St Louis Cardinals Spring Training 2024 Program

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THREE NEW PITCHERS REBUILD REDBIRDS’ ROTATION

By BILL BALLEW

Lance Lynn

Kyle Gibson

Sonny Gray

John Mozeliak knew what needed to be done even before the curtain fell on the 2023 season. The Cardinals president of baseball operations had watched his team’s pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation, struggle due to a variety of reasons over the course of the campaign. If the situation was going to be different in 2024, he would have to navigate the tricky waters of free agency with the skill of the most seasoned ship captains.

Mozeliak proved he was more than up to the challenge. While a handful of teams were focused on the free agency of Shohei Ohtani and the masses were celebrating Thanksgiving, Mozeliak filled three spots in the rotation with veteran pitchers during a six-day span in late November. His efforts resulted in the signings of Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Sonny Gray, a trio that combined for 36 victories and 531 strikeouts last season.

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Lance Lynn from Game 7 of the 2011 World Series

“Lance had a great beginning of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals,” Mozeliak said. “He went away in free agency, but we’ve brought him back and are hoping to catch some of that magic with him again.”

Lynn reached the major leagues in June 2011 and played a key role for a Cardinals team that won the World Series.

After missing time with an oblique injury, he returned to make 10 relief appearances in the postseason, going 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings. All-Star honors followed in 2012 when Lynn won a career-high 18 games and ranked third in the National League with an average of 9.20 strikeouts per nine innings. He helped guide St. Louis to the World Series once again in 2013 with a 15-10 record and a 3.97 ERA prior to matching his won-lost record in 2014 but lowering his ERA to 2.74, good for ninth in the NL. The righthander added another solid showing in 2015 when he allowed two runs or fewer in 21 of his 31 starts and notched a 12-11 record with a 3.03 ERA. While ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow cost Lynn the entire 2016 season, he bounced back the following campaign to tie for first in the NL with 33 starts and rank sixth in opponent’s batting average (.223) and seventh in ERA (3.43) while posting an 11-8 record.

“You think back to 2023—and we’ve unpacked it a hundred different ways—we knew it didn’t go well,” Mozeliak said.

“We tried to figure out where we could improve, and the rotation was really glaring to us. When we were looking at the trade market and the free agent market, we identified guys that understood what it’s like to go pole to pole and understand what it’s like to take the ball. And from a cultural standpoint, all three of these guys will be a great asset in our clubhouse.”

One of the two hurlers signed on November 21 is a familiar face. Lynn joined the professional ranks in 2008 when the Cardinals drafted the righthander in the first round out of the University of Mississippi. He made it to St. Louis in 2011 and pitched seven seasons with the Redbirds, posting a 72-47 record with a 3.38 ERA and 919 strikeouts in 977 2/3 innings.

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A free agent for the first time in his career, Lynn signed with Minnesota just prior to the start of the 2018 season and posted a combined 10-10 record with a 4.77 ERA while dividing his time between the Twins and Yankees. He spent the next two seasons with Texas and finished fifth in Cy Young Award balloting in 2019 and sixth in 2020 while going 22-14 with a 3.57 ERA as a Ranger. Lynn joined the White Sox in 2021 and garnered the second All-Star recognition of his career while posting an 11-6 mark with a 2.69 ERA in 28 outings. He added an 8-7 record with a 3.99 ERA in 2022 prior to splitting the 2023 slate between Chicago and Los Angeles and winning 13 games. Dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline, Lynn was 7-2 in 11 starts with Los Angeles and allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his outings.

In 12 major league seasons, Lynn ranks seventh among active pitchers in wins with a 136-95 record, eighth with 317 starts and 1,889 strikeouts, and ninth with 1,906 strikeouts.

His .243 opponent batting average is good for 10th among active starters and his 3.74 ERA ranks 12th. Lynn, who is second all-time in Cardinals’ postseason appearances with 24, is 11th in St. Louis annals with 919 strikeouts. He also has thrown 200 or more innings on three occasions in his career, a fact that was not lost upon Mozeliak prior to signing the veteran pitcher.

“Lance brings a veteran mindset, built on durability, experience, and his ability to work a high volume of innings,” Mozeliak said. “His addition is an important piece as we continue assembling our rotation and roster for next season.”

