If you’re reading this in the future without context, probably unneeded in the present, here is some. In the time between when the vote for Jimmy Crooks went out and this current post, Brendan Donovan was traded for multiple prospects, one of whom may have been included on the top 20 list already if this trade occurred a month ago. We’re going to have a very simple feature so that this doesn’t disrupt the voting. You will vote on Jimmy Crooks versus the newest Cardinal Jurrangelo Cjintje. Before we start, an update on the current rankings:
- JJ Wetherholt
- Liam Doyle
- Rainiel Rodriguez
- Quinn Mathews
- Joshua Baez
- Leonardo Bernal
- Jimmy Crooks (?)
Jurrangelo Cjintje
Cjintje is technically a switch pitcher, but it is very clear from the scouting and the numbers that he is a far better pitcher right-handed. From the right side, Cjintje throws mid-90s and has topped at 99 mph. He has both a cutter and a sweeper, though the sweeper is the better pitch. He also throws an upper-80s change. From his left side, he is effectively a two-pitch pitcher, throwing low 90s with a solid sweeper. Statistically, it wasn’t close. He walked more than he struck out and allowed 7 homers in 21 innings from the left side, but from the right side he had a 5.0 K/BB ratio and only allowed 3 homers in 34.1 IP.
Cjintje was born in the Netherlands, but raised in Curacao. He in fact played in the Little League World Series back in 2016 for Willemstead team to represent Curacao in the Caribbean region. Pitching and playing shortstop, he is believed to be the first player to throw both left and right-handed in a Little League game since 1957. He also played on the Netherlands baseball team in the U-15 Baseball World Cup in 2018. He moved to Miami at 16, was both a switch pitcher and switch hitter for his high school, didn’t sign with Brewers who drafted him in the 18th round, and committed to Mississippi State.
He made Second-Team All-American as a sophomore and was named to the All-South Region first team by the ABCA. He didn’t pitch left-handed for the last month of the season to improve his consistency. With more reps, and because as an infielder he threw right-handed, he both threw harder and had better command from the right side. The Mariners selected him 15th overall in the 2024 draft. Despite being considered kind of raw for a college pitcher, he was sent to High A and finished the year in AA. That is probably where he’ll begin the 2026 season, not because he pitched poorly, but because it was only 7 starts.
High A: 19 G (16 GS), 74.2 IP, 26.4 K% 11.1 BB%, 44.8 GB%, .234 BABIP, 4.58 ERA/5.51 FIP/4.33 xFIP
AA: 7 GS, 33.2 IP, 25.5 K%, 11 BB%, 48.3 GB%, .299 BABIP, 2.67 ERA/3.42 FIP/4.01 xFIP
Scouting (FG): 55/60 Fastball, 50/60 Slider, 50/60 Change, 30/40 Command
Comparable Player Poll
Here’s a fun one. The results of this are going to tell us a lot I think, which are my favorite kind of polls in this section. We have two outfielders, both of whom made the top 20 last year. One of them had a positive year, although I’m not sure how much he raised his stock as a prospect, especially since he’s now in a better system. The other outfielder’s stock is undeniably down, the extent of which – as judged by this crowd – should be revealed in the poll.
Last year’s #7 prospect Chase Davis’s year would probably not be that looked down upon if he were not a 1st round pick. It looked like he would explode this year, but then he had a slightly above average offensive season with the bat. It came with an elevated K rate and no power, but he still managed a 105 wRC+. He was also just 23-years-old. He does play CF, so he could very well be a defense-driven prospect, but unfortunately we don’t know a lot about his defense as hard as it is to judge in the minors.
Meanwhile Travis Honeyman, constantly stepping on rakes and being unable to play, had his first semi-heathy season last year. Perhaps in a bid for maintaining his health, he was left in Low A much too long, just being way too good for the competition. He finished the year in High A and while he did have a 113 wRC+, if you’re worried about Davis’ power, Honeyman hit 1 homer in 228 PAs. In his defense, he got drafted in 2023 and played in 20 total games until the 2025 season.
Both are 24. If Davis repeats, they will both probably be in AA, although I imagine Davis will be promoted quicker at the first sign of good performance. Both were drafted in 2023, about 70 picks apart. Both had little power despite power potential, both played some CF but I couldn’t tell you how good they are there and both stand a good chance of being teammates.
New Add
To give you a peek behind the curtain, I ran Tanner Franklin against two fellow possible additions throughout this feature. In his first, in a very close race, he lost to Ryan Mitchell. Last week, he got more votes than Yhoiker Fajardo. So Ryan Mitchell goes on this vote, Franklin goes on the next, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know when I’ll add Fajardo. You guys very clearly thought Franklin was a better prospect (the vote wasn’t close), so he’ll be added when it looks like Franklin looks like a legitimate candidate.
