Prospect Stock Market Report: Odle, Cho and Davis Push Their Stock Higher
The Cardinal Chronicle
Prospect Stock Market Report: Odle, Cho and Davis Push Their Stock Higher
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Prospect watching is not for the faint of heart. One week a player looks ready to kick down the door, and the next week the same player is back in the cage trying to find his swing, his command, or in some cases, his health.
That is the nature of player development. It does not move in a straight line. It moves in bumps, bruises, hot streaks, cold spells, promotions, injuries and adjustments. The trick is knowing when to react — and when to simply let the game breathe a little.
This week’s Prospect Stock Market Report looks at three players rising, three holding their position and three whose stock has slipped, at least for now.
STOCK RISING
Jacob Odle, RHP, Peoria Chiefs
The Movement:
Jacob Odle may be one of the fastest-rising arms in the Cardinals’ system.
Named The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Month, Odle has forced his way into the conversation with performance that can no longer be tucked away in the lower-minors notebook. The right-hander has posted a 1.96 ERA with 54 strikeouts over 36.2 innings this season, and the Cardinals rewarded that work by moving him from Palm Beach to Peoria on May 26. That is the kind of promotion that tells you the organization sees the same thing the box scores have been saying. (MLB.com)
Odle has size, strikeout ability and momentum. More importantly, he is beginning to look like something more than a nice story. He is starting to look like a real prospect.
Old School Take:
You do not need a spreadsheet the size of a church directory to figure this one out. When a pitcher keeps missing bats, keeps limiting damage and gets promoted, his stock is rising. Odle has earned every bit of attention he is getting.
Won-Bin Cho, OF, Peoria Chiefs
The Movement:
Won-Bin Cho has turned himself into one of the hottest bats in the Cardinals’ system.
Cho was named Midwest League Player of the Week for May 26-31, becoming the first Peoria Chief to win the award this season. That honor does not come by accident. It comes from impact, production and a player putting together the kind of week that makes people look twice. (MLB.com)
Cho has always had tools. The question has been whether those tools would consistently show up in games. Right now, they are. He is driving the baseball, getting on base and turning his physical ability into real production.
Old School Take:
Cho is the kind of player who can be easy to overlook until he gets hot — then suddenly everybody remembers why he was interesting in the first place. The talent has always been there. Now the performance is catching up.
Braden Davis, LHP, Springfield Cardinals
The Movement:
Braden Davis moves into the rising category this week after a strong bounce-back stretch and a recent Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day performance.
Davis struck out a season-high 10 batters across 5.2 scoreless innings for Double-A Springfield on May 25. That is exactly the kind of outing he needed. Earlier in the season, the run prevention had been uneven, but the swing-and-miss ability never disappeared. A start like that reminds everyone why he still belongs firmly on the prospect radar.
The left-hander led all Cardinals farmhands last season with 153 strikeouts while posting a 2.85 ERA across Palm Beach and Peoria. That history matters. He has already shown he can miss bats over a full season. Now the challenge is carrying that forward at Double-A.
Old School Take:
Left-handers who can strike hitters out always get another look. Davis still has some cleaning up to do, but that last outing was not just a good box score. It was a reminder. The arm is still very much alive.
STOCK HOLDING
Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Springfield Cardinals
The Movement:
Rainiel Rodriguez is holding, not falling, and that distinction matters.
The 19-year-old catcher has hit a rough patch since moving to Double-A Springfield. Through his early work at the level, Rodriguez has slashed .175/.258/.246 with a .504 OPS, and the strikeouts have begun to show up against older, more advanced pitching.
But this is also a teenage catcher playing Double-A baseball. That matters. A young hitter can struggle and still remain one of the most important prospects in the system. Rodriguez was promoted to Springfield on May 12 after forcing the issue at Peoria, and the adjustment period should not surprise anyone.
Old School Take:
This is where patience comes in. You do not downgrade a 19-year-old catcher just because Double-A pitchers punched back. You watch the adjustments. The bat still matters. The profile still matters. He holds.
Liam Doyle, LHP, Springfield Cardinals
The Movement:
Liam Doyle remains a hold because the talent is obvious, but the consistency is still catching up.
