an elbow injury that required surgery. A loose body from his left elbow, but he was able to return for a couple short outings in September and should be ready to roll in 2024. On the mound, he’s a change-up/slider type with plus command and deception. If the heater isn’t good enough to make him a big league starter, he’ll settle into a long career as a reliever.
8. OF Chase Davis | 22 | A | 2025
Considered a safe college bat on draft night, Davis hit .212 and slugged .269 across 34 games in Low-A while other college hitters were skipping the league altogether. A smooth lefty swing that helped him dominate at the University of Arizona hasn’t helped him with wooden bats yet. He hit .207 for .33 games as a 19-year-old in the Northwoods League and .212 in 15 games on the Cape at 20. Fits and starts and small samples and whatnot, but that’s still 82 games of struggle across three wooden-bat leagues.
9. RHP Gordon Graceffo | 24 | AAA | 2024
Graceffo hasn’t been able to replicate the dominance of his eight-start stretch in High-A to open the 2022 season, when he posted a 0.99 ERA and 0.68 WHIP with 56 strikeouts in 45.2 innings. I only roll out the stats to provide context if you’re wondering why he’s so low here or so high here, whichever your preference. He’s a tough player to rank. His strikeout rates have checked in under one per inning at Double and Triple-A, and his 4.71 walks per nine at Triple-A are more than twice his Double-A rate of 2.31. He’s a pitcher in flux, and his 4.92 ERA and 1.53 WHIP at Triple-A last year aren’t indicative of the kind of pitcher he should be when he’s on his game.
10. OF Won-Bin Cho | 20 | A | 2026
Cho was a success in his first full season, slashing .270/.376/.389 with seven home runs, 36 steals and a 114 wRC+. The impressive thing about that is he managed a strong offensive season against older players without accessing his raw power. His 21.7 percent strikeout is partly a result of a deep-in-the-zone, opposite-field approach. He’ll need pretty awesome strength to hit for power that way, but he wouldn’t be the first to manage it.
Thanks for reading!
