The Top Cardinal Prospect the Team Could Trade

With the Trade Deadline looming, the St. Louis Cardinals are still evaluating the team. If they buy or sell in the coming weeks will depend on how the team’s record is in the days leading up to the July 31st deadline. Either direction they go, the team’s No. 6 prospect Jimmy Crooks could be a coveted piece on the market.

The Top Cardinal Prospect the Team Could Trade

Crooks Could Be MLB Ready

The 24-year-old catcher was the 2024 Texas League MVP in Double-A. Crooks hit for a .321 average and a .498 slugging percentage. He caught 33 percent of would-be base-stealers as well.

“Jimmy [Crooks] guided Springfield to their winningest season in the franchise’s 20-year history,” Cardinals president of baseball operations said in a statement last season about the organization’s minor league awards.

Mozeliak will have some tough decisions with Crooks. As will his successor Chaim Bloom if Crooks remains with the organization through the end of the season. Crooks has not missed a step at Triple A this season. He is batting for a .259/.319/.433 slash line. The left-handed batter also has as many home runs this season, 11, as last season and one more RBI, 63, since last season. However, his pathway to getting a chance in the Big League’s is murky with the Cardinals.

An Excess of Catcher Depth in the Organization

The Cardinals moved Willson Contreras to first base in the offseason. It opened up space for Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages to take over behind the plate. They have done well. When healthy, Ivan Herrera has been the Cardinals most dangerous hitter. Pedro Pages has been surprisingly productive. So has, most surprisingly, minor league signing Yohel Pozo who has filled in for the injured Herrera.

Herrera may not be long for catching given his injury issues. The team is already playing him the majority of the time at DH in an attempt to keep him healthy. They could consider moving Herrera to the outfield too. This would seem to line up for Crooks to slide into the major league lineup soon. However, the depth gets more complicated behind him.

Even at the organization’s No. 6 prospect, he is the No. 3 catcher prospect in the organization. Leonardo Bernthal in Double A and Rainiel Rodriquez in Single A are the organizations No. 3 and No. 4 ranked prospects respectively. Bernthal projects to be in the MLB as soon as next season. He’s also a switch hitter, unlike Crooks, who bats from the left where the Cardinals already have an excess. If the Cardinals are more comfortable with a Pages, Herrera, and Pozo catching roster for the remainder of the season, Bernthal fits the timeline better.

Competitive Teams Need Catching Help

Catcher is always one of the more difficult positions for teams to find offensive production and defensive ability for. This year, for some contending teams, it is a weak spot in their lineups. Of the bottom five teams for OPS from the catcher position, five are in the playoff hunt. The New York Mets (.592 OPS) are the fifth lowest in the League for catcher OPS. The San Diego Padres (.562 OPS) and the San Francisco Giants (.555 OPS) have the two lowest.

The Tampa Bay Rays have the second lowest catcher batting average at .194. Only the Cleveland Guardians, who are also in the bottom-five for catcher OPS, have a lower batting average at the position of .157.

Crooks could be part of a deal of the Cardinals selling or buying. It depends on the deal and if one side needs a sweetener to take a contract or give up a player. ESPN’s Jeff Passan already reported on the possibility of the Rays moving a starting pitcher for catching help. The Padres and Giants are teams that could make sense for the Cardinals to package a few trade components such as a pitcher on an expiring deal. 

However, the trade deadline shakes out, keep an eye on Crooks as a potential prospect the Cardinals may move.