photo: Won-Bin Cho (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The Cardinal Nation’s choice as the top hitter in the St. Louis Cardinals system during May is Peoria outfielder Won-Bin Cho, who edged eight other finalists. The 22-year-old led in OPS, slugging, isolated power, stolen bases, extra base hits (tied) and RBI (tied). Cho was second in wRC+ and third in walk rate.
This article details the selection of The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Month. Considered were offensive results during May across the entire St. Louis Cardinals system. The winner as well as a group of eight runners-up are highlighted.
Starting with the usual 60 plate appearances requirement, a total of 48 hitters in the system qualified. Nine further separated themselves with OPSes above .950, including four over 1.000.
Our May winner is Peoria outfielder Won-Bin Cho.
Demographics
First-place Triple-A Memphis led the finalist list with four, while last-place Double-A Springfield was shut out for the second consecutive month. The two Class-A squads, Peoria and Palm Beach, had two each, with one finalist from the rookie level Florida Complex League.
The finalist position mix is made up of four infielders, four outfielders and one catcher.
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.
We will take two views of the data. The first look will be basic stats, followed by rate stats. Names are listed in the first table in descending OPS order and in the second, by wRC+, Weighted Runs Created Plus.
Basic stats
| May hitter | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Won-Bin Cho | Peo | 24 | 99 | 83 | 16 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 15 | 29 | 10 | 3 | 0.325 | 0.434 | 0.663 | 1.097 |
| Michael Dattalo | PB/FCL | 18 | 79 | 70 | 10 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0.429 | 0.481 | 0.614 | 1.095 |
| Sebastian Dos Santos | FCL | 19 | 78 | 60 | 17 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 0.300 | 0.462 | 0.633 | 1.095 |
| Nelson Velázquez | Mem | 18 | 79 | 65 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 11 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0.308 | 0.418 | 0.600 | 1.018 |
| Jimmy Crooks | Mem | 16 | 77 | 59 | 17 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0.271 | 0.442 | 0.576 | 1.018 |
| Yordalin Peña | PB | 21 | 88 | 77 | 15 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 8 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 0.338 | 0.414 | 0.571 | 0.985 |
| Joshua Báez | Mem | 25 | 118 | 106 | 22 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 9 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 0.274 | 0.347 | 0.632 | 0.980 |
| Blaze Jordan | Mem | 24 | 111 | 100 | 19 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.350 | 0.414 | 0.540 | 0.954 |
| Jack Gurevitch | Peo/PB | 24 | 110 | 94 | 15 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 13 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0.298 | 0.400 | 0.553 | 0.953 |
In OPS, Cho, Michael Dattalo and Sebastian Dos Santos are closely bunched on top at 1.097 and 1.095. The next group is made up of Memphis (now St. Louis) teammates Nelson Velazquez and Jimmy Crooks.
Extra-base hit leaders were Cho and Memphis outfielder Joshua Baez with 16. Next was Memphis corner infielder Blaze Jordan at 13.
Jordan was tops in doubles (10), Cho and Baez co-led in triples (two) and Baez was first in home runs (10).
In slugging, Cho logged the May system lead at .663. Next were Dos Santos and Baez at .633 and .632, respectively.
Six finalists hit over .300 for the month with Dattalo standing highest at an amazing .425. However, much of the third baseman’s month was spent rehabbing in the FCL, below his appropriate level of play. For that reason, Dattalo will not be our winner. Next was Jordan at .350.
Eight of the nine posted an OBP of .400 or better with Baez (.343) far below the group. Dattalo was the leader at .481, with Dos Santos next at .462.
The .300/.400/.500 line was not a high bar for this group in May, with five finalists exceeding it.
None of the finalists had more walks than strikeouts, though Jordan (-1), Dattalo (-2) and Crooks (-3) were closest.
Cho and Baez tied for the most May RBIs with 24 each.
Cho topped the system in stolen bases with 10, followed by Dos Santos and Palm Beach’s Yordalin Peña with eight each.
