photo: Matthew Liberatore (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The annual The Cardinal Nation St. Louis Cardinals All-Prospect Team is the top prospect at each position and includes 12 players – eight position players plus four pitchers – left and right-handed starters and relievers. In his fourth year ranked, Matthew Liberatore is our team captain. FREE article!
The next subject in our Top 50 St. Louis Cardinals Prospects for 2023 series is to recognize the organization’s best minor league prospects at each position. At the end, all Top 50 members are shown by their position groupings in an organizational prospect depth chart.
The selection process is very straightforward. We have already unveiled our Top 50 prospects in the system. Putting together this year’s All-Prospect Team is as simple as culling the top-ranked player at each position from that Top 50.
The annual The Cardinal Nation St. Louis Cardinals All-Prospect Team consists of 12 players – eight position players, including two corner outfielders, plus four pitchers – left and right-handed starters and relievers, respectively.
Listed are each player’s ranking in the 2023 Top 50, age and highest level played in 2022.
The Cardinal Nation St. Louis Cardinals 2023 All-Prospect Team
| All Prospect Team 2023 | Player | Rank | Age | 2022 Lvl |
| Catcher | Ivan Herrera | 7 | 22 | MLB |
| First Base | Luken Baker * | 34 | 25 | AAA |
| Second Base | Anyelo Encarnacion * | 43 | 18 | Rk |
| Shortstop | Masyn Winn | 2 | 20 | AA |
| Third Base | Samil De La Rosa * | 45 | 18 | Rk |
| Corner Outfield | Jordan Walker # | 1 | 20 | AA |
| Corner Outfield | Alec Burleson | 6 | 24 | MLB |
| Center field | Joshua Baez | 12 | 19 | A |
| LH Starter | Matthew Liberatore C | 8 | 22 | MLB |
| RH Starter | Tink Hence # | 3 | 20 | A |
| LH Reliever | Zack Thompson * | 9 | 25 | MLB |
| RH Reliever | Freddy Pacheco * | 18 | 24 | AAA |
* new member
C unofficial captain
# position change
In most prior years, there was a higher turnover in the All-Prospect Team, often in the seven to nine range. However, in two of the last three years the group has been more stable. The 2023 count is five, after seven the year before and just four from 2020 to 2021. (Newbies are denoted by an asterisk * above).
With five new members, that means seven of the 12 are holdovers. Outfielders Alec Burleson and Joshua Baez return from the 2022 team. Catcher Ivan Herrera and shortstop Masyn Winn are back for a third year.
Left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore is tops at his position for the fourth time, leading the way this year. As the senior member, Liberatore is our unofficial captain. He replaces the prior captain who was also a four-year member, his childhood friend Nolan Gorman.
Two of the seven returnees qualify at a different position for their second year on the All-Prospect Team. Top prospect Jordan Walker’s move from third base to the outfield has been well documented. The other change is more of a nuance as Tink Hence shifts from our top right-handed reliever to right-handed starter. This reflects a change in his usage in 2022.
The five new members of the team come from just two different sources, with all being homegrown Cardinals. Second baseman Anyelo Encarnacion, third baseman Samil De La Rosa and right-handed reliever Freddy Pacheco were international signees. First baseman Luken Baker and lefty reliever Zack Thompson were Cardinals draft picks.
Baker’s return after three years on and one year off is a bit unusual in its timing considering that his no. 34 ranking for 2023 is his worst in his five years in the Top 50. With the graduation of Juan Yepez, Baker becomes our top first sacker again by default. However, with reigning National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt under a long-term contract, the position at St. Louis is set for the foreseeable future.
Due to his usage with St. Louis, Thompson fills the left-handed reliever position, which was open in 2022. Prior to that as a starter, he had been just a spot or two below Liberatore in our rankings each year.