The Cardinals’ No. 1 prospect showed his swing-and-miss ability again on May 30, striking out eight batters over 4.2 innings for Double-A Springfield. That kind of outing shows why the organization remains high on him. (MLB.com)
Still, the overall line shows the development work ahead. Doyle has a 5.82 ERA with 48 strikeouts and a 1.56 WHIP over 34 innings. The strikeouts are encouraging. The traffic and run prevention keep him from rising this week. (Bally Sports Live)
Old School Take:
There is no panic here. Doyle has the stuff. What he needs now is command, efficiency and the ability to turn promising outings into steady starts. He is not falling. He is learning.
Jimmy Crooks, C, St. Louis Cardinals
The Movement:
Jimmy Crooks is holding because his stock has changed categories altogether.
Crooks is no longer just a Memphis prospect waiting on the next phone call. The Cardinals promoted him from Triple-A on May 29, with Yohel Pozo and César Prieto optioned to Memphis in corresponding moves. (MLB.com)
That call-up is a reward, but it also changes the evaluation. Crooks is now trying to carve out a role in St. Louis as the No. 2 catcher. His bat earned the opportunity, but now the daily questions become different: handling a major-league pitching staff, earning trust behind the plate and making the most of limited at-bats.
Old School Take:
Once a catcher gets to the big leagues, the box score is only part of the story. Crooks has reached the door. Now he has to prove he can stay in the room. That is a hold, but it is a good kind of hold.
STOCK FALLING
Hancel Rincon, RHP, Memphis Redbirds
The Movement:
Hancel Rincon lands in the falling category because the season has not matched the track record.
Rincon has posted a 5.83 ERA with a 1.57 WHIP over 29.1 innings this season. He has still struck out 33 batters, so the arm has not gone quiet, but the overall run prevention and baserunner traffic have moved in the wrong direction. (MLB.com)
This is not a case of writing him off. Rincon has a long professional track record and enough pitchability to work his way back. But Triple-A does not offer much hiding room. If command slips or mistakes catch too much plate, hitters punish it.
Old School Take:
Rincon has been around long enough to know what this level demands. The strikeouts keep him interesting. The ERA and WHIP put him on the wrong side of the board this week.
Ryan Mitchell, OF, Palm Beach Cardinals
The Movement:
Ryan Mitchell is still a young player with real tools, but the early full-season results remain uneven.
Mitchell is hitting .199 with a .379 on-base percentage and a .706 OPS for Palm Beach. The batting average is low, but the on-base percentage tells you he is not completely overmatched. He has also shown some power and speed with five home runs and 12 stolen bases. (MLB.com)
That makes this a complicated falling call. The tools are still visible, and there are pieces to like. But when a young hitter is under .200 in Single-A, even with walks and flashes of power, the stock has to come down some.
Old School Take:
Mitchell is not a lost cause. Not even close. High school bats take time. But this is where development gets honest. The Cardinals need the contact quality and consistency to start catching up with the tools.
Deniel Ortiz, 3B/1B, Springfield Cardinals
The Movement:
Deniel Ortiz is falling for the same reason he has been stuck in this category: lost time.
Ortiz was assigned to Springfield but placed on the 7-day injured list in early April. For a player who needed Double-A at-bats to prove last year’s breakout was ready to travel, the injury has stalled the evaluation.
This is not a talent downgrade as much as an availability downgrade. Ortiz needed plate appearances, defensive reps and daily rhythm. Instead, the season has been interrupted almost before it began.
Old School Take:
Sometimes falling stock is not about failure. Sometimes it is about not being on the field. Ortiz can climb back quickly when healthy, but for now, the market has to mark him down.
The Closing Bell
This week’s board shows just how quickly the farm system can shift.
Jacob Odle looks like one of the fastest-rising arms in the organization. Won-Bin Cho has turned a hot stretch into league-wide recognition. Braden Davis reminded everyone that a left-hander with strikeout stuff should never be ignored.
On the holding side, Rainiel Rodriguez is getting his first real Double-A test, Liam Doyle continues to flash top-prospect stuff while working through inconsistency, and Jimmy Crooks has moved from prospect watch to big-league opportunity.
The falling group is a mix of performance and availability. Hancel Rincon needs cleaner innings. Ryan Mitchell needs more contact and consistency. Deniel Ortiz needs to get back on the field.
That is the farm system. Nobody stays still for long. The games keep coming, the reports keep changing, and every week brings another chance for a player to change the conversation.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.
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Photo Credit: Won-Bin Cho, OF, Peoria Chiefs | MiLB