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Great discussion so far. I’m going to go with Nolan Gorman at #1 as well. His transition to 2B has gone well, from all accounts. His bad ending to the season hides the fact that he hit very well in Memphis, and the reduced K rate bodes well for his future, too. Steamer projects him at .259/.304/.431 for 2022, which I’d take and I think he beats in St Louis if platooned with Edman or Sosa. I think he’s a consistent 25-30 HR guy with potentially 35+ in the tank, solid defense and All Star potential.
Just as an FYI, while it’s fairly obvious who the #1 will be right now, we will hold voting open until Sunday the 14th at 8 PM so folks who check in less regularly can see and join. Then we will start daily voting after that. I appreciate the debate so far! Keep voting!
On Gorman, this quote was Mo quoting Jose Oquendo.
Jose Oquendo quote on Gorman in this story (which is a fun read for prospects dorks like me):
"He’ll be an above-average defensive second baseman." https://t.co/Wz5lanHkCX
— Kevin Wheeler (@KevinWheeler94) November 11, 2021
I think we will see the necessary maturity in Gorman next spring where he can put on full display his first mustache, and if we squint just a little. we might see a left-handed Jeff Kent at that keystone.
Going an hour early tonight because it’s snowing and I’ve got the time to tabulate.
Nolan Gorman 12 votes
Jordan Walker 3 votes
Matthew Liberatore 1 voteYour TCN #1 prospect for 2022 is Nolan Gorman
Voting for #2 is now OPEN. Voting ends at 8 PM EST/7 PM CST on Monday, November 15.
This is a tougher call than I imagined after giving it some thought, higher ceiling goes to Walker, more of a safer bet and a high ceiling himself in Gorman…..
My vote for #1 is your STL Cards 2B on the 4th of July, Nolan Gorman.
grenadier asked:
Anybody know Brian’s plan for Top Prospects this year? Planning to use the Forum votes?
The site countdown should begin later this week. To meet the site’s schedule, the community would have needed to start ranking around Labor Day but you all preferred to wait until after the MLB postseason to get going.
I participated in the voting a few years ago and would like to this year, if I may. I know that I have missed the first vote, but I will include it here as it matches the majority.
#1 Nolan Gorman He was #40 in last year’s Baseball America Top 100 prospects, and his numbers this past year have justified that rating. I see his ceiling offensively similar to Tyler O’Neil. Defensively, he may move around, with his best position probably being DH. I expect growing pains after he reaches the majors, but we will be happy with the finished product.
#2 Jordan Walker Ranked #38 in the BA Top 100 before the season started, I don’t think anybody would have predicted the numbers he put up in A ball and High-A at the tender age of 19. I usually favor prospects in the higher levels, but Walker is such an intriguing prospect.
Good to have you, Bob Cobb! Also, CFiCT in the house! Glad to see some more participants.
I’m going with Jordan Walker at #2 as well. The power bat with potential to hit for average too is a tantalizing combo. We could use a guy like that, especially as Goldy gets a little older. I think he’s pretty likely to end up at 1B or a corner OF spot but if he hits .280+ with 30+ HRs, we will happily take that. There’s more in the tank if he keeps adjusting as he goes up levels…a .300 average with 40+ HRs is something to dream on, but it’s possible with this young man. He could be a top 10 overall prospect with a 2022 equal to his 2021.
FYI, I gave your efforts some publicity.
Members of The Cardinal Nation's message board community have begun their annual voting for the top prospects in the #stlcards system. It is free for anyone to join. Just bring your vote – and your reasoning if you want to influence others. https://t.co/hlyuAUbSEP pic.twitter.com/Sq9JLIEDAp
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) November 15, 2021
Minor correction on Jordan Walker’s BA national top 100 ranking. It is 38 NOW, based on their mid-season re-rankings. Before the season, he was unranked. IMO, this tells an even better story how he has emerged nationally.
Prior to the season, Baseball Prospectus (no. 92) had Walker in their top 100. BP was the only national rater to do so (from among BA, BP, ESPN, HQ, Fangraphs, The Athletic and MLB Pipeline).
I wrote about it for members in late February here:
I go back and forth on this one as I really like Matthew Liberatore to be a rotation staple for a number of years hopefully starting this year. However it’s hard to go against the upside and make up that Jordan Walker possesses, so I won’t.
#2 Jordan Walker – A number of sites have already moved Jordan Walker ahead of Gorman, but for all of the great performance he’s put up this year, he’s still in High A, so there is just a little more risk and frankly that is the only ding I have on him. I mean I guess you could wonder what position he’s going to play long term, but if he continues to rake does it really matter? 3B, LF, 1B, DH. He’ll play and play well if he continues on this path because he has a great work ethic and baseball IQ. His power is legit, as expected, but there appear to be less holes in his swing than most predicted. It at least hasn’t been exposed by A ball pitchers. Its also safe to say that he has arguably the highest exit velocity in the organization. Springfield will be the key. I imagine he’ll get a spring training invite and if he handles it well, I think the Cards will be aggressive and start him in AA. With Gorman at 2B, I don’t see the organization letting Malcom Nunez start at Springfield and keeping Walker in Peoria if they want to challenge him. He only has 244 PAs in Peoria and he was “ONLY” well above average there with a 124 wRC+ (you know compared to 205 wRC+ in Palm Beach) and a reduced ISO of .195. All great numbers, but not the end of the world if they start him in Peoria and give him a quick promotion to Springfield with continued success. I don’t think that’s what happens though as I think chances are good he starts in Springfield. Overall, Randy Flores looks pretty smart now after many questioned the Jordan Walker pick during the draft.
Excellent reasoning, grenadier. I considered Libby as well. He wasn’t quite as good as Gorman or Walker this year, which ultimately made my decision. I really think all of my top 5 will end up as average or better regulars, which means the system is fairly healthy in terms of big league impact on the way in the next 2-3 years.
Some of you old timers might agree that Jordan Walker is arguably the best third base prospect the Cards have seen come through here since way back in the Nolan Gorman era.
SC25. I agree with you. Their position player depth is as good as it’s been in years. Clearly they need some consistent pitching to step up over the next year, but there are some guys I think will take a step forward. It seemed that the Cards minor league pitchers were more effected by the COVID year than other organizations. You could also make a case that they have placed a higher emphasis on position players in the draft than pitching over the last few years. Hard to say. I’ve pulled the most recent lists (22 and mid-year 21) from all of the websites I can find for Cardinals prospects. There is still a pretty defined drop from the first tier guys (Gorman, Walker, Liberatore in that order) to the second tier. However that second tier has expanded from about 5-6 guys to about 10-12 guys (Winn, Herrera, Baez, McGreevy, Burleson, Thompson, Yepez, Hence, M. Nunez, Baker, Torres, Rondon, Perez in that order). That’s a pretty big jump. There are also a few lottery tickets in the complex leagues that I think are exciting. Overall, if guys like Austin Love, Gordon Graceffo, etc… continue to develop on strong opening seasons and you a hit a lottery ticket type with E. Nunez or Alec Willis then the all of a sudden the pitching looks pretty good.
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