photo: Masyn Winn (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced this evening (Thursday, August 17) that they are promoting rookie shortstop Masyn Winn from Memphis (AAA) and have placed outfielder Lars Nootbaar (lower abdomen contusion) on the 10-day injured list.
Winn, 21, who was the Cardinals 2nd round draft choice (54th player overall) in the 2020 MLB draft, is currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s top prospect (16th overall).
The right-handed hitting Winn, a native of Kingwood, Texas, is batting .288 with an .833 OPS, 18 home runs, 61 RBI and 17 stolen bases in his first season of play at Triple-A. He leads all of minor league baseball with 99 runs scored and is T-2nd in hits (128) among all Triple-A players.
The strong-armed Winn, who was selected as a possible two-way player, has been recognized by Baseball America for having the “Best Infield Arm” and being the “Best Athlete” in the Cardinals farm system. He flashed a 100.5 MPH infield throw during the 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
The 5-10, 180-pound Winn has swiped 92 bases in 104 career attempts (88 pct.) in the minors and has 20 career triples.
Winn, the reigning Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month in July, has had four separate hitting streaks of at least 10 games this season, including a career-high 16-game streak May 23-June 9.
Winn joins Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker among players from the Cardinals 2020 draft class who are now playing for St. Louis. He was the youngest player at the Triple-A level to begin the 2023 campaign.
Winn will wear uniform No. 0 and will be in uniform tomorrow night (7:15 p.m. CDT) when the Cardinals continue their weekend series against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium.
Brian Walton’s take
Nootbaar becomes the ninth Cardinal on the injured list, following fellow starter Nolan Gorman by one day.
With Nootbaar sidelined, regular shortstop Tommy Edman played in center field Thursday night. That would open the shortstop position for Winn to receive regular playing time. This will be an important audition for Winn to show he is ready for a starting role next season.
The timing of this move was likely not coincidental. With 45 days remaining in this season, Winn may be able to maintain his rookie status for 2024. He would also need to stay under 130 at-bats. With a Rookie of the Year award, the team would receive an extra draft pick. But all of that is to be determined in the future.
For now, it is about acclimating Winn to the Major Leagues.
With the addition of Winn, the Cardinals’ 40-man roster now numbers 39.
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