Lynn signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2025, which is the same arrangement the Cardinals have with Gibson, who helped lead Baltimore to the American League East Division title last season. The owner of a 15-9 record with a 4.73 ERA, the righthander tied for first in the AL with 33 starts, tied for third in wins, ranked sixth with 192 innings pitched, and tied for 10th with 17 quality starts.

An 11-year veteran in the major leagues, Gibson’s 15 wins and 33 starts represent his career-highs.

“Like Lance, Kyle has shown the ability to eat innings,” Mozeliak said. “He also will be a great mentor and leader in our clubhouse.”

Gibson owns a career record of 104-100 with a 4.54 ERA and 1,359 strikeouts in 1,696 innings. A starter for 294 of his 300 contests in the major leagues, the righthander pitched for Minnesota, Texas, and Philadelphia prior to spending last season with Baltimore. Drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2009 out of the University of Missouri, he went 67-68 in seven seasons with Minnesota prior to signing as a free agent with the Rangers in 2020.

He was sent to the Phillies at the trading deadline in 2021 after earning his first All-Star recognition earlier in the campaign. In addition to making four of career postseason appearances (all of which have come in the last two years), Gibson has won 10 or more games eight times, made at least 29 starts in nine of the last 10 campaigns, and is one of four active pitchers with 100 or more strikeouts in nine of the last 10 seasons, joining Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, and Max Scherzer.

Aside from his baseball prowess, Gibson is an active member in the community. He is a three-time Roberto Clemente Award nominee and was the recipient of the 2017 Carl R. Pohlad Community Service Award. The pitcher also serves as the vice president of former Cardinal pitcher Adam Wainwright’s Big League Impact charitable foundation.

The addition of Gibson and Lynn was bolstered even more on November 27 when the Cardinals signed Gray, who entered free agency as one of the market’s most coveted pitchers. Gray inked a three-year deal that includes a club option for 2027. And not unlike Gibson and Lynn, Gray helped guide his previous employer to the postseason last year. In fact, he was the AL Cy Young Award runner-up to New York’s Gerrit Cole after ranking second on the junior

circuit with a 2.79 ERA while notching an 8-8 record with 183 strikeouts in 184 innings and 32 starts for AL Central Division champion Minnesota. Gray also displayed his ability to keep the baseball in the ballpark, allowing only eight home runs for a major league-best 0.39 homers per nine innings ratio, the lowest mark by any starting pitcher in a single season with 180 or more innings pitched since 2013.

“Like our recent free-agent additions, Sonny is a pitcher that can be counted on to provide innings depth, veteran major league experience, and most importantly, he had a strong desire to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals,” Mozeliak said.

Gray echoed Mozeliak’s comment after signing by saying St. Louis was one of the primary spots he and his family had circled when the free agent process began. He added that situations rarely come together as hoped but is thrilled that the pieces to the puzzle fell into place as fast as they did with the Cardinals.

“I’m very excited about being a Cardinal,” Gray said. “St. Louis is a very easy place to live, a good place for families.

And everyone knows about St. Louis and the Cardinals and the culture and the organization and the winning tradition.

All those things were very important to us in the process and for it all to come about is amazing.”

A three-time All-Star who has made six postseason starts, Gray was a first-round pick of the A’s in 2011. He reached the major leagues two years later and toiled with Oakland prior to being traded to the Yankees in 2017. The righthander proceed to spend three seasons with the Reds and the last two with the Twins. In 11 big league seasons, he owns a 98-85 record with a 3.47 ERA over 270 career starts and nine relief appearances. In addition to his runner-up spot in the AL Cy Young Award balloting last season, Gray placed third in the AL in 2015 and seventh in the NL in 2019 for the same recognition. He ranks seventh among active pitchers with a 3.47 ERA and .230 opponent’s batting average, 10th with a 1.20 WHIP, 18th with 1,571 innings pitched, and 20th with 1,521 strikeouts and a .536 winning percentage.

Gray, Gibson, and Lynn will join Miles Mikolas in the St. Louis rotation, which will give the Cardinals four of the top 25 hurlers in innings pitched from 2023. Should that quartet continue to produce in a similar fashion this season, chances are good that St. Louis will return to a more familiar spot in the standings by competing for the NL Central Division championship and a postseason run in October.

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Bill White

Jim Edmonds

SPRING TRAINING CAN OFFER ITS SHARE OF SURPRISES

By BILL BALLEW

Chris Carpenter Contrary to popular belief, rare are the times when unknown players emerge from out of nowhere during spring training to earn a spot on the big league roster. Two of the biggest fairy tale-type stories involve outfielder Mickey Mantle with the New York Yankees in Phoenix in 1951 and a quarter-century later when pitcher Mark Fidrych caught Detroit by storm by earning a job with the Tigers in Lakeland.

