Cardinals Rising Star Listed Among Top Rookies In Latest Power Rankings

St. Louis has a special talent on their hands

Jun 4, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) hits a home run during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals have gained a reputation over the years for being a franchise that is strong at player development despite making a few big mistakes recently.

Under Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's leadership, St. Louis has dealt away top prospects such as Sandy Alcántara, Zac Gallen, Adolis García and Randy Arozarena, only to see them thrive elsewhere.

Fortunately, Mozeliak has wisely held on to one of St. Louis' most promising prospects in recent years as he's on pace to compete for National League Rookie of the Year in his first full season.

St. Louis shortstop Masyn Winn was recently listed as the No. 3 rookie in Major League Baseball, according to Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter's power rankings.

Winn is batting .309 with 16 extra-base hits including three home runs, 21 RBIs and a .805 OPS in 54 games played for the Cardinals this season.

The 22-year-old fell short of breaking the Cardinals franchise record for the longest hitting streak by a rookie last week when his historic run ended at 18 games. Winn surpassed St. Louis legend Albert Pujols and Jordan Walker, who were tied with a 17-game hit streak but fell short of Joe McEwing's record of 25 games.

After making his MLB debut at the end of 2023 where he looked overwhelmed at the plate -- logging a .172/.230/.238 slash line with 26 strikeouts and only 21 hits in 37 games played -- Winn looks much more comfortable in the batter's box this season and is solidifying himself as a critical element to the Cardinals' future.

On top of his hitting consistency, Winn likely throws harder than any shortstop in MLB history -- at least since the Statcast era. The flamethrowing infielder was clocked throwing 100.5 mph in the 2022 MLB Futures Game and continues to showcase similar velocity.

It's great to see a homegrown talent such as Winn thriving. Hopefully, he can continue his dominance this season to help St. Louis get back to the playoffs.

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