photo: Hancel Rincon (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Palm Beach Cardinals first/third baseman Deniel Ortiz and Springfield Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher Hancel Rincon are the system’s top pitcher and player during June per the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals today (Tuesday, July 8) announced their selections for Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for June, with Palm Beach Cardinals (A) third baseman Deniel Ortiz (pronounced DEH-nee-uhl) and Springfield Cardinals (AA) right-handed starting pitcher Hancel Rincon taking home the honors.
Ortiz, 20, slashed .333/.449/.556 with 11 RBI, 18 runs scored, 10 extra-base hits and eight stolen bases in 21 games played. His 1.005 OPS ranked third among all qualified Cardinals minor leaguers. His stellar month of play included reaching safely in 19 of 21 games, nine multi-hit efforts, a game-tying, two out, 9th inning RBI double vs. Lakeland on June 11, and a 3-for-3 3 RBI performance with a career-high three extra-base hits at Daytona on June 27.
“This recognition is a result of Deniel’s hard work and perseverance, along with the dedication of his hitting coach, Paul Benoit,” said Cardinals Director of Player Development Larry Day. “Early in the season, Deniel was consistently hitting the ball hard, but the results hadn’t yet followed. He stayed committed to his process and approach, and with guidance from Willie McGee and our hitting team, made slight adjustments to his pregame routine. Those tweaks helped him drive the ball at more productive angles, leading to the success we’re now seeing.”
Selected in the 16th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Walters State (Tenn.) Community College, the 6’0”, 250-pounder was also recognized as the Florida State League Player of the Month after leading all qualified league players in slugging and OPS. The Puerto Rico native is slashing .282/.410/.444 with 18 extra-base hits, 29 RBI and 24 SB in his first professional season. He is the second Palm Beach hitter to earn organizational Player of the Month honors this season, joining his former teammate 1B/C Josh Kross (April).
Rincon, 23, posted a 2-1 record with a 3.42 ERA (10 ER/26.1 IP), 1.14 WHIP, and 37 strikeouts across five appearances with High-A Peoria (one app.) and Springfield (four). Rincon ranked first among all Cardinals minor league hurlers in SO and SO/9 (12.65), fourth in WHIP (1.14) and innings pitched, and fifth in opponent average (.206) (min. 15.0 IP). His month was highlighted by his first promotion to Double-A on June 9, followed by a win in his Double-A debut vs. Tulsa on June 10 (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 SO), and a 6.0 inning, 1-hit outing on June 22 vs. Corpus Christi in which he established a new career-high with 11 strikeouts.
“Hancel has been outstanding all season. The solid, dynamic foundation he’s built with his pitching team—through his throwing program and bullpen routines—has been a major factor in his success,” stated Day. “Recently, he’s made strides in landing off-speed pitches early in counts and attacking the zone with his full arsenal. When you pair those developments with his ultra-competitive mindset, it’s no surprise that he—and the organization—are seeing the results of his hard work.”
Signed by the Cardinals as an international free-agent out of the Dominican Republic in January 2019, Rincon has compiled a 3-3 record with a 4.24 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 84 strikeouts across 15 games (13 starts) this season. He has struck out 26.8% of batters faced on the year, nearly 8% higher than his career rate over the last three seasons (19.0%) since coming stateside. It marks his second career Pitcher of the Month Award having previously won in May 2023 with Palm Beach.
Brian Walton’s take
Congratulations to the organization’s choices.
Earlier, The Cardinal Nation selected Memphis outfielder Nathan Church as our June Player of the Month and Rincon’s teammate, reliever Ricardo Velez, is our choice as the Pitcher of the Month.
Refer to the articles below for detailed stats on approximately 10 finalists for each award, including three of the four winners.
Rincon was not among TCN’s finalists, as his 3.42 ERA was only 25th-lowest among pitchers in the system with at least 10 innings pitched in June.
One difference between our views is that Cardinals draw their innings pitched line at 15, rather than 10 as we do. The higher bar can tend to exclude many relievers. The organization also seem to weigh strikeouts more heavily than ERA.
Among our qualifiers, several pitchers had a higher strikeout rate than Rincon last month, but all are relievers. They include Springfield’s Luis Gastelum (16.78 K/9 in 12 1/3 innings) and Peoria’s Tanner Jacobson (13.06 K/9 in 10 1/3 frames). Palm Beach’s Mason Burns, one of our finalists, came in at 12.6 K/9, just behind Rincon.
The Cardinal Nation June 2025 Player of the Month – Nathan Church
The Cardinal Nation’s June 2025 Pitcher of the Month – Ricardo Velez
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