Is Masyn Winn the Cardinals’ Shortstop of the Future?

Is Masyn Winn the Cardinals’ Shortstop of the Future?

by | Apr 14, 2024 | THE THREE SPOT

In case you’ve missed it this week, St. Louis Cardinals “shortstop of the future” is starting to get comfortable at the plate. Masyn Winn, living up to his middle name, is off to a “blazing” start to the ‘24 season.

During a tight contest on Friday night, vs. the 2023 NL Champion, Arizona Diamondbacks, Winn calmly drove a four-seam fastball down the right field line for a stand up, RBI Triple. This timely, three-base hit extended the Cards lead to 8-6 in the eighth inning. The Cardinals would go on to The Cardinals went on to win the contest 9-6. On Saturday he went 2-4 with an RBI bringing his average up to .349.

 

Winn has collected 13 hits in 39 At-Bats. His .333 batting average and two triples, lead the team just fourteen games into the season.

 

Last season, the Cardinals called up their highly touted top prospect in mid-August. Winn had several moments last summer where he shined, showing a little pop in the box and exceptional fielding, but it was an overall struggle for him to hit consistently, as he batted .172, with just 21 hits, in 137 plate appearances over 37 games. 

 

The triple in Friday nights’ game was impressive to behold, as you can see the growth in his game. Winn went with the pitch executed to the upper, outside corner, instead of trying to pull it, which shows Winn has been working on his approach at the plate. 

 

Another example of this was Masyn’s RBI hit this past Monday against the Phillies, to tie the game in the ninth as proof of his adjustment this season at the plate. If you’re still not convinced, how about you get it from the source himself as he told MLB.com:

 

“Last year, I probably would have tried to hit a bomb to win it,” Winn said candidly following a night in which he was the only Cardinal with two hits. “We’ve got some other guys in the lineup for [home runs], so for me, I was just trying to put it in play and hope that something good would happen.”

 

Cardinals manager, Oliver Marmol also heaped praise on his young shortstop’s development. 

 

“He’s doing a really nice job of really slowing the game down and not trying to do too much,” Marmol said. “He’s using the whole field and he’s understanding what type of hitter he needs to be. He takes that at-bat there [in the ninth] and it was good for him to come through because that’s something he can build on.”

 

I know what you’re thinking, “it’s only 14 games, pump your brakes”, and I get it!  It’s early, MLB pitchers will make adjustments, yada yada. However, the idea of this kid’s bat catching up to his sensational glove work, is just very exciting for baseball this season. 

The Future Is Now | You Can Check These Melanated Mound Marauders Out Early

The Future Is Now | You Can Check These Melanated Mound Marauders Out Early

by | Jul 1, 2023 | THE THREE SPOT

MLBbro.com is always on the watch for the next Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts or Marcus Stroman to wow us with their superstar abilities.

And the next chance to peek into the future is during the All-Star festivities in Seattle at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on July 8th.

The All-Star Futures Game, which started in 2019 to replace the U.S. vs. The World game, will feature the top minor league players in a National League vs. American League format.

The respective rosters went public earlier this week and were announced on various Major League Baseball media platforms such as MLB Network Radio and MLB TV.

MLBbro and Seattle Mariners Icon, Harold Reynolds who will manage the American League Futures team, discussed the upcoming game on MLB TV.

 

 

Melanated Mound Marauders On Deck 

Here at MLBbro.com, we’ll be keeping a close eye on two pitchers who will be part of the festivities.

J.P. Massey will be representing the Pittsburgh Pirates while Tink Hence puts his talents on display wearing the St. Louis Cardinals colors.

J.P. Massey:

Seven of the players playing in the game have participated in MLB and USA Baseball development programs. MLBbro pitcher J.P. Massey played in the Breakthrough and the DREAM series.

 

Massey dominated the month allowing only two earned runs in 25 innings (0.72 ERA) while tallying 29 strikeouts for Single-A Bradenton. If you stretch his production out over the last two months, J.P. has become one of his team’s best starters with a 2.84 ERA over 44.1 innings with 52 strikeouts.

Working with former MLBbro pitcher, Marvin Freeman, Massey has changed the mechanics in his leg kick while working on five featured pitches… a four seamer, a two seamer, a curveball and a changeup. It’s a mentorship that J.P. is very excited about, he told MLB.com.