I was going to add Tai Peete, but there’s just about zero percent chance you guys think he’s a top 10 prospect in the system, and my plan was already in motion on who I would have added before the trade got in the way. He had a 79 wRC+ and a lot of strikeouts. I feel like I know the voting habits well enough to know that he just wouldn’t be picked. He’ll be there soon enough.
Jesus Baez, IF – 21
Stats (High A): 416 PAs, .244/.327/.397, 10.3 BB%, 18.5 K%, .153 ISO, .270 BABIP, 116 wRC+, 121 DRC+
Scouting (FG): 30/45 Hit, 35/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 40/40 Speed, 40/45 Fielding
Baez is an interesting prospect, because some parts of him feel contradictory. Read a scouting report, and you’ll likely read about his bad approach at the plate. Statistically, you’d have no idea he had a bad approach at the plate. He walks plenty and doesn’t strike out a lot. He’s fairly mistake-prone, but that could also just be a function of the fact that he has played professional baseball without being able to legally drink.
Brandon Clarke, 23 – LHP
Stats (Low A): 3 GS, 9.2 IP, 47.2 K%, 5.6 BB%, 68.8 GB%, .125 BABIP, 0.93 ERA/0.98 FIP/1.32 xFIP/3.66 DRA
High A: 11 GS, 28.1 IP, 31.2 K%, 18.1 BB%, 62.5 GB%, .254 BABIP, 5.08 ERA/4.17 FIP/4.74 xFIP/4.75 DRA
Scouting: 60/60 Fastball, 70/80 Slider, 40/50 Change, 30/40 Command
The old trend of a Cardinals pitching prospect was a bad fastball, good secondaries, limited upside. Probably the ideal version of this is Michael McGreevy. When we start thinking of a stereotypical Cardinals pitching prospect now though, it should probably be someone like Clarke. Didn’t throw many innings, huge injury concern, big upside. The Cardinals seem to grow these guys on trees lately, as you’ll see by later players to vote for. His injuries last year were entirely blister-related, which is weird but are also less concerning injuries than the rest of his group has had recently.
Tink Hence, 23 – RHP
Stats (Three levels): 8 G, 21.1 IP, 27.9 K%, 15.1 BB%, 45.8 GB%, .255 BABIP, 2.95 ERA/3.80 FIP/4.18 xFIP, 4.56 DRA
Scouting: 45/45 Fast, 50/55 Slider, 60/70 Change, 45/55 Command
And here we have another example. Hence is probably a little more unique because of his relatively slight frame – even when he wasn’t getting injured, there was reliever risk. But just because Hence has been around for a while doesn’t mean he’s old yet – he’s the same age as Clarke. And Hence has already had a fantastic season at AA – if he’s healthy for most of this season, I have no doubt most of it will be in AAA. He might start the year in AA just for proof of concept, but he pitched far too good in 2024 to not think he’s ready for AAA. Unless his stuff has diminished because of the injuries.
Ixan Henderson, 24 – LHP
Stats (AA): 25 GS, 132 IP, 25.2 K%, 9.6 BB%, 37.1 GB%, .278 BABIP, 2.59 ERA/3.16 FIP/4.00 xFIP/4.51 DRA
Scouting: 50/60 Fastball, 45/50 Slider, 30/40 Change, 40/45 Cutter, 40/50 Command
Shoutout to Teddy Rugby, who pointed out that Jimmy Crooks’ “problem” as a prospect is that he’s boring. With prospects, it’s all about upside and loud tools. A good to great defensive catcher with a good enough bat is just not exciting. I’m making this comparison, because I think Henderson might be the pitching equivalent. It might be hard to vote for a Henderson when you see the big stuff of a Clarke or Hence or
Cooper Hjerpe, 25 – LHP
Didn’t pitch
Scouting: 55/55 Fastball, 55/60 Slider, 50/50 Change, 45/50 Cutter, 45/50 Command
Seriously, we very quickly went from having a very boring stereotypical Cardinals pitching prospect to having a top 20 list littered with high variance, high risk pitching prospects. I think one could even argue Liam Doyle fits this a little: he’d be higher in the top 100 if he weren’t considered a little bit risky. If Clarke had the least concerning injuries, Hjerpe might be on the exact opposite side. Yes, I know he’s not the only who had Tommy John, however he is the only one who has maxed out at 41 innings.