TCN St. Louis Cardinals All-Prospect Teams – 2019 through 2022
All-Prospect Team members from the previous four seasons are included for comparison purposes.
| All-Prospects | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Catcher | Ivan Herrera | Ivan Herrera | Andrew Knizner | Andrew Knizner |
| First Base | Juan Yepez | Luken Baker | Luken Baker | Luken Baker |
| Second Base | Nolan Gorman | Chandler Redmond | Ramon Urias | Max Schrock |
| Shortstop | Masyn Winn | Masyn Winn | Edmundo Sosa | Tommy Edman |
| Third Base | Jordan Walker | Nolan Gorman | Nolan Gorman | Nolan Gorman |
| Corner OF | Lars Nootbaar | Jhon Torres | Jhon Torres | Tyler O’Neill |
| Corner OF | Alec Burleson | Dylan Carlson | Dylan Carlson | Dylan Carlson |
| Center field | Joshua Baez | Trejyn Fletcher | Trejyn Fletcher | Lane Thomas |
| LH Starter | Matthew Liberatore | Matthew Liberatore | Matthew Liberatore | Evan Kruczynski |
| RH Starter | Michael McGreevy | Johan Oviedo | Jake Woodford | Alex Reyes |
| LH Reliever | none | none | Genesis Cabrera | Genesis Cabrera |
| RH Reliever | Tink Hence | Junior Fernandez | Junior Fernandez | Seth Elledge |
The four players (plus the one open spot) who left the 2022 All-Prospect Team departed in the following ways. Three graduated to the majors – first baseman Yepez, second sacker Gorman and outfielder Lars Nootbaar.
Right-handed starter Michael McGreevy was edged out by Hence, but if it hadn’t been him, it would have fourth-ranked Gordon Graceffo. Still, being ranked fifth in the entire system is hardly a slight to McGreevy.
Note that the top-ranked right-handed starter in the system has been a different individual in each of the last five years. Second base is the only other position with annual turnover since 2019.
Age and experience – 2019-2023
| All-Prospect Team | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Average age | 21.4 | 20.9 | 21.1 | 22 | 22.2 |
| Average experience | AA | AA | A+ | AAA | AA |
The 2023 All-Prospect Team continues a recent trend toward youth. Though the new squad averages a half-year older than in 2022, the last three years are the youngest All-Prospect Teams since I first began tracking this in 2007.
The average age of the 2023 team is 21.4 years after 2022’s group was our first ever that averaged under 21 years of age.
Only four of the 12 are over 22 years of age. The eldest are Thompson and Baker at 25 with Burleson and Pacheco at 24. The oldest player last year was Lars Nootbaar at 24.
The level of play reached by the average All-Prospect Team member is Double-A, same as last year.
For the third consecutive year after four dry ones, the 2023 All-Prospect Team includes two who played in Rookie ball during the prior season. Second baseman Anyelo Encarnacion and third baseman Samil De La Rosa competed in the 2022 Dominican Summer League and Florida Complex League, respectively.
Depth Chart (name/overall ranking)
I will close this installment of our analysis series with the 2023 Top 50 Prospect List oriented by position. Remember that the members of the All-Prospect Team are listed first in each position grouping. This provides a quick visual snapshot of system-wide balance at all positions across the system.
| Pos | # | Name (Top 50 rank) | ||
| C | 4 | Ivan Herrera (7) | Leonardo Bernal (17) | Jimmy Crooks (22) |
| Pedro Pages (33) | ||||
| 1B | 2 | Luken Baker (34) | Chandler Redmond (46) | |
| 2B | 1 | Anyelo Encarnacion (43) | ||
| SS | 4 | Masyn Winn (2) | Jonathan Mejia (11) | Adari Grant (36) |
| Jeremy Rivas (38) | ||||
| 3B | 1 | Samil De La Rosa (45) | ||
| COF | 7 | Jordan Walker (1) | Alec Burleson (6) | Moises Gomez (14) |
| Won-Bin Cho (21) | Patrick Romeri (35) | Matt Koperniak (41) | ||
| Chase Pinder (48) | ||||
| CF | 4 | Joshua Baez (12) | Luis Pino (23) | Victor Scott (29) |
| Mike Antico (31) | ||||
| LHS | 5 | Matthew Liberatore (8) | Cooper Hjerpe (10) | Brycen Mautz (13) |
| Pete Hansen (16) | Connor Thomas (19) | |||
| RHS | 12 | Tink Hence (3) | Gordon Graceffo (4) | Michael McGreevy (5) |
| Inohan Paniagua (15) | Austin Love (24) | Trent Baker (25) | ||
| Alec Willis (26) | Zane Mills (27) | Dionys Rodriguez (28) | ||
| Jose Davila (32) | Max Rajcic (39) | Nelfy Ynfante (50) | ||
| LHR | 1 | Zack Thompson (7) | ||
| RHR | 9 | Freddy Pacheco (18) | Jake Walsh (20) | Andre Granillo (30) |
| Ian Bedell (37) | Ryan Loutos (40) | Gustavo Rodriguez (42) | ||
| Andrew Marrero (44) | Diorys Guerrero (47) | Jack Ralston (49) | ||
| total | 50 |
Generally, one can feel good about this Top 50 positional distribution. However, the infield stands out as being under-represented, other than shortstop.
