Collectively, the St. Louis Cardinals are in a funk right now, having dropped seven of their past nine games. Individually, shortstop Masyn Winn's struggles predate their ongoing rut. While he's considered a budding star, could his long-term standing with the team be in question? Kiley McDaniel of ESPN's latest 2025 MLB mock draft suggests it might be.
McDaniel projects the Cardinals to spend the No. 5 overall selection on JoJo Parker, a tantalizing high school prospect. The Mississippi native is touted by "some teams" as the best hitter in his class. That's great, but there's one problem: he and Winn man the same position.
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ESPN's latest MLB mock draft projection could spell trouble for Cardinals SS Masyn Winn
Eight of the top-13 ranked players in this year's draft are shortstops. Four of them lie in the 5-10 range. Knowing this, prioritizing need over talent feels like a fool's errand for a Cards organization that boasts one of baseball's more underwhelming farm systems. However, that shouldn't make Winn feel any better about the idea of added competition, and a formidable challenger at that.
Winn is hitting .203/.239/.250 with a dismal .489 OPS across his first 64 at-bats in June. He's yet to produce a home run and has more strikeouts than RBIs (five to three, respectively). Albeit a small sample size (14 games), the splits are staggering when compared to his May splits (.289/.358/.443 slash line with an .801 OPS). Have the Cardinals seen enough to pivot? While that may seem premature, the forecasted addition of Parker indicates it's at least within the range of outcomes.
Why would the Cardinals pick JoJo Parker when they have Masyn Winn?
Calling Parker's name on July 13 would have more to do with him being awesome than Winn's recent slump. The former and his twin brother, Jacob, are Mississippi's top two high school position prospects, according to MLB.com.
As mentioned, Parker is known for being a force in the batter's box. The 2024-25 Gatorade Mississippi baseball Player of the Year posted a .489 batting average with 13 home runs and 35 RBIs this past season. He also stole 30 bases and guided the Purvis Tornadoes to the Class 4A state championship, where they fell short to West Lauderdale.
Besides his offensive contributions, Parker also has a live arm, as demonstrated by his also thriving as a pitcher. He went 8-2 with a dazzling 2.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts across 55.2 innings of work, showcasing an ability to impact winning in various ways.
Note: Stats provided via Baseball-Reference.com entering play on June 18.