Cardinals fans may remember an equally extraordinary situation that unfolded in Jupiter in 2001 when a 21-year-old player who went by the first name of Jose at the time amazed St. Louis general manager Walt Jocketty and manager Tony La Russa with his ability to make consistently hard contact at the plate. This youngster entered camp having been drafted the previous year in the 13th round out of Maple Wood Community College and his professional experience consisted of 133 games split between the Midwest, Carolina, and Pacific Coast leagues. Yet every time this right-handed hitter received

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Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols In 1959, the Cardinals were in midst of their spring training run in St. Petersburg that extended for more than a half-century. Hoping to find a long-term presence in the everyday lineup, on March 25, 1959, St. Louis general manager Bing Devine sent pitchers Sam Jones and Don Choate to the San Francisco Giants for first baseman Bill White and infielder Ray Jablonski. Jones and White were the primary pieces to the deal, and more than a few followers of the Redbirds wondered what Devine was thinking. After all, Jones was the Cardinals’ best pitcher who was coming off a 1958 performance that saw him rank fourth in the major leagues with a 2.88 ERA and pace the circuit with 255 strikeouts. White, meanwhile, had missed the entire 1957 season and most of 1958 while serving in the Army. His big league experience consisted of 164 games, during which he batted .255 with 23 home runs and 63 RBIs.

an opportunity with the big league club he had success, posting a .351 batting average that included eight of his first 12 hits going for extra bases.

Given his inexperience, the young man was assigned to minor league camp despite hitting a home run in the waning days of spring training. That scenario changed, however, when veteran Bobby Bonilla, the Cardinals’ projected left fielder, suffered a pulled left hamstring. After weighing their options, Jocketty and La Russa decided the “phenom” had done everything to deserve the first shot to fill Bonilla’s shoes.

It did not take long for the player soon to be known as Albert Pujols to make a name for himself. He batted at a .370 clip during the first month of the 2001 season, which proved to be a harbinger for one of the most remarkable debut campaigns in major league annals. In 161 games, Pujols put together a slash line of .329/.403/.610 with a team-best 112 runs scored, 47 doubles, 37 home runs, and 130 RBIs. That performance earned Pujols unanimous National League Rookie of Year accolades, a fourth-place finish in the NL Most Valuable Player Award balloting, a spot on the All-Star team, and his first of six Silver Slugger Awards.

Every team enters spring training with designs of how its time in Florida or Arizona will unfold in preparation for the upcoming campaign. Yet even the best laid plans can result in change, many of which—like Pujols in 2001—are the stuff of legend. Others may occur due to opportunity. Most deals of any consequence take place during the offseason or around the mid-season trading deadline, although spring training can on occasion lead to the acquisition of a key component who adds more notches to the win column.

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The 33-year-old Jones continued to pitch well with the Giants, going 21-15 with a 2.83 ERA in his first season by the Bay and 47-37 with a 3.30 ERA in 126 games with San Francisco that continued through the 1961 season. White, meanwhile, proved to be one of the club’s most consistent and productive players during his seven seasons with St. Louis.

In 1,064 games as a member of the Cardinals, White batted .299/.358/.475 with 140 home runs and 627 RBIs. He debuted with St. Louis as a left fielder and batted .302 with 12 home runs and 72 RBIs in 1959. White moved to first base in 1960 prior to hitting at least 20 homers for the first of five consecutive season, beginning in 1961. He batted a career-high .324 while reaching the century mark in RBIs for the first of three straight seasons in 1962. After attaining a career-high 27 home runs and 109 RBIs while batting .304 in 1963, he finished third in NL MVP balloting in 1964 when his .303 batting average, 21 home runs and 102 RBIs played a significant role in the Cardinals winning the World Series.

Throughout his tenure with the Redbirds, White was one of the most prominent members of the team, both in the clubhouse and on the field, while collecting five All-Star recognitions and six Gold Glove Awards. He was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2020.

Another impactful trade involving the Redbirds that occurred during spring training was executed in 2000, during the team’s third year in Jupiter. St. Louis had struggled in center field since Ray Lankford underwent knee surgery after the 1998 campaign. Unsatisfied with his in-house options during the first four weeks of camp, Jocketty improved the situation markedly on March 23, 2000, when St. Louis traded second baseman Adam Kennedy and pitcher Kent Bottenfield to the Angels for Jim Edmonds.