First and third base are set for a long time in St. Louis, so one should not be worried about the pipeline for those positions right now.
The thinness at second base could be covered by one or more of the budding shortstop prospects. Not to mention there is currently a wealth of middle infielders at the big-league level.
The All-Prospect Team is a group of mostly elite prospects with three exceptions. Seven are in our Top 10, with two more ranked 12th and 18th, respectively. The outliers are infielders, the veteran Baker (no. 34), plus 18-year-olds Encarnacion (no. 43) and De La Rosa (no. 45).
In terms of depth, most positions are at least two deep in the Top 23 with the exception being the aforementioned three infield spots. In recent years, center field had been thin, but the drafting of Victor Scott and emergence of Mike Antico has fortified the position somewhat. As center could be a medium-term need for St. Louis, they need to continue to focus on the position in the future.
The corner outfield has decent quantity with seven, but the group after Walker, Burleson and Moises Gomez are still a long way away with a lot to prove.
Like center, shortstop was a thin position that has been reinforced behind Winn, the only one of the group anywhere near the majors. In the rankings, youngsters with upside Jonathan Mejia, Adari Grant and Jeremy Rivas replace Kramer Robertson and Delvin Perez, two older prospects who seemed to have reached their ceiling.
Starting pitching depth remains strong in number, but an even better measure is that their individual rankings are improved. Last year, six starters were in the Top 20. That has increased to nine in 2023.
The significant quantity of starting contenders from the last two draft classes are a big reason why. This was badly needed after the draft pendulum had swung hard in the offensive direction prior to 2021 and pitching results across the minor league system suffered.
The left-handed mix is now very strong, at least on paper, after the Cardinals selected lefties with their first three draft picks in 2022. However, none of the trio, Cooper Hjerpe, Brycen Mautz and Pete Hansen, have thrown their first pitches as professionals in game action. With a 40-man roster spot in hand and coming off a strong Arizona Fall League, Connor Thomas made big strides late after a disappointing 2022 regular season. Don’t sleep on him.
This will be covered in more detail in a future article, but we have never ranked as many as nine right-handed relievers and 10 bullpenners in total, as there are in 2023. Usually, we focus on the best starters, assuming some will move to relief upon their big-league arrival (see Thompson and Andre Pallante in 2022).
However, a new breed of hard throwers working in relief, led by Freddy Pacheco and Jake Walsh, are on the brink of helping St. Louis in 2023, with a number of others of interest not too far behind.
For more
As always, our top prospect lists and associated analysis articles from each of the last 17 years can be accessed via “PROSPECT RANKINGS” permanently displayed on the red menu bar on the left side of The Cardinal Nation homepage, just underneath the site logo.
To reference our entire list of Top 50 Cardinals prospects for 2023 and read about each individual player, see the article below.
Next up
In upcoming articles in this series, we dig into the top prospects by level of play and their expected MLB debuts as well as taking a different look at the Top 50 – based on potential only. Also coming are the players who just missed the personal Top 50s of Brian Walton and Blake Newberry, plus their 2023 deep sleeper picks.
As always, join the daily discussion about each article at The Cardinal Nation’s message boards.
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