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The Cardinal Nation’s annual series breaking down the Top 50 prospects in the #STLCards system continues with the rising prospects who entered the rankings for 2023. A variety of routes were taken by the 22 new members plus one returnee, Chase Pinder. ($) https://t.co/d0JDvElubU pic.twitter.com/kJXZsdOxTA
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) January 28, 2023
Pinder? The 26 year old smallish outfielder who has all of 35 plate appearances at the AAA level after being drafted in 2017?
Pinder is ranked no. 49 on the community vote here. He is no. 48 our our list. I don’t get the concern.
Because Pinder is like some other smallish outfielders the Cardinals have drafted who have neither outstanding power or outstanding speed.
No chance at all of being impact players. They’re just fillers who probably shouldn’t be in the Top 50.Pinder is one inch shorter than Harrison Bader, but you didn’t like him, either.
In terms of Top 50 criteria, there are many who have little to no chance of becoming impact players. In fact, there aren’t 50 future impact players in the entire system. But every successful team also needs role players who contribute in their own way. Just reaching the majors is a tremendous accomplishment.
Anyway, you are entitled to your opinion, albeit a minority one.
I don’t think it’s a minority opinion among those who follow the minors closely, Brian. We know that around 85-90% of the players will never make it to the majors for any period of duration. We look for speed, power, or a high OBP to attract our attention. And smallish guys who exhibit none of the above quite frankly aren’t very exciting. You bring up Bader for your example. Bader caught fire his last season as a Gator. His first year in the Cardinal system, he hit 11 home runs and stole 17 bases in only 61 games. OBP of .358. His second season, and first full season, he hit 19 home runs and stole 13 bases. His second full season he hit 20 home runs and stole 15 bases. There was a lot of excitement there as far as his potential. Your example was a poor one.
I was not comparing the two as prospects. I rank these players for a living so I know the difference without you pointing it out. It was simply a response to your concern about Pinder’s size. Why get concerned over prospect #47 or #48, especially when you can’t read the article that explains why he was selected there?
Did you vote along with this community? I took a quick look at that section of the voting thread and didn’t see anything. I believe the posters here do follow the minors closely despite your assertion they must not. They ranked Pinder as did we and you would not, based on your criteria, but there is no reason to profess that your knowledge is superior. They are just opinions. Why not simply disagree and leave it at that?
Sure, I look at the size and strength of the players when I’m at WWU and Spring Training. And I also look at
their stats. And if I see an outfielder who’s 5’ 10”, 175 pounds and hasn’t shown much power or speed in a number of years in the system I don’t see a whole lot of hope for him. Especially if he’s 26, has been in the system for 5 years, and hasn’t even played much at the AAA level.I understand and appreciate the expertise you have in rating prospects for a living, Brian. And I also appreciate your tenacity, knowing the large majority of whom you rate will never see a major league stadium unless it’s sitting in the stands.
The issue with Pinder is that he is never healthy. He’s never played 90 games in a season.
Why you are getting so worked up over someone ranked #48 or 49 is really difficult to comprehend.
For what it’s worth, Kyle Reid just listed Pinder at #34 and he watches a ton of MiLB baseball. I personally have him at #48. He has a good hit tool and can cover CF and is a good defender all over. He’s really a future 5th outfielder – a guy you call up to cover an injury or who maybe occupies the 25th spot on a MLB roster. But that’s something at least. But we also have Hurst and Antico competing for that same role and I might be inclined to choose Pinder 3rd out of the 3. Close between Hurst and Pinder but I definitely like Antico best purely because his speed is very useable. He will just have to prove that he can still hit at AAA.
This is Pinder’s final year before free agency I believe so he’ll have to put it all together or head out.
Brian – if you look closely, you’ll see that I started the community voting on your forum when 25 didn’t have the time this year. I tabulated all the results for each round up through the 20th round, as I said I would do at the outset. And I did participate in the voting at times. Please give credit to people who try to help when credit is due. After taking it through the 20th round I got tied up with some business things. Blingboy took it from there up through the 50th round and did a great job.
That is all true and you were thanked with the others who invested their time. Yet, none of it has to do with the subject, Pinder, whom the community placed on their top 50. You did not vote at that point and after the fact, disagree with the voters and TCN, too. That is your right but it seems like any relevant points have already been made…
We’re all due our opinions. To me, guys like Pinder simply are not prospects. 26 year olds at AA ball might be better served looking for another more lucrative profession.
Also, I explained why I didn’t in later rounds.As 23 prospects joined The Cardinal Nation 2023 #stlcards Top 50 Prospect List, who are the 23 to come off since 2022, where did they go and why? I explain in today's analysis article, exclusively for TCN members. Prepare for the new season and join today! https://t.co/wiGnI8T21a pic.twitter.com/aZiXqJghvc
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) January 29, 2023
Having published #STLCards prospect lists for 17 years now, The Cardinal Nation conducts an annual self-audit. We revisit the best and worst prospect calls from our Top 50 Prospect rankings for 2022, completed last January. ($) https://t.co/bzOrgRxp3Y pic.twitter.com/dqUsCWMnR4
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) February 1, 2023
The annual The Cardinal Nation #STLCards All-Prospect Team is the top prospect at each position – eight position players plus four pitchers – LH and RH starters and relievers. In his fourth year ranked, Matthew Liberatore is our team captain. FREE article! https://t.co/niHsKhG2Cp pic.twitter.com/QHbKEQreRY
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) February 3, 2023
I discussed that in “The Final Tally” article. The net is that I have Graceffo ahead of Hence, but Blake sees it the other way. In fact, he put Graceffo at no. 5, also behind Burleson, so Hence averaged out ahead of Graceffo.
I find interesting that four of the five who graduated (Yepez, Donovan, Nootbar, Pallante) were no better than 28th in the 2021 rankings. They did show much better in the 2022 rankings. I wonder how much the COVID compressed 2020 interfered with being able to spot prospects. And thanks for doing that story about the folks who moved off the list, Brian!
Glad you are enjoying the articles. I like to bring the historical view over and above just providing this year’s list. When I found myself asking these questions about changes over time, I did the research. And once I did the research, it only makes sense to share it. It is something I don’t see others doing.
I especially enjoyed Blake’s contributions. Taking us through the thought process in detail was extraordinary. Brian walks us through the process often enough, but also getting the same from a guest contributor was unexpected. I really appreciate that kind of content.
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