Brycen Mautz, 24 – LHP
Stats (AA): 25 GS, 114.2 IP, 28.6 K%, 7.1 BB%. 41.2 GB%, .286 BABIP, 2.98 ERA/3.58 FIP/3.20 xFIP/4.54 DRA
Scouting: 45/45 Fastball, 55/55 Slider, 40/45 Curve, 35/40 Change, 45/55 Command
2026 will prove to be an important year for Mautz. I feel like we’ve seen a few of the underwhelming scouting starters who nonetheless manage to pitch well reach AAA and just hit a roadblock. I will say that usually that type of pitcher doesn’t strike out 28.6% of batters in AA however. That gives me more hope that he either has better stuff than what the scouting says or that he’s better at utilizing and knowing his stuff than pitchers in the past. Either way, it’s hard to argue with his results.
Ryan Mitchell, 19 – OF
I do not have stats to share with you – I’m sure I can find high school stats, but they aren’t a lot of use on this kind of list. It doesn’t appear Fangraphs has given him scouting grades, I can’t find MLB Pipeline (and I don’t like how they give grades anyway, too high generally). I have access to Baseball Prospectus’ top 20, and while they don’t give Mitchell a scouting grade, I thought just sharing their blurb would suffice:
“Mitchell, a toolsy overslot second-rounder, didn’t play after the draft. For much of his high school career, he would rotate so early that he was more or less standing up when making contact, but his swing became one of the most fun to watch in the class. He dips down a bit and explodes from the lower half. There is some risk he won’t be able to get around against higher velocity fastballs, but his contact rates on the circuit were adequate, and there’s enough athleticism, present bat speed, and physical projection to expect some power. Defensively, he has good actions but could be forced to second base in pro ball. There aren’t any elite tools here, but he presents a pretty well-rounded infield profile and had an arrow up coming into the draft.”
(The Cardinals announced him as an outfielder, in the interview after the draft, he more or less seemed to confirm he’ll be an outfielder)
Deniel Ortiz, 21 – 1B/3B
Stats (Low A): 320 PAs, .285/.406/.446, 15.3 BB%, 27.5 K%, .162 ISO, .386 BABIP, 145 wRC+, 119 DRC+
High A: 130 PAs, .336/.438/.500, 13.8 BB%, 22.3 K%, .164 ISO, .436 BABIP, 168 wRC+, 97 DRC+
Necessary disclaimer: no available scouting report for Ortiz that I can find. I’m sure that will change soon. But we’re making the list now, and stats is what we have to judge. And what good stats he had. He might be young enough to repeat High A to start the season, so I’ll actually be curious where he’s placed. He clearly hit well enough to start the year in AA. He also had over a .400 BABIP and it wasn’t that many PAs. The surest sign of a prospect to watch for is when they are aggressive with promotions. Both Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson advanced through the system very fast. I almost wish this list were made knowing whether or not he was placed in AA, because I think that would impact where I would place him.
Yairo Padilla, 19 – SS
Stats (CPX): 38 G, 148 PAs, .283/.396/.367, 12.2 BB%, 14.2 K%, .083 ISO, .340 BABIP, 119 wRC+
Scouting: 25/55 Hit, 20/55 Game Power, 40/60 Raw Power, 50/40 Speed, 30/40 Field
Padilla is taking a more conventional progression as a prospect, at least so far, and the fact that he was in the same class as Rainiel Rodriguez is doing him no favors in that respect. Just about anybody would pale in comparison to Rodriguez as a prospect at this point. A more conventional progression means time, which means Padilla might be on this top 20 for quite a few years. That said, I trust that 40 fielding grade about as much as I trust Lumon Industries. (Context clues can probably tell even non-Severance watchers what I mean by that)
Tekoah Roby, 24 – RHP
Stats (AA): 10 GS, 47 IP, 31.1 K%, 6 BB%, 42.9 GB%, .273 BABIP, 2.49 ERA/2.90 FIP/2.73 xFIP/4.56 DRA
AAA: 6 GS, 31.1 IP, 22.6 K%, 6 BB%, 44.7 GB%, .319 BABIP, 4.02 ERA/4.01 FIP/4.04 xFIP/4.50 DRA
Roby in my opinion was essentially where Hence will be in this upcoming season. Which is both good and bad. We weren’t sure if Roby’s stuff had diminished because his stuff was worse when he did pitch in 2024, but he also barely pitched and likely pitched injured. And then he came to spring and everything returned. And his results matched his stuff in the minors. And then he needed Tommy John. Aside from that last part, I hope Hence looks like Roby next year too.