Advanced stats
| May hitter | Tm | Age | PA | BB% | K% | ISO | BABIP | wRC+ |
| Michael Dattalo | PB/FCL | 22 | 79 | 7.6% | 10.1% | 0.186 | 0.459 | 191 |
| Won-Bin Cho | Peo | 22 | 99 | 15.2% | 29.3% | 0.337 | 0.449 | 172 |
| Yordalin Peña | PB | 21 | 88 | 9.1% | 23.9% | 0.234 | 0.423 | 166 |
| Sebastian Dos Santos | FCL | 18 | 78 | 19.2% | 25.6% | 0.333 | 0.389 | 165 |
| Jimmy Crooks | Mem | 24 | 77 | 19.5% | 23.4% | 0.305 | 0.306 | 163 |
| Nelson Velázquez | Mem | 27 | 79 | 13.9% | 29.1% | 0.292 | 0.395 | 161 |
| Blaze Jordan | Mem | 23 | 111 | 8.1% | 9.0% | 0.190 | 0.368 | 150 |
| Jack Gurevitch | Peo/PB | 22 | 110 | 11.8% | 28.2% | 0.255 | 0.375 | 147 |
| Joshua Báez | Mem | 23 | 118 | 7.6% | 28.8% | 0.358 | 0.306 | 143 |
At 18 years of age, FCL shortstop Dos Santos is our youngest finalist. Next is Peña at 21.
At 27, Velazquez is the other bookend as our oldest finalist.
As we get into additional stats, we see that good fortune in the guise of a very high BABIP (.368 or better) benefited all but two of our finalists. Exceptionally high were Dattalo (.459) and Cho (.459). At a normal .306 were Crooks and Baez.
Crooks and Dos Santos, followed by Cho, stood highest among the finalists in walk rate, with the catcher most exceptional at 19.5%.
On the less positive side, four finalists posted a walk rate of under 10%, with Dattalo and Baez lowest at 7.6%.
Toughest to strike out was Jordan at 9.0%, followed by Dattalo (10.1%).
At the high end of the K spectrum, four finalists came in between 28.2% and 29.3% – Cho, Velazquez, Baez and Jack Gurevitch.
In Isolated Power, ISO, Baez was first at .358, with Cho (.337) and Dos Santos (.333) next.
In weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+), Dattalo was head and shoulders on top (191) with Cho alone at 172. Four others were bunched between 161 and 165.
In summary, Cho led in OPS, slugging, isolated power, stolen bases, extra base hits (tied) and RBI (tied). He was second in wRC+ and third in walk rate.
The most significant concerns are Cho’s very high BABIP and strikeout rate. Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to repeat with a more reasonable BABIP, but his May results speak loudest.
Therefore, Won-Bin Cho receives the honor of The Cardinal Nation’s May Player of the Month.
About the winner
Cho, a left-handed hitting outfielder from Korea, was originally signed by the Cardinals as an international free agent in January 2022. Now 22 years of age, Cho was a top 25-ranked prospect in the system in 2023 through 2025.
However, after following his 2024 OPS of .612 with a .688 mark in 2025, both at Peoria, Cho slid off our top prospect list.
Opening his third year at High-A in 2026, Cho finished his big May with Midwest League Player of the Week honors. Through 43 games this season, Cho is hitting .270 with seven home runs, 35 RBI and a .920 OPS.
How did April’s winners fare in May?
The Cardinals couldn’t decide between Jack Gurevitch and Blaze Jordan as their April Player of the Month across the system. Our choice was Peoria left side infielder Jalin Flores.
Month to month, the 22-year-old Flores dropped over 320 points in OPS, from .961 in April to .638 in May. In 109 plate appearances, the right-handed hitter slashed .225/.275/.363/.638. Still, Flores hit three home runs and drove in 16 in 24 games.
Gurevitch received a mid-May promotion to Peoria. The corner infielder continued to hit well, as his finalist status above outlines. Gurevitch had a May OPS of .953, hit seven home runs and drove in 18 over 24 games.
Jordan also improved in May with a .954 OPS after he posted an .840 mark to open 2026. The corner infielder drove in 15 runs in 24 contests.
What is next?
Next up, look for The Cardinal Nation’s May Pitcher of the Month article, the companion to this one.
Also, the Cardinals organization should name their own selections of May Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
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