“We’re still trying to figure out the ideal repertoire and usage rate each and every outing, but [five pitches] allows me to have something that I can use against hitters,” he said. “ If I see them trying to lean towards one pitch, I can throw something that goes in the other direction. It gives me a lot of versatility while I’m on the mound.”

Couple that with wisdom from current MLBbro players Hunter Greene of the Cincinnati Reds and Triston McKenzie of the Cleveland Guardians and J.P. Massey should use the Futures game as a launching pad.

“I’ve Had My Ups And Downs Throughout My Career” | Pittsburgh Pirates 2022 Draft Pick J.P. Massey Is Establishing Himself In Minors

 

Tink Hence:

This MLBbro is considered one of the biggest prospects for the St. Louis Cardinals… period.

At #63 in the 2020 Draft, Tink Hence is the highest selection out of the state of Arkansas since 2005.

Despite getting the “Byron Buxton” treatment in 2021 and being limited to eight appearances in the Florida Complex League and a pitch limit with Single A Palm Beach, Tink emerged as a superstar when he finally got his chance on the mound.

 

This season, the MLBbro is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and a 46-to-12 strikeout to walk ratio in 11 starts as of Friday (June 30) for the High-A Peoria Chiefs.

Like Massey, Hence has a cache of pitches to showcase in this event. He has a mid-90s fastball, a vicious curve, a changeup and a slider that gives batters three off-speed pitches to figure out in less than two seconds.

Hopefully the Futures game will allow the Cardinals to give this guy more time on the mound to perfect his craft. Right now, that’s the only thing holding him back. MLB.com believes that this guy can be an ace pitcher in the majors based on their review…

“The stuff needs to hold up into the fifth and the sixth innings — and over 100-plus frames overall — before Hence could be considered a potential ace, but the individual pieces are there.”

Check out these two MLBbros in training in the Futures Game on Saturday, July 8th at 7pm EST.

MLBbro Jack Flaherty Is A Cy Young Contender When Healthy | Helps Struggling St. Louis Keep Its Respectability

MLBbro Jack Flaherty Is A Cy Young Contender When Healthy | Helps Struggling St. Louis Keep Its Respectability

by | May 17, 2023 | THE THREE SPOT

The St. Louis Cardinals put on a clinic against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, winning 18-1 against its division rival.

 

Black Jack Flaherty got the start and put together his best performance of the season. Flaherty went seven innings of scoreless baseball and finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts.

 

 

The brother was on point as the game progressed and his team was able to back him up at the plate.

 

This is the type of dominance that we’ve been wanting to see from Flaherty, and we know he can continue to have more outings like this throughout the season.

 

During the start of the game, Flaherty did find himself in a little jam. In the top of the first inning, Flaherty was working on the mound with the bases loaded and one out. But a ground ball double play helped him get out of the inning.

 

After that, the Cardinals erupted on the offensive end, and Flaherty was able to settle in and get into a groove. 

 

“Shutdown inning,” Flaherty said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch regarding what he wanted to accomplish after that first inning. “After they go out there and score three in the bottom of the first – that was something I had not done all year, which is incredibly frustrating. To put together a shutdown right there and then continue to roll after that.”

 

 

This performance from Flaherty is exactly what the Cardinals wanted to see and this could spark a positive turnaround for our MLBbro.

Can we expect more of this from Flaherty throughout the season?

 

Through nine starts this season, Flaherty has a 3-4 record with a 5.24 ERA and 49 strikeouts. In the start on Monday against the Brewers, it was Flaherty’s longest outing of the season, something to take note of especially as the season progresses.

 

If Flaherty can continue to have outings where he’s going anywhere from five to seven innings and is effective, he can have a similar if not better season than the one he had back in 2019.

 

Jack Flaherty Is Back & He’s Money Whenever He Toes The Slab

 

In recent years, Flaherty has been dealing with numerous injuries that allowed him to miss significant time on the field.

 

Now with him being healthy, we are starting to see the 27-year-old on more of a consistent basis.

 

And to be honest, the sky’s the limit for Flaherty. If he can stay healthy, he can become one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.

 

 

As we’ve seen in the past, he has a live arm and does a good job with mixing his off-speed into his pitching sequences.

 

Though the Cardinals are currently in last place in the division, it’s a long season and St. Louis has the team to make a turnaround and compete for a top spot in the division.

 

You can never count out the Cardinals, and Flaherty will play a vital role on the mound for his team throughout the season. Don’t be surprised if you continue to see more performances like the one on Monday from him.