One of the premier all-around players around the turn of the century, Edmonds made an immediate impact by hitting 42 home runs and driving in 108 runs while earning his first of seven Gold Glove Awards as a member of the Cardinals.

He posted a slash line of .295/.411/.593 with an OPS+ of 147 to help St. Louis win the NL Central Division with a 95-67 record and sweep the Braves in three games during the NL Division Series.

Edmonds continued to produce at the plate while making amazing plays in the middle garden a common occurrence at Busch Stadium. In eight seasons with the Cardinals, Edmonds accumulated a 37.9 WAR and established himself as one of the best defensive center fielders in team history.

His presence in the lineup helped lead to five NL Central Division titles, six postseason appearances, two World Series, and a world championship in 2006. In 64 postseason contests, he batted .274/.361/.513 with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs. His contributions to the organization were recognized in 2014 when Edmonds was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame.

Not all happenings in spring training are not as positive as the acquisitions of Edmonds and White or the emergence of Pujols. As camp opened in 2012, the Cardinals were coming off a World Series title thanks in part to the pitching of Chris Carpenter. The righthander had battled through some ailments over the course of season, registering an 11-9 record and a 3.45 ERA during the regular season prior to posting a 4-0 mark in six postseason starts.

Deemed one of the premier big-game hurlers in St. Louis history, Carpenter also had been one of the game’s best pitchers in the two years prior. He placed second in the NL Cy Young Award balloting in 2009 after going 17-4 with a league-best 2.24 ERA. In 2010 he was dominant once again, notching a 16-9 mark with a 3.22 ERA, which served as a precursor to his October showing in 2011.

Unfortunately for Carpenter and the Cardinals, the 2011 postseason proved to be his last hurrah at the major league level. The pitcher experienced a bulging disk in his neck as well as pain in his shoulder during spring training in 2012 and returned to St. Louis for medical evaluations prior to the team breaking camp in Jupiter. Carpenter underwent surgery in July to treat thoracic outlet syndrome yet returned to the mound for three starts over the final two weeks of the campaign. He recorded a respectable 3.71 ERA and proceeded to make three starts in the playoffs, including a victory over Washington in the NL Division Series. Despite his desire to pitch and rehabilitate the injuries that were becoming chronic, Carpenter missed the entire 2013 season before he reluctantly announced his decision to retire.

As always, only time will tell what unfolds for the Redbirds this year in Jupiter as the team works its way to Opening Day. But the game as well as life can be summed by the late Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar, who was quoted as saying, “There is one word in America that says it all, and that one word is, ‘You never know.’”

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CARDINALS TO HOST TWO SPRING “BREAKOUT” GAMES IN 2024 Edwin Nunez

Max Rajcic

Victor Scott II

By BILL BALLEW

As the winter meetings in Nashville drew to a close, Major League Baseball gave fans yet another reason to look forward to spring training. Debuting this year, a new four-day event called Spring Breakout will showcase the top up-and-coming players and current standouts in Minor League Baseball by pitting the top prospects in seven-inning games between organizations.

Every Major League team will field a team of top prospects against another club’s top prospects. Adding to the excitement on the field will be in-park fan engagement opportunities centered on the young players.

“Spring Breakout will provide a new opportunity to showcase the future stars of the game as they continue on their journey to the Major Leagues,” Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred said in the press release announcing the event. “Our fans will get unique opportunities to meet our best prospects, get autographs, and see the next generation of Major Leaguers up close. We are thrilled that Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, and all of our clubs are working closer than ever to grow the game and to shine a brighter light on our future All-Stars.”

The games will consist of each organization’s top 20-25 prospects from all levels of Minor League Baseball and will be played between Thursday, March 14 and Sunday, March 17. Twenty-eight clubs are scheduled

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Tekoah Roby

Cooper Hjerpe

to play one Spring Breakout exhibition game, while one team in both Florida and Arizona will compete in two games to ensure the participation of all 30 clubs. While Oakland will take the field twice in the Cactus League, Cardinals fans are in for a treat with a pair of contests featuring St. Louis’ prospects being played at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

The Cardinals’ top prospects will face the Marlins’ top minor leaguers in Jupiter on Friday, March 15, at 2:05 p.m.

