5 STL Cardinals Spring Training invitees who won’t make MLB roster
Catcher Jimmy Crooks III will be fun to watch in years to come
Crooks was the fourth-round draft pick by the Cardinals in the MLB Draft in 2022 out of the University of Oklahoma.
At 20, Crooks made it to the Palm Beach Cardinals last summer. He hit .266/.396/.468 with an OPS of .896. In 23 games, he had three doubles, two triples, three home runs, and seven RBI. He had 12 walks.
Let Crooks cook!
— Palm Beach Cardinals (@GoPBCardinals) August 11, 2022
Jimmy Crooks finds one upstairs and leaves no doubt!
It's 4-2 Bradenton midway through 5 pic.twitter.com/AKneQBiEpC
Crooks has a power bat that will be fun to watch this summer as he splits time between playing catcher and being the team’s designated hitter. He will likely split time between Palm Beach and Peoria.
Shortstop Jeremy Rivas is still looking to improve
The Cardinals signed Rivas as a free agent in July 2021 from Venezuela. He played for Palm Beach last summer and will likely take longer to keep developing there.
In 117 games for Palm Beach, Rivas alsshed .245/.309/.301 with an OPS of .620. He was pretty impressive defensively, though. With a .972 fielding percentage, he had 296 assists, 63 double plays, and 151 putouts. This is not bad at all for a 19-year-old.
It will be fun to see Rivas get some playing time this spring. The middle infield has been a concern recently in St. Louis. After Paul DeJong was demoted last season after a significant drop in production, it led to more playing time for Tommy Edman, Nolan Gorman, and Brendan Donovan. All four will see opportunities this spring, but with Edman set to play for Team Korea in the World Baseball Classic, it could be seen as an opportunity for Rivas.