One of the fastest-rising prospects in the Cardinals' player development system represents one of top performers from the first half in the Cardinals' player development system.Â
Drafted in the fourth round of last season's MLB draft, left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews has wasted little time blossoming into one of the Cardinals' most promising prospects this season.Â
The emergent southpaw debuted April 5 with Class Low-A Palm Beach, earning a promotion to Class High-A Peoria after just six starts. Mathews' rapid ascent continued when the Stanford University alum pitched his way to Class AA Springfield, where he has made two starts since being promoted June 24.Â
Between the three levels, Mathews has totaled the third-most strikeouts of any minor league pitcher this season (120) while also posting the second-highest strikeout per nine rate of any pitcher with as many innings as him at 12.71. He possesses a 6-3 record with a 2.68 ERA and .88 WHIP in 90â…” innings. Â
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Through the first three-plus months of the season, Mathews has also earned Cardinals minor league pitcher of the month honors twice (April and June).Â
Mathews' stellar start to the season vaulted the 6-foot-5, 188-pound lefty into a spot on the National League roster for the Futures Game last Saturday. He pitched a scoreless inning, punching out two hitters and allowing one hit on 13 pitches (nine strikes).
Only one season after being drafted into the organization, Mathews is the Cardinals' second-ranked prospect, behind only right-hander Tink Hence.Â
Although Mathews' sudden development highlights one of the most impressive performances so far this season, there are several Cardinals prospects experiencing breakout seasons. Here's a breakdown of which players leapt off the page with their first-half success throughout the top four levels of the Cardinals' minor league system.
Class AAA Memphis: 2B Cesar Prieto
Consistency fueled Cesar Prieto's climb through the first two years of his professional career, and the 25-year-old second baseman has continued to use that approach in a hot first half.
Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in last season's deadline trade of Jack Flaherty, Prieto represents one of the top performers this season for Class AAA Memphis.Â
The 5-foot-9, 195-pound infielder leads all Redbirds with a .308 average and 20 doubles to pair with 12 home runs, 36 RBIs and an .855 on-base plus slugging percentage. Prieto also boasts an 11.3% strikeout rate, lowest among all qualified Memphis batters.Â
The Cardinals' minor league player of the month in May owns 27 multi-hit performances this season, including five games with at least three hits. He entered the week-long break with six multi-hit efforts in his past 10 games, leading to a slash line of .385/.455/.615 in July.Â
Nearly a year into his journey in the Cardinals' player development system, the Cardinals' 18th-ranked prospect is displaying the consistent offensive production that made him a valued prospect in the Orioles' ranks just a season ago. So far this season, Prieto has yet to go hitless in three successive games, always finding a way to avoid an extended dry spell offensively.
The former international free agent signing will look to build upon not only the season as a whole but a stretch in which he has reached base at least once in 26 of the team's past 32 games, including nine of 10 in July.
Honorable mentions:Â Outfielder Matt Koperniak (.306 average, 12 home runs and 44 RBIs); reliever Ryan Loutos (2.20 ERA, 38 strikeouts and nine saves in 32â…” innings); first baseman Luken Baker (.240 average, 25 home runs and 63 RBIs).
Class AA Springfield: OF Bryan Torres and C Jimmy Crooks
Although Class AA Springfield enjoys a starting rotation that includes three of the Cardinals' top-five prospects, a pair of offensive stalwarts represent two of the most impactful performers this season.
Outfielder Bryan Torres and catcher Jimmy Crooks, a pair of prospects with much-different paths to the S-Cards, burst onto the scene this season and now rank as the team leaders in average and on-base percentage this season.
Torres, the S-Cards' leadoff hitter, signed with the Cardinals' organization last September out of the American Association, an independent league. The former international signing by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 leads the Texas League with a .315 average and ranks second to Crooks with a .400 on-base percentage.Â
A 27-year-old center fielder, Torres has a team-best 16 doubles and 25 stolen bases while recording nearly as many walks (44) as strikeouts (50). He owns 27 multi-hit games with a 54.1% ground-ball rate, which ranks in the top two of players with at least 200 plate appearances in the Cardinals' minor league system.Â
Crooks, the fourth-round draft selection by the Cardinals in 2022, took a step forward with a strong start to the season.Â
The 23-year-old backstop sports a .309 average with a .416 on-base percentage, which is highest among qualified hitters in the Texas League. Crooks has added five home runs and 36 RBIs across 59 games, leading to a 149 weighted runs created plus — the highest mark among Cardinals prospects with at least 200 plate appearances. The Cardinals' 12th-ranked prospect also possesses the highest line-drive rate of any player with Springfield (29.9%), per FanGraphs.Â
Defensively, Crooks has thrown out 28% of opposing base stealers (17 of 60) and owns a .996 fielding percentage.Â
Honorable mentions: Right-handed pitcher Tink Hence (4-2, 3.29 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 54⅔ innings); shortstop Jeremy Rivas (.305 average, .389 on-base percentage, 30 RBIs and 22 steals).
Class High-A Peoria: C Leonardo Bernal
The highest-ranked catcher in the Cardinals' player development system, Leonardo Bernal may not have statistics that jump off the page.Â
But the 20-year-old has served as the offensive catalyst for Class High-A Peoria this season.Â
Bernal leads qualified Chiefs hitters in average (.263), on-base percentage (.343) and RBIs (39) while tying for the team lead with eight home runs. The Cardinals' eighth-ranked prospect, a switch-hitting backstop, is slashing .306/.368/.548 against left-handers and .247/.335/.376 versus righties.Â
After a slower start to the season, Bernal owns 14 multi-hit efforts since May 11. On the season, the catcher has thrown out 32% of opposing base stealers (25 of 77).Â
Honorable mentions:Â Center fielder Won-Bin Cho (.249 average, 11 doubles, 20 RBIs and 30 runs); right-handed pitcher Inohan Paniagua (7-5, 3.30 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 76â…“ innings).
Class Low-A Palm Beach: LHP Ixan Henderson
One piece of a talented pitching corps with Class Low-A Palm Beach that features a few names that could fill this spot, left-hander Ixan Henderson has emerged as a go-to arm for the PB-Cards.Â
The 22-year-old, who is not ranked on the Cardinals' top-30 prospects list, started the season with an up-and-down April (4.35 ERA in 10â…“ innings) but bounced back in resounding fashion. Henderson has posted a 1.87 ERA in 11 games since that opening three-game stretch, molding himself into a reliable starter for Palm Beach.Â
Henderson possesses a 5-2 record, 2.29 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 73 strikeouts in 63 innings. Opponents are batting just .193 against the southpaw, who has allowed three or fewer hits in eight of his appearances. He split time as a starter and reliever early in the season but has shifted into a starting pitcher role in his past eight appearances.Â
Honorable mentions:Â Darlin Saladin (4-0, 1.95 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 60 innings); Chen-Wei Lin (5-5, 3.67 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 76 innings); right-handed pitcher Zack Showalter (1-2, 2.59 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 31â…“ innings).