That contest will be followed at 6:05 p.m. when the St. Louis and Miami major league clubs conclude the traditional doubleheader. Two days later, on Sunday, March 17, the Cardinals’ prospects will host the up-and-coming Astros at 10:05 a.m. at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The two major league teams will then meet at 1:05 p.m. in another traditional doubleheader.

The addition of Spring Breakout creates a trifecta on the baseball calendar that celebrates the game’s future stars. Top prospects are also showcased in the All-Star Futures Game during All-Star Week in July as well as in the Arizona Fall League, which is held in October and November. These events not only give the young players valuable experience but also helps create added interest among many of the most dedicated fans of the game.

Members of Redbird Nation who follow the AFL are acquainted with a handful of St. Louis prospects who participated in Arizona Fall League action this fall. This group includes outfielder Victor Scott II, catcher Jimmy Crooks, and pitchers Tekoah Roby, Cooper Hjerpe, and Edwin Nunez. Scott, Roby, Hjerpe, and Scott played in the

AFL Fall Stars Game, and Scott ranked second on the circuit with 18 stolen bases in 21 attempts.

Scott was selected by the Cardinals in the fifth-round of the 2022 draft out of West Virginia University. Considered one of the fastest players in professional baseball, he tied for the minor league lead last season with 94 steals while splitting his time between Advanced A Peoria and Double-A Springfield. Scott received All-Star recognition in the Midwest League and has the overall tools to be a traditional leadoff hitter who covers center field from gap to gap. Crooks’ playing time in Arizona was limited to 43 at-bats after a stellar showing in the MWL, where he earned All-Star honors and was named Peoria’s Player of the Year. A fourth-round pick in 2022 out of the University of Oklahoma, Crooks batted .271 with 13 home runs and 73 RBIs in his first full professional campaign.

Roby had 18 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings in Arizona after missing an extended stretch of last season with a shoulder injury. Acquired from Texas in the Jordan Montgomery deal at the trade deadline, Roby was a third-round draft pick of the Rangers in 2020 who features a four-pitch repertoire.

Hjerpe tossed 8 1/3 innings of relief for Scottsdale in the AFL after he missed three months of last season with due to an elbow set-back. Hjerpe, who was selected out of Oregon State University as St. Louis’ first-round pick in 2022, possesses an impressive fastball-slider combination from the left side. Nunez, a righthander who signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2020, saved two games in eight appearances in the AFL. Possessing a power fastball with outstanding spin on his breaking ball, he split the 2023 regular season between Class A Palm Beach and Peoria,

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Catcher Jimmy Crooks The Cardinals have a plethora of pitchers ranked among their top 10 prospects. In addition to the previously mentioned Hence, Hjerpe and Roby, righthanders Gordon Graceffo, Sem Robberse, and Michael McGreevy are building impressive resumes as they work their way to the major leagues. Graceffo was a fifth-round draft in 2021 out of Villanova University who went a combined 10-6 with a 2.97 ERA between Peoria and Springfield in 2022 and 4-3 with a 5.23 ERA at Memphis last year. A native of the Netherlands, Robberse was acquired from Toronto last July in the Jordan Hicks trade and had a 2-1 record with a 4.84 ERA in eight games at Memphis following the deal.

McGreevy joined the Cardinals in 2021 as a first-round draft pick out of UC Santa Barbara. In 27 starts last season between Springfield and Memphis, the righthander went 13-6 with a 4.12 ERA. going a combined 6-4 with a 3.39 ERA and 10 saves in 41 outings.

Scott played in the 2023 Futures Game, joining another top Cardinals prospect, Tink Hence, in Seattle. The 63rd overall pick in the 2020 draft, Hence has been handled conservatively in the St. Louis farm system in order to manage his workload. He possesses one of the strongest right arms in the organization that produces a fastball that reaches the upper 90s, a sharp curveball that generates strikeouts, and a mid-80s changeup that keeps hitters offbalance. Hence was selected as the FSL Pitcher of the Year in 2022 and had a combined record of 4-6 with a 4.31 ERA between stops at Peoria and Springfield last season.

Middle infielder Masyn Winn also has experience in the Futures Game. He joined current major leaguer Jordan Walker in the 2022 contest and established a record with a 100.5 mph throw from shortstop. Ranked as the Cardinals’ top prospect and the 30th overall prospect by MLBPipeline upon entering this season, Winn is projected to compete for a spot on the major league roster this spring. Tabbed as the top prospect in the International League last year while hitting .288/.359/.833 with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs and 17 steals, Winn also played in 37 games for the Cardinals in 2023 and had two doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs in 122 at-bats.

