photo: Dakota Harris (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
In a FREE article, The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 prospect countdown for 2025 opens with an infielder who played well at High-A and gained significant Double-A exposure in his first professional season.
Position: Second base/Shortstop/Third Base
Age: 22 years old
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 5’11, 203 pounds
Acquired: Selected in the 11th round, 335th overall, in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft
Hometown: Land O’ Lakes, FL
College: Oklahoma
Opened 2024: Peoria Chiefs (High-A)
Primary team in 2024: Peoria Chiefs (High-A)
Finished 2024: Springfield Cardinals (Double-A)
Prior Top 50 rankings – none
Click on the above photo to be taken to Harris’ player page at The Cardinal Nation, with additional biography and history information.
2024 highlights
| PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | HR | SB | CS | BB% | K% | BABIP | wRC+ |
| 374 | 0.269 | 0.322 | 0.402 | 0.724 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4.8% | 20.3% | 0.322 | 106 |
Blake Newberry’s scouting report
Blake’s ranking – no. 52
(current grade/future grade)
| Hit | Power | Run | Arm | Field | FV |
| 35/45 | 35/40 | 50/50 | 50/50 | 40/50 | 35 |
Despite having been an 11th round pick, Dakota Harris has worked his way onto our season-opening prospect list for the first time. It is largely due to his solid glove work paired with the unexpected pop that he showed in 2024. This past season Harris clubbed eight home runs in just 206 plate appearances at High-A Peoria, which helped him to a 131 wRC+ at the level and a midseason promotion to Double-A.
Harris has an aggressive approach at the plate and that makes him prone to expanding the zone and flailing at breaking balls and against Double-A pitching this was a particular issue. His poor swing decisions limit his walk totals but also cause him to strike out at an elevated clip and make weak contact (when he does make contact) against pitches outside the zone.
There’s not a ton of raw power here but Harris does a good job of getting to his pull side and should be able to flirt with double digit home runs and a good number of doubles consistently.
Still, Harris’ bat isn’t his calling card. He’s more of a glove first prospect who is still trying to figure things out at the plate. Harris has a good enough glove to stick at shortstop long term but also has the arm strength to play the hot corner as needed.
Versatility can only be a good thing for Harris moving forward. He’s not an elite defensive prospect but he’s certainly solid and projects around average on the infield going forward.
Summary: Dakota Harris is a glove first prospect with good enough defense to stick on the left side of the infield if needed while he learns how to make better swing decisions.
Brian Walton’s environmental impact report
Brian’s ranking – no. 51
Background
Harris is a right-handed hitting infielder from Florida who comes from a supportive and competitive baseball family, with a father who was a minor leaguer and two older brothers who also played professionally.
Dakota started his collegiate career at Polk State, a junior college in Florida, before transferring to Oklahoma for the 2023 season. At Polk State, Harris earned NJCAA co-Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore and received a Rawlings Gold Glove. In 2023, he was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to college baseball’s best shortstop. Defensively, Harris also gained experience at second base, third base and corner outfield in the Cape Cod League.
Harris signed with the Cardinals after having been their initial day 3 selection in 2023 draft. He received $150,000, which meant his bonus had no cap impact on the Cardinals.
Reporting to Low-A Palm Beach post-signing, Harris slashed a quiet .220/.307/.320/.627 for a 77 wRC+ in 115 plate appearances over 31 games. He fanned at a 22.6% rate and walked in just 7.0% of his plate appearances.
2024 recap
Coming out of 2024 spring training. Harris made the High-A Peoria roster but got off to an uneven introduction. He had a good April with a .780 OPS and 12 RBI in 20 games but slumped to a dismal .409 OPS in May before going on the injured list for almost two weeks.
Upon his return, Harris really heated up again. For the period of June 10-16, he was recognized as the Midwest League Player of the Week. In that period, the 22-year-old led the circuit in batting average (.556), OBP (.600), slugging (1.111), home runs (three), RBI (eight) and total bases (20).
Congratulations, Dakota Harris for being named @milb Midwest League Player of the Week!! 👏👏
For 5 straight games this week Harris has been a firecracker on the field!! @CardsPlayerDev | @Cardinals
– – –#peoriachiefs pic.twitter.com/DDwxZwFfdD— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) June 17, 2024
Less than 10 days later, the infielder moved up to Springfield and predictably, did not perform well offensively initially. In both July and August, Harris batted under .225 and had a sub-.600 OPS.
While he played in only 10 September games due to the schedule, Harris progressed to a solid .258/.378/.387/.765. He doubled in his only postseason plate appearance.
Again, it appeared that Harris needed time to play up to his level, as he registered a 77 Double-A wRC+ to conclude 2024.
Still, it wasn’t a bad year. After all, in his first full season, he gained significant Double-A experience.
Harris’ 106 wRC+ for 2024 was a 39-point improvement from his 2023 while his level of competition increased twice. That was the second-highest year-to-year growth in the Cardinals system among those who had a sub-100 wRC+ in 2023 and above-100 in 2024.
Of note, for 2024, Harris made a major change in defensive focus, by playing more at second base (57 games) at both stops than at shortstop (21) and third base (22) combined. As mentioned above, he already had experience all over, and that utility profile may continue.
2025 outlook
It seems reasonable to expect that Harris will return to Springfield to open 2025. His final period of 2024 offers some optimism that he can earn his way up to Memphis before the end of the season. Of course, roster opportunities would need to present themselves for Harris to be considered.
Among others from the 2024 S-Cards vying to move up to Triple-A are second baseman/outfielder Bryan Torres and shortstop Jeremy Rivas. Memphis middle infield incumbents may include Thomas Saggese, Jose Fermin, Nolan Gorman and Cesar Prieto, though several could be with St. Louis depending on other roster moves.
Future outlook
Future Value: 35
Role: AAAA guy/reserve
Risk: Moderate
As Blake noted, Harris’ FV of 35 indicates he will likely be an up and down type or perhaps a reserve if he can secure a 40-man roster spot in the future. I feel that his best shot at St. Louis is most likely to occur during 2026 or later. In the interim, he has plenty of development runway ahead.
Harris’ defensive versatility and skill level is a plus, but his offense risks holding him back. A difference maker could be if more of that developing power can consistently emerge.
MLB debut: 2026
Rule 5 Eligible: 2026
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
Our 2025 Top 50 series continues
To see the entire list of top Cardinals prospects, grading scales and remaining article schedule, click here. This includes the Top 50 countdown and 11 in-depth, follow-up articles breaking down the list.
50 Days, 50 Nights, 50 St. Louis Cardinals Prospects for 2025
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on X/Twitter.
Follow Blake Newberry on X/Twitter @bt_newberry.
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