photo: AutoZone Park (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

2023 was St. Louis’ Triple-A affiliate’s fourth straight losing, non-playoff season, but the Memphis Redbirds provided several standouts to St. Louis, including Masyn Winn, Ivan Herrera and league MVP Luken Baker.

In what was a year of progression for the St. Louis Cardinals prospects assigned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, the team went 71-78 overall in 2023. It was their fourth consecutive losing, non-playoff campaign.

Memphis responded to each and every call-up for top hitting prospects, which included Masyn Winn, Luken Baker and Iván Herrera. Starting pitchers on the move included Dakota Hudson, Jake Woodford, Zack Thompson and Matthew Liberatore. Those changes played a major factor in the Triple-A team’s progression throughout 2023, especially in the second half of the season.

In the first half, things were looking up for Memphis including a 12-game winning streak in April. A factor was the arrival of Jordan Walker in April and another change occurred when Walker was recalled by St. Louis in June.

Still, the 39-36 Redbirds, managed by Ben Johnson, finished the first half in sixth place, 9 ½ games back of Iowa (Cubs) in the International League West Division.

From there, Baker, Herrera and Moisés Gómez took over offensive leadership. Unfortunately for Memphis, Baker had three stints with St. Louis starting in June and he did not return from August 12 on. When Baker’s standout production was no longer there for the Redbirds, things began to go south, and the team struggled in the second half.

Luken Baker

Memphis went 32-42 in the second half, putting their full season result at 71-78, under .500 for the fourth consecutive year. After the break, the Redbirds landed in ninth place, 15 ½ games behind Nashville (Brewers).

The 2023 Redbirds played well on the road, going 40-35, but they struggled badly at AutoZone Park, with a home record of just 31-43.  The team had a +32 run differential, with all of it accrued in the first half.

Month by Month

To start the season, Memphis went a strong 18-9 with the period highlighted by the 12-game winning streak. Luken Baker began the year on a tear with 28 hits, 21 walks, 10 home runs and 22 runs batted in through April. Matthew Liberatore, Connor Thomas, James Naile, and Andrew Suárez each earned three wins in the time span.

In May, the Redbirds took a major step backward, going 10-16 with multiple close losses. The bright spots during the run were Michael McGreevy’s 3-0 record in six starts and Moisés Gómez going on a tear with 32 hits, 12 home runs, 23 RBI, and two triples. Additionally, Baker produced 31 hits, 18 walks, six home runs and 29 RBI in the month.

Moisés Gómez

In June, Memphis started strongly, going 6-1 but ultimately struggled and finished the month 11-14. Baker received his first call-up to St. Louis but was sent down later in the month.

Masyn Winn led the offense with 27 hits and Dakota Hudson went 4-1 in June. However, Tommy Parsons struggled in his starts producing an 0-3 record on 10 home runs given up.

In July, Memphis went 4-5 before the all-star break, ending the first half with a 39-36 record. The Redbirds bounced back after the break to begin the second half at 9-6.

Logan Gragg led the pitching with three wins as Grant Black, Gordon Graceffo, and Michael McGreevy all won two games. Leadoff man Winn once again paced the offense with 33 hits including eight home runs and two triples with 26 RBI.

Masyn Winn

August brought the call-ups of top prospect Winn and Baker (again). Memphis went 11-16 as they dropped in the standings. Before being promoted on the 12th, Luken Baker led the team with eight home runs and an amazing 21 RBI.

Despite the struggling month for the team, there was production from Matt Koperniak, Cesar Prieto, Nick Dunn, and Iván Herrera. The pitching looked very different as July trade acquisitions Adam Kloffenstein, Sem Robberse and Drew Rom made their first turns in the Redbirds rotation. Kloffenstein and Rom led the way in August with two wins each and a combined 43 strikeouts.

September did not go as planned for Memphis as the team went 8-12, putting them out of contention in the second half division race.

Despite the down month, there was good pitching production from Robberse and McGreevy. Quiet much of the year, Juan Yepez ended the season on a hot note with 19 hits and 22 RBI including two home runs.

Team stats

Many of the 78 losses came as a direct result of the team not closing games out. A major factor was a bullpen that had the second highest batting average against (.275) in the 20-team league, allowed the sixth most hits and had the seventh-highest WHIP (1.60). The relievers produced 29 saves but blew 22 of 51 opportunities. Dalton Roach co-led the team with five saves in 10 opportunities with Guillermo Zuniga saving five of seven.

The starting rotation was also hittable with the highest batting average against in the league at .284. Their 5.01 ERA was in the middle of the IL, ranked 10^th.  The starters had the fifth-highest strikeout count (613) and were 11^th in walks (301).

The offense was sixth in the league in runs scored. They were ninth in batting average (.262), sixth in on-base percentage (.360), but only 14^th in slugging (.431). That put their OPS at .791, tied for 12^th. The Redbirds were fifth in hits (1332), 10^th in home runs (186), 13^th in doubles (258) and 10^th in steals (134).

Offensive leaders

Baker had an exceptional 2023 with a league-leading 33 home runs and 98 RBI, despite playing in just 84 games. The big first baseman batted .334, slugged .724 and compiled a 1.159 OPS, all best on the team, but he did not have enough plate appearances to compete for the batting title.

Among Redbirds, Gomez finished second to Baker in home runs (30) and RBI (79).

Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera’s 27 doubles were tops on the team as were his 20% walk rate and his .451 on-base percentage.

Kramer Robertson batted just .205 but had a Memphis-best 23 steals (in 27 attempts).

Masyn Winn’s seven triples were third most in the circuit. The shortstop topped the team and finished fourth in the IL with 99 runs scored. Winn was second on the team in steals, going an impressive 17-for-19.

Pitching leaders

With 134 1/3 innings, Michael McGreevy threw 40 more innings than any other 2023 Redbird. His 11 wins were more than double that of any teammate.

Michael McGreevy

A 3.00 ERA in his first nine appearances, eight starts, meant Adam Kloffenstein had the lowest ERA among rotation members. Another late-season newcomer, Drew Rom, fanned 14.7 batters per nine and his 4.5-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio both led the team prior to his call up to St. Louis.

Adam Kloffenstein

Award winners

Following the season, Baker was named International League Most Valuable Player. Herrera was also an All-Star with Winn designated as the league’s Best Prospect.

In July, Winn was both the Player of the Month for the IL as well as the Cardinals system’s Player of the Month, selected both by the organization and The Cardinal Nation.

Baker and Herrera were back-to-back system Players of the Month, in April and May, respectively.

Matthew Liberatore

Matthew Liberatore was both the April IL Pitcher of the Month and the Cardinals system’s top hurler that month.

What’s Next

Memphis now looks ahead to the 2024 season which will likely bring a significantly different roster.

Coming soon will be The Cardinal Nation’s Memphis Reliever, Starter, and Player of the Year articles. The articles will be exclusive to paid subscribers.

Next up is the Springfield Cardinals Relief Pitcher of the Year.

The Cardinal Nation’s Team Recaps and Top Players of 2023

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