Here are the top St. Louis Cardinals prospects who will start the 2022 season in Springfield

Wyatt D. Wheeler, Springfield News-Leader

April 7, 2022 at 6:46 PM·5 min read

Opening Day at Hammons Field is here with the Springfield Cardinals hosting Northwest Arkansas on Friday at 6:35 p.m.

The future of the St. Louis Cardinals will be on display with a few of the top prospects taking the field.

The Springfield Cardinals' Opening Day roster includes six of the Top 30 prospects in the St. Louis system. It includes the No. 1 prospect in the organization and the No. 30 overall prospect in baseball.

Here are the top prospects who will wear Springfield Cardinal uniforms to start the season:

Jordan Walker, INF

This is a 2022 photo of Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. This image reflects the St. Louis Cardinals active roster Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Jupiter Fla., when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The top prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization will begin his minor league season in Springfield as the 19-year-old phenom plays at the highest level in his career.

Walker, a 19-year-old phenom, was the Cardinals' first-round selection in 2020 with the 21st overall pick.

At 6-foot-5, Walker towers over everyone as the right-handed slugger has proven elite traits that could find him one day in the big leagues.

According to MLB.com, Walker showed "elite" exit velocities during his first season in the minors with similar speeds as Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Javier Baez. His first season saw him play the two levels of Single-A ball with him batting .317 with 14 homers and 48 RBI.

Malcom Nunez, INF

Peoria Chiefs infielder Malcom Nunez takes a lead during a game against Wisconsin in a six-game series at Dozer Park.

Another top infielder, Nunez ranks as the farm system's 13th best prospect. He was signed in 2018 by the Cardinals out of the Dominican Republic.

At 5-foot-11, Nunez has batted .291 during his minor league career that goes back to 2018. He played 54 games in Springfield last season and batted .257 with six home runs and 19 RBI.

MLB.com writes that Nunez's next step will come with experience as he has low strikeout rates but hits a lot of grounders. With his strength, the experience gained should lead to better numbers as he shows "impressive raw power."

Watching Nunez's position in Springfield will be something to watch with Walker being a natural third baseman as well. The Cardinals also have standout third baseman Nolan Arenado in the big leagues with could lead to Nunez trying out other spots on the field.

Delvin Perez, INF

Springfield Cardinal Delvin Perez reacts after being tagged out during the Cardianls home opener against the Wichita Wind Surge on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.

The 25th top prospect in the Cardinals' organization is a shortstop who was drafted 23rd overall by St. Louis in 2016. He tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance before the draft and went from being MLB Pipeline's ninth-rated prospect to falling to St. Louis at 23.

His five-year minor league career hasn't seen him get above Double-A and that's where he'll start this year. He played 98 games in Springfield last season and had a .265 batting average with four home runs and 23 RBI.

Perez's expected arrival to the majors is this season and could be looked at as a running option off the bench while also possessing solid range in the infield.

Julio Rodriguez, C

This is a 2022 photo of Julio Rodriguez of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. This image reflects the St. Louis Cardinals active roster Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Jupiter Fla., when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The highest-rated non-infielder, Rodriguez is an up-and-coming catcher in the Cardinals' organization who ranks as the 26th top prospect.

Rodriguez was an international signee as a 19-year-old in 2016. During his first professional season, he batted .322 with seven home runs in the Dominican Summer League and has since been slowly climbing his way through the ranks.

Rodriguez has finished the last two seasons in Springfield including last year where he appeared in 29 games and batted .196. He broke a bone in his hand which set him back for most of the 2021 season.

His numbers should go up with him back to being healthy. He's a solid defensive catcher and even maintained that level following the hand injury by throwing out 9 of 14 attempted baserunners while in the Queen City in 2021.

Connor Lunn, RHP

Peoria Chiefs starter Connor Lunn works against a hitter at Dozer Park during a six-game series against Quad City from May 18-23, 2021.

Ranking at the bottom of most pitching statistical categories, the Springfield Cardinals struggled last season with a combined 6.62 ERA while walking more than 500 batters. That's going to need to improve to make the SpringBirds watchable at Hammons Field this year.

Lucky for Springfield, the 27th top prospect in the organization will be in town.

Lunn, a right-handed pitcher, was drafted with the 11th overall pick during the 2019 draft. His first full season came last year in 2021 where he finished with 121 strikeouts in 120 1/3 frames of action. His 4.1 percent walk rate led Cardinals full-season qualifiers and was second among High-A starters.

He will now begin at the highest level he's reached in his career. He throws a lot of strikes but isn't too overpowering with his stuff. He throws around 90-92 mph. He'll start out as a starting pitcher but could move to a relief role down the line.

Freddy Pacheco, RHP

Freddy Pacheco celebrates after striking out a batter in the top of the ninth inning during Peoria's 4-3 win over Quad Cities at Dozer Park on Thursday, May 20, 2021.

Another right-handed pitcher, Pachero is the 29th rated prospect in the Cardinals' system after being signed out of Venezuela in November 2017. He was immediately made a reliever and was a standout in Single-A Peoria during 2018 and 2019 where he struck out 90 over 54 2/3 innings.

Those numbers continued to look solid in the later years as he makes a return to Springfield after reaching the Triple-A level a year ago. He appeared in 15 games in Springfield and had a 1.83 ERA over 19.2 innings with 33 strikeouts. With Memphis, he appeared in two games, struck out five and allowed one hit and a walk.

Pachero has a two-pitch arsenal with a fastball in the 95-98 mph range with a slider that lands in the mid-80s.

He projects as a late-inning reliever and needs a little more control over his pitches — needing to get his walk rate down. He's getting closer and could see a spot in the big leagues soon.

Springfield Cardinals April home schedule

April 8 — Northwest Arkansas (6:35 p.m.)
April 9 — Northwest Arkansas (5:35 p.m.)
April 10 — Northwest Arkansas (1:35 p.m.)
April 19-22 — Tulsa (6:35 p.m.)
April 23 — Tulsa (5:35 p.m.)
April 24 — Tulsa (1:35 p.m.)

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Jordan Walker among top Cardinals prospects to start in Springfield

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