With the holiday season over and 2023 behind us, New Year’s resolutions may be plentiful for all.
It’s that symbolic time of the winter to put last year’s struggles in the rearview mirror, to head into the year with a clean slate.
For some Cardinals prospects, that could mean sights set on overcoming struggles from the 2023 campaign, a resolution to deliver a bounce-back performance in 2024. Whether coming off a season that was limited by injury or marred by inconsistencies, it’s a chance for prospects in Ƶ’ system to continue climbing the minor league ladder and stay on track with the ultimate goal of reaching the majors.
Here’s a look at five prospects who could bounce back in the season to come:
OF Joshua Baez
The 20-year-old outfielder went into 2023 with consistent health as one of his top goals after a hamate bone injury limited him to 32 games in 2022.
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The second-round pick in the 2021 draft stayed off the injured list and hit 20 doubles and stole 30 bases in 91 games (all of which were career highs) but ended the year with a .218 batting average and a 34.1% strikeout rate. Baez’s 34.1% strikeout rate was the highest for a Cardinals prospect with a minimum 250 plate appearances, per FanGraphs.
Along with the high strikeout rate, Baez’s slugging percentage dipped from .485 in his limited 2022 to .383 in 2023, which was spent with Class Low-A Palm Beach. He’ll turn 21 this June in his third full season as a pro..
LHP Connor Thomas
Coming off a breakout performance in the Arizona Fall League that earned him 40-man roster status and protection from the Rule 5 draft last winter, Thomas was held to 94 1/3 innings after he was sidelined for more than two months due to injury.
The 25-year-old left-hander returned to Class AAA Memphis’ rotation for the third consecutive season and ended the injury-limited campaign with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP over 21 appearances. Thomas, who struck out 32.4% of batters he faced in the 2022 fall league, had a 15.7% strikeout rate with Memphis.
Opposing hitters combined to hit .335 with an .879 on-base plus slugging percentage against him, both of which were the highest he’s allowed in any minor league season since he debuted in 2019. Thomas was designated for assignment in November and sent outright to Memphis.
RHP Gordon Graceffo
It was unfortunate injury luck that kept Graceffo from continuing to build off a breakout 2022 campaign.
After posting a 2.97 ERA over 139⅓ innings and earning Cardinals minor league pitcher of the year honors during his first full minor league season, the righty was a non-roster invitee to his first big league spring training in 2023 and opened the MiLB season as a starter in Class AAA Memphis’ rotation. But after nearing 140 innings in 2022, Graceffo was limited to 86 frames this past year mainly because shoulder inflammation kept him sidelined for nearly two months.
Graceffo ended the year with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP over 21 appearances (18 starts) in Class AAA. When healthy, the 23-year-old flashed the upper 90s fastball velocity that leapfrogged him up prospect rankings in 2022, though he also saw a rise in walk rate from 5.14% to 11.6% in 2023.
SS Jeremy Rivas
After being the youngest player in Cardinals big league camp this past spring, Rivas spent the entire season with Class High-A Peoria and capped it with time in the Arizona Fall League.
Across 471 at-bats between the regular season and the invite-only fall league, Rivas batted .212 with 19 doubles and 25 stolen bases. Rivas’ .209 batting average was the third-lowest among Cardinals prospects with a minimum of 250 plate appearances, per FanGraphs.
A strong offensive start to the fall league ended with Rivas batting .230 with three extra-base hits in 21 games. The 20-year-old, who opened the year as the top-rated defensive infielder in the Cardinals system according to Baseball America, was charged with 24 errors in 128 games between Class High-A and the AFL. Rivas turns 21 this upcoming March and will be playing in his fourth season of professional baseball this year.
OF Moises Gomez
To follow up his 39-homer season that led MiLB and set a Cardinals minor league record, Gomez delivered a second 30-homer campaign in 2023, but it came with issues.
The power-hitting outfielder struck out at a 31.7% rate and walked in 6.9% of his at-bats. His 180 strikeouts on the year were the most in the Cardinals system and tied for seventh-most in MiLB, per FanGraphs. The 25-year-old who batted .294 with a .996 OPS across 120 games in Class AA and Class AAA in 2022 saw those figures dip to .232 and .750, respectively.
He entered 2023 with 40-man roster status for the first time in his career but remained in the minors the entire year. In the build to his third season within Ƶ’ farm system, Gomez’s winter has been spent with the Bravos de Margarita in the Venezuelan Winter League. He sports a .234/.328/.402 slash line and five home runs through 33 winter league games in his native country.