6. Jordan Hicks, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 9/6/1996 (21)
2017 teams/levels played for: low-A Peoria Chiefs, high-A Palm Beach Cardinals
2017 Stats: 22 G, 19 GS, 105 IP, 2.74 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 10% BB, 21% K
Info: A Texas fireballer out of high school, the St. Louis Cardinals delayed Hicks’ debut after he was drafted in 2015. Once he got on the mound, he showed elite stuff.
Hicks has an elite fastball in movement and velocity. The top end of the velocity clears triple digits and he sits 94-97 deep into games. His best secondary offering is a power curve that sits around 80 with a hard break that generates a ton of swing and miss and scouts have been rated the pitch as a 70 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale.
His change and slider are both above average pitches, but his delivery is busy and can throw off his command, which is where his 10% walk rate came into play.
Hicks has the projection of a mid-rotation starter or high-end reliever with his raw stuff. However, if he can really calm his delivery and get that walk rate to around 6-7%, he could end up a high-end #2. The St. Louis Cardinals will determine how much work is needed yet in his delivery and send Hicks out to either high-A or AA based on how he’s able to control his delivery.
5. Harrison Bader, OF
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 6/3/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: AAA Memphis Redbirds, MLB St. Louis Cardinals
2017 Stats: Minors: .283/.347/.469, 479 PA, 20 HR, 15 SB, 34/118 BB/K; Majors: .235/.283/.376, 92 PA, 3 HR, 2 SB, 5/24 BB/K
Info: In the 3rd round of the 2015 draft, the St. Louis Cardinals grabbed one of the top college performers in the draft, Florida outfielder Harrison Bader.
Bader zipped through the Cardinals system, reaching the major leagues in just his second full season
Bader zipped through the Cardinals system, reaching the major leagues in just his second full season. However, the speed at which he sped through the system meant that he did miss some needed development, specifically in his pitch and zone recognition.
Bader has impressive power, certainly plus raw, and some view it as double-plus, with above-average speed that plays well in the outfield, though his base-stealing instincts don’t show his true speed.
In the outfield, Bader plays well in all three spots and has enough arm to play all three spots. Without development of his strike zone discipline, Bader could be a very good fourth outfielder, but if the St. Louis Cardinals give him more time in AAA, he could build the discipline to be an above-average regular.
Next: #3 and #4