photo: Masyn Winn (Memphis Redbirds)
The Cardinal Nation’s choice as the top hitter in the St. Louis Cardinals system during July is unquestionably Memphis shortstop Masyn Winn. 10 finalists’ results are analyzed.
This article details the selection of The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Month. Considered were offensive results during July across the entire St. Louis Cardinals system. The winner as well as a group of runners up, or finalists, are highlighted.
Starting with the usual 60 plate appearances requirement, a total of 33 hitters in the system qualified. 10 further separated themselves with OPSes of .800 or above, including three between .900 and 1.000, two others above 1.000 and one really standing out with an OPS approaching 1.200.
As a result, with an OPS of 1.188 and other results that are also head and shoulders above the others, Memphis shortstop Masyn Winn is our winner in a landslide.
Demographics
Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis led the way with three finalists while Low-A Palm Beach had two. Two of other three clubs – High-A Peoria and the rookie-level Dominican Summer League club – had one each. The rookie Florida Complex League team was shut out for the second straight month.
A special shout out goes out to Springfield’s Chandler Redmond, who has achieved finalist status all four months of 2023 to date. Though the first baseman’s .834 July OPS was near the lower boundary of the qualification line, Redmond deserves continued admiration for his consistency.
Just missed
Several others with good Julys fell below the plate appearance qualification measure.
Memphis first baseman Luken Baker missed part of the month while with St. Louis but posted an exceptional 1.224 OPS in 47 PAs when back in Triple-A. What is even crazier is that the big man’s corresponding June numbers were 47 PAs and 1.225 OPS!
Second baseman Darlin Moquete logged an .865 OPS in 50 PAs with Peoria. In rookie ball, Felix Taveras’ 1.002 OPS in 49 PAs and teammate Yaisel Ramos at .873 (58 PAs) in the Florida Complex League stood out.
Reminder
Please remember, this is NOT the “Player of the Month Among Top Prospects”. Every player in the system has an equal chance, with only their performance during the month used to differentiate the best of the best. Age and level, which are key prospect considerations, are not factors here, either.
Names are listed below in descending OPS order.
The stats
| Hitter | Team | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Masyn Winn | Mem | 21 | 98 | 87 | 26 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0.356 | 0.429 | 0.759 | 1.188 |
| Richie Palacios | Mem | 20 | 96 | 73 | 21 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0.329 | 0.469 | 0.562 | 1.031 |
| Nick Dunn | Mem/Spr | 21 | 91 | 84 | 15 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0.381 | 0.418 | 0.607 | 1.025 |
| Mike Antico | Spr | 21 | 90 | 79 | 15 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 0.329 | 0.411 | 0.557 | 0.968 |
| Fernando Roquez | DSL | 16 | 65 | 52 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0.269 | 0.415 | 0.538 | 0.953 |
| Michael Curialle | PB | 17 | 68 | 54 | 11 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.441 | 0.481 | 0.922 |
| Won-Bin Cho | PB | 21 | 88 | 69 | 16 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 0.290 | 0.420 | 0.449 | 0.869 |
| Victor Scott | Spr | 20 | 99 | 90 | 16 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 0.333 | 0.388 | 0.456 | 0.844 |
| Chandler Redmond | Spr | 23 | 102 | 84 | 17 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.382 | 0.452 | 0.834 |
| Chris Rotondo | Peo/PB | 18 | 75 | 63 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0.286 | 0.378 | 0.444 | 0.823 |
With a large gap between the top OPS and the others, the identity of our winner is crystal clear.
Memphis shortstop Masyn Winn also led our finalists in doubles (tied), triples, home runs (double the next closest competitor), RBI (with 23 in 21 games despite hitting out of the leadoff position), runs scored and slugging (.759). Winn was second in batting average (.356) and third in on-base percentage (.429).
That dominance does not mean there were not other notable July performances, however.
Not many people know about a relative newcomer with Memphis, Richie Palacios. Having been acquired from Cleveland in mid-June, the 26-year-old’s first full month in the Cardinals organization was a strong one at the plate.
Palacios walked an amazing 20 times in 96 plate appearances and struck out just eight times. That put 140 points on top of his strong .329 batting average for a finalist-best .469 OBP. With nine extra base hits, Palacios’ slugging of .562 was third and his 1.031 OPS was second. The infielder-outfielder also tied for second in home runs and RBI, both behind Winn.
In other words, the 40-man roster infielder had good enough numbers to win this award most months, but this time, his teammate Winn was even better.
After a so-so first half in his return to Springfield, Mike Antico moved to left field and into the second spot in the lineup behind new center fielder Victor Scott. Antico then posted his best month in July, with his 11 extra-base hits tied for second behind Winn among finalists and his .968 OPS is fourth. A contributor was a very high BABIP of .397.
Antico was a perfect 14-for-14 in steal attempts while Scott was 15-for-17 and logged an .844 OPS himself. Of concern was their low walk rates during July, with Antico at 6.7% and Scott at 5.1%.
With this speedy duo, there’s a lot of small-ball opportunity in Springfield!
We usually see very little power in the rookie-level DSL, but outfielder Fernando Roquez swatted four long balls in July. Perhaps an even more positive indicator is 11 walks against 11 strikeouts during a period his BABIP was just .270. The 17-year-old’s .953 OPS was fifth best among finalists.
Palm Beach infielder Michael Curialle got off to a hot April and reloaded in July after a couple of cold months in between. The infielder was third in batting average (tied at .333) and second in OBP (.441).
Two other Beach Birds, outfielders Won-Bin Cho and Nathan Church, had good numbers across the board in July, with the latter having earned a promotion to Peoria late in the month.
About the winner
Considering Winn is the organization’s top prospect and is nationally ranked, he is already well known to Cardinals fans. After impressing with St. Louis this spring, the 2020 second-round draft pick was assigned to Memphis in what was labeled a growth season.
In just about every measure of offense in his dominant July, Winn’s improvement is demonstrated.
Defensively, Winn has continued to receive time at second base as well as short in preparation for his big-league debut. His work in the field was already considered MLB-ready and now, his offense is shining as well.
How St. Louis plays its cards in the impending trade deadline could create MLB opportunity perhaps earlier than planned for the 21-year-old.
How did last month’s winner fare?
Midway through July, our June winner Nick Dunn received a promotion to Memphis. He earned it by remaining red-hot, batting .432 in his first 11 games of July with Springfield. While the infielder did not perform at the same rates in his Triple-A introduction, an OPS of .857 in his initial 10 games with the Redbirds was still pretty good.
Overall in July between the two stops, Dunn batted a cool .381 (best among finalists) and slugged .607 (second to Winn). His OPS of 1.075 was third among finalists behind new teammates Winn and Palacios.
What is next?
Check back on Wednesday for The Cardinal Nation’s July Pitcher of the Month announcement. The Cardinals organization should also name their own selections of Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
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