Cards Minor League Spring Training report

As the Major League season enters its third full week, prospects across baseball are getting ready for their 2021 campaigns via Minor League Spring Training and the alternate training site.

While some of the Cardinals’ top prospects, such as No. 1 Matthew Liberatore, are at the alternate training site, most are in Minor League camp, which opened last week.

The Cardinals have yet to start playing games, those begin Wednesday, but camp has gotten off to a strong start. The staggered intake process went well and initial workouts have yielded some promising developments.

“Workouts have been very productive,” said Gary LaRocque, the Cardinals' director of player development. “Pitchers came in in good condition. We had a throwing program for all of our pitchers over the past two to three months to get them to this point. That went well, pitchers are ready. We’re very pleased overall with how everybody has come to camp, the conditioning aspect of it.”

Camp standouts:

Delvin Pérez arrived at Major League Spring Training with added muscle on his 6-foot-3 frame. The 22-year-old shortstop went 2-for-7 with a pair of extra-base hits in Grapefruit League action, but drew positive reviews for the work he put in and the way he performed during the spring. Those positive developments have carried over to Minor League camp, where Perez continues to show off the tools that led to the Cardinals selecting him 23rd overall in 2016.

“He had a good Spring Training,” LaRocque said. “Major League camp was very productive for Delvin. And now he continues to work here, taking advantage of the time spent with (Minor League infield coordinator) José Oquendo, which is really a plus for us here during the Minor League camp.”

While he’s lacked consistency at times, Pérez has always shown the ability to be a solid defender with good hands and a plus arm. He hasn’t produced much offensively, hitting just two homers while slugging .317 over the first 259 games of his career. That’s why it was so significant that Pérez put on muscle prior to the season and that both of his Grapefruit League extra-base had exit velocities over 105 mph. Of course, seven Grapefruit League at-bats is nothing to overreact to and a strong performance in Minor League camp is simply that. However, things appear to be trending in the right direction for Pérez to potentially live up to his pre-Draft billing.

Edwin Nuñez, whom the Cardinals signed for $525,000 in June 2020, has yet to make his professional debut, but there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding the 19-year-old Dominican right-hander. Nuñez’s fastball has been clocked at 100 mph in the past and the club's No. 12 prospect already reached the upper 90s in live batting practice sessions this month.

“He’s very exciting,” Luis Morales, the Cardinals' director of international operations said. “Not yet a complete product, the coaches here are going to work with him and there’s things he needs to learn, but we’re very excited that he’s here.”

The plus velocity stands out, but as the organization notes, Nuñez needs time to develop. In addition to the fastball, the teenager throws a changeup and a curveball that could develop into an above-average offering.

Prospect we’ll be talking about in 2022:
A strong 2021 season could vault Masyn Winn into the conversation for the Top 100 Prospects list entering the 2022 campaign. One of the most exciting prospects in the Cardinals’ system, the 2020 second-round pick (54th overall) is a legitimate two-way prospect with a plus arm, the quickness and range to stick at shortstop and a fastball that sits in the low- to mid-90s.

During his time at the alternate training site last season, the Cardinals got Winn reps at shortstop every day and also put him through a throwing program on the mound. In preparing for the 2021 season, the organization is following a similar path with its No. 5 prospect.

“Right now, he’s currently getting at-bats and working defensively to start out,” LaRocque said. “We’re focusing on one thing first and that’s defensively, and obviously, he gets his offensive work. … I’m excited to see him play, he’s a great athlete and extremely focused.”

While Winn has yet to make his pro debut, there’s always a lot of intrigue when it comes to two-way players. However, simultaneously developing as both a pitcher and position player is a tricky balance, so it will be worth monitoring how the Cardinals manage Winn’s workload.

Something to prove:
The 2021 season will be an important one for Tre Fletcher, the Cardinals’ second-round pick (58th overall) from the 2019 Draft. Fletcher, like a lot of young players, was hurt by the cancellation of the 2020 season. While he made strides at the alternate training site, game reps and training site reps are two different things.

The Cardinals’ No. 23 prospect has an exciting blend of raw tools, notably plus power and speed, but it didn’t always show up in games during his 2019 pro debut as he struck out in roughly 44 percent of his plate appearances across 43 games of Rookie ball. To combat the lack of contact, Fletcher and the Cardinals have worked together to reduce and eliminate his big leg kick. While the lack of a 2020 season cost Fletcher valuable game reps, he’s still just 19 years old -- he turns 20 at the end of the month -- so there’s time to put it together and a big 2021 campaign would go a long way toward improving his stock.

International update:
The Cardinals recently welcomed Luis Mario Pino into the organization; the 17-year-old from Matanzas, Cuba officially signed on April 14. Pino, an outfielder, defected in late 2019 and was declared a free agent in July. A member of Cuba’s junior national team, Pino has played in and impressed on big stages.

“When you’re scouting kids in Latin America and the Dominican, they work out and do tryouts and they play games, but it’s not the same to play workout games as it is in a game where you are representing your city or your country, so we try to put emphasis on that,” Morales said. “With Pino, we value that because he has that experience, being part of a team in that competitive environment. That’s what you want.”

The right-handed hitting outfielder is presently hit-over-power, but makes hard contact to the gaps and there’s optimism that power will come as he matures and fills out his frame.

Defensively, Pino has average speed, but strong instincts and a plus work ethic should help keep him in center field. He’s presently working out in the Dominican Republic and the plan is for him to begin his career in the Dominican Summer League later this year.