 

“He’s Like The Silent Assassin” | St. Louis Cardinals Top Pitching Prospect Markevian “Tink” Hence Set To Return After Chest Injury

“He’s Like The Silent Assassin” | St. Louis Cardinals Top Pitching Prospect Markevian “Tink” Hence Set To Return After Chest Injury

by | May 11, 2023 | THE THREE SPOT

The St. Louis Cardinals have begun the 2023 MLB season in uncharacteristic fashion at (13-24).

 

The record is the worst in the National League and third worst in all of MLB with only the Oakland Athletics (8-29) and Kansa City Royals (10-27) sporting worst records as of May 10th.

The slow start has rumors swirling about the “Redbirds” possibly trading prized future shortstop Masyn Winn if they can get a quality starting pitcher under team control for a few years.

 

St. Louis Cardinals No.2 Prospect Masyn Winn Goes Yard Twice For First Multi-HR Game | He Says He’d Rather Accumulate Team Victories

 

Tink Hence Is The Future For St. Louis Cardinals Arms 

While that sounds like a possible, they’d much rather wait on future ace Markevian “Tink” Hence to make his appearance either late this season, or as a part of the five-man rotation to begin next season.

 

Hence, the team’s No.3 ranked prospect behind only the aforementioned Wynn (No.2) and Jordan Walker (No.1), is also MLB Pipeline’s No.68 ranked prospect. Those three are looked upon as the nucleus for the Cardinals in the very near future, with Hence manning the team’s pitching staff.

 

The talented hurler was off to a blistering start with this season with High-A Peoria with 7.2 innings and eight strikeouts over starts, when he sustained a chest tightness, forcing him out of the lineup since early April. He’s now slated to return to the mound on Friday.

 

 

 

 

Hence Was Dominant Last Season At Low-A Palm Beach

 

Prior to his current short stint at High-A Peoria, Hence completely overwhelmed hitters at Low-A Palm Beach last season. He produced a stingy 1.38 ERA and an 81:15 (strikeouts to walks rate) over 52 innings last summer.

 

 

Hence’s best pitch is his overpowering fastball that hits 97-98 with regularity but has climbed into the triple-digits as well. But what sets Hence apart is the passion and grit he plays with. Even when the pitches aren’t always hitting the spot, he wants them to, he grinds through it. It’s eerily reminiscent of what former New York Yankees legend and ace C.C. Sabathia would do when he didn’t have his best stuff, and it’s a trait that the great pitchers seem to have. It’s called being a competitor, and that’s what Hence prides himself on.

 

 

Major League Baseball Names MLBbro Pitching Legend CC Sabathia Special Assistant To The Commissioner

 

 

 

During spring training Tink told reporters this about his competitive nature.

 

“First, I’m a competitor. I’m gonna compete regardless if I have this fastball, this off-speed, whatever. Just being able to have a couple plus pitches to go along with the confidence and the mentality I feel like nothing can stop me. Just going out there and trying to get better each game, just figuring out more and more about myself and my pitches,” Hence said.

 

 

“You Certainly See The Velo, Here’s A Guy… Who Touches 100 Occasionally” | Palm Beach Manager Gary Kendall Raves About Markevian “Tink” Hence

 

 

Hence’s Teammates Love His Work Ethic And Competitive Fire

 

Hence was the No.63 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, taken in a youthful and talented haul, along with the aforementioned Walker and Winn. And both of his teammates rave about Hence’s ability.

 

 

“He’s gonna be a problem for hitters for a long time,” Winn said of Hence. “I’ve never gotten the privilege to face him, actually it may be a privilege to that I haven’t gotten to face him. I don’t know if I’d want to. Great dude. One of my best friends for sure. He’s going to be something special to watch.

 

 

Winn’s comments piggybacked Walker’s. The phenom who started his season with an MLB-record 12-game hitting streak before being sent down to the minors for “business reasons,” also spoke highly of the franchise’s future Black Ace.

 

“He’s like the silent assassin. He doesn’t really say much, but he’ll get you with his stuff,” Walker said.

 

As for Hence, he understands the process of getting to the majors and what he needs to do to sustain success. But when you’re always out to top yourself, it makes it much easier to continue to grow and develop into one of the leaders of the Cards pitching staff that he was drafted to be. When he joins MLBbro Jack Flaherty in the rotation, St. Louis will have a Melanated Mound Marauder duo.