By: J.P. Schwartz

@Jaypers413 on Twitter

JP’s FreedomCardboard Blog



2012 St Louis Cardinals Top 15 Prospect Rankings

Every year at this time I like to rank each team’s top prospects. My criteria is based upon both past performance and future potential to his parent team. This is my ranking of the 2012 St Louis Cardinals Top Prospects. If you have any questions about my rankings, feel free to shoot me a message on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify, a prospect must have fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings in MLB

#1 Shelby Miller RHP

Born: 10/10/1990

Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: 11-6, 2.77ERA, 139.2IP, 53BB, 170K

#2 Carlos Martinez RHP

Born: 9/21/1991

Highest Level Reached: High-A Palm Beach Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: 6-5, 3.93ERA, 84.2IP, 44BB, 98K, .238BAA

#3 Zack Cox 3B

Born: 5/9/1989

Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: .306, 27(2B), 13HR, 68RBI

#4 Tyrell Jenkins RHP

Born: 7/20/1992

Highest Level Reached: Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: 4-2, 3.86ERA, 56IP, 13BB, 55K, .296BAA

#5 Kolten Wong 2B

Born: 10/10/1990

Highest Level Reached: Low-A Quad Cities River Bandits

2011 Combined Stats: .335, 15(2B), 2(3B), 5HR, 25RBI, 9SB (1st Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#6 Oscar Taveras OF

Born: 6/19/1992

Highest Level Reached: Low-A Quad Cities River Bandits

2011 Combined Stats: .386, 27(2B), 5(3B), 8HR, 62RBI

#7 Matt Adams 1B

Born: 8/31/1988

Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: .300, 23(2B), 2(3B), 32HR, 101RBI

#8 Charlie Tilson OF

Born: 12/2/1992

Highest Level Reached: Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: .333 (9 hits in 27 at-bats), 2(2B), 5RBI (2nd Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#9 Eduardo Sanchez RHP

Born: 2/16/1989

Highest Level Reached: MLB St Louis Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 1-1, 2.45ERA, 7.1IP, 2BB, 6K, .125BAA

MAJORS: 3-1, 1.80ERA, 5 Saves, 30IP, 16BB, 35K, .144BAA

#10 Lance Lynn RHP

Born: 5/12/1987

Highest Level Reached: MLB St Louis Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 7-3, 3.84ERA, 75IP, 25BB, 64K, .279BAA

MAJORS: 1-1, 3.12ERA, 34.2IP, 11BB, 40K, .203BAA

#11 Trevor Rosenthal RHP

Born: 5/29/1990

Highest Level Reached: Low-A Quad Cities River Bandits

2011 Combined Stats: 7-7, 4.11ERA, 120.1IP, 39BB, 133K, .247BAA

#12 John Gast LHP

Born: 2/16/1989

Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: 9-8, 4.02ERA, 161.1IP, 61BB, 113K, .269BAA

#13 Jordan Swagerty RHP

Born: 7/14/1989

Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: 5-3, 1.83ERA, 8 Saves, 93.2IP, 23BB, 89K, .204BAA

#14 Joe Kelly RHP

Born: 6/9/1988

Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: 11-6, 3.68ERA, 132IP, 59BB, 113K, .258BAA

#15 Maikel Cleto RHP

Born: 5/1/1989

Highest Level Reached: MLB St Louis Cardinals

2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 8-6, 3.81ERA, 134.2IP, 65BB, 135K, .234BAA

MAJORS: 0-0, 12.46ERA, 4.1IP, 4BB, 6K, .333BAA

Disclaimer – I did not attend any minor league games this year, nor do I claim to have any scouting experience. These lists are the product of my own research of statistics and online scouting reports.