Outfielder Chase Davis may be a season or two from reaching St. Louis, but the University of Arizona product has already impressed after being drafted in the first round with the 23rd overall pick in 2023. Davis has shown outstanding power from the left side of the plate that produced 39 home runs over his final two seasons in college. He played in 34 games last season at Palm Beach after signing with the Cardinals and drove in 23 runs during his first taste of pro ball.

Several other hurlers are emerging to further demonstrate the impressive depth of pitching in the St. Louis farm system. The righthanders include Ian Bedell, who is the reigning MWL Pitcher of the Year after posting a 2.44 ERA in 27 games with Peoria, and Max Rajcic, who was named to the FSL All-Star team after he went 6-3 with a 1.89 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 12 games with Palm Beach. Rajcic was the named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2023. Among the lefthanders attracting attention is Pete Hansen. A third-round draft pick in 2022 from the University of Texas, Hansen was a FSL All-Star last summer, when he went 11-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 126 strikeouts.

On a similar note, other position players making steady progress and holding solid promise include infielders Thomas Saggese and Cesar Prieto, catcher Leonardo Bernal, and outfielders Travis Honeyman and Won-Bin Cho. Another part of the Montgomery deal with the Rangers, Saggese was named the Texas League MVP in 2023 after hitting .318 with an OPS of .930, 25 home runs and 107 RBIs. The Cuban-born Prieto came to the Cardinals from the Baltimore organization in the Jack Flaherty deal last August and hit .270/.314/.387 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 38 outings with Memphis. Bernal is a promising 20-year-old receiver from Panama who has hit a combined .262 with 10 home runs and 73 RBIs over the past two years with Palm Beach. Honeyman was a third-round pick and the 90th overall selection in 2023 out of Boston College.

Cho signed out of South Korea and is a 20-year-old who batted .270/.376/.389 with seven homers and 52 RBIs for Palm Beach in 2023.

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By: Ryer Gardenswartz

The newest dynamic duo in St. Louis might be an odd sight at first glance. The 6-foot-6, 245 pound Jordan Walker and the 5-foot-11, 180 pound Masyn Winn might not physically see eye-to-eye, but they’re certainly on the same page.

The tandem’s tight-knit relationship continues to grow stronger as the 21-year-olds are poised to play major roles for the Cardinals in 2024.

Both made their Major League debuts last season, with Walker making the Opening Day roster following an exciting Spring Training in Jupiter and Winn getting the call in August. The stretch of baseball before Winn arrived in St. Louis has been the longest the tandem’s been separated since joining the Cardinals organization.

The duo instantly clicked on and off the field following the 2020 draft. The Cardinals selected Walker and Winn, both straight out of high school, with their first two picks. After navigating the pandemic, both found themselves settled into the 2021 Opening Day lineup with the Palm Beach Cardinals. Sharing the left side of the infield, it truly felt like they were glued at the hip.

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For Walker, his strength and power were on display immediately. The then 18-year-old sent the first professional pitch he ever saw over the left field wall at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium for a monster solo homer against the Daytona Tortugas. Just 27 games into his Palm Beach stint, the Georgia native was already moving up within the Cardinals organization. As a Beach Bird, Walker slashed an eye-popping .374/.475/.687 with six home runs and 21 RBIs. For Winn, fans in Palm Beach County were instantly amazed at his arm strength and defensive abilities. Once thought to be a twoway player, the middle infielder showcases his arm strength on every single throw across the diamond, including the record breaking 100.4 MPH throw in the 2022 Futures Game. The Texas native played 61 games for Palm Beach before reuniting with Walker in High-A affiliate Peoria Chiefs.

As they moved up through the ranks, each level presented new challenges and more jaw-dropping moments from the pair. With shared stops at High-A Peoria, Double-A Springfield, Triple-A Memphis, and eventually Busch Stadium, their relationship never wavered. Whether it was sharing apartments, advice, or laughs they continued to lean on each other.

Now, as the 2024 season comes closer every day, their story comes full circle. After showing both offensive and defensive flashes late last season, both Winn and Walker are expecting to be key contributors to a revamped Cardinals team for the upcoming campaign. Of course, their newest chapter begins where it once started, on the backfields here at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

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