The Future is Now: Jimmy Crooks is Ready

The Cardinal Chronicle
The Future is Now: Jimmy Crooks Is Ready
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Jimmy Crooks is doing more than putting together a hot streak at Triple-A Memphis. He is making a loud, sustained, and increasingly difficult-to-ignore case that he belongs back in St. Louis.

Through 16 games and 57 at-bats the 24-year-old catcher is batting .281/.423/.614 with a 1.037 OPS. He has already launched six home runs, driven in 12 runs, scored 13 more, and posted a .333 isolated power mark. Add in 11 walks, a 17.5 percent walk rate, and a 172 wRC+, and what you have is not just a nice start. That is impact production.

The power has been the headline, and rightly so. Crooks who sat out Sunday's game, turned heads Friday night in Memphis’ 5-3 win over Gwinnett by crushing two solo home runs, the first multi-homer game of his season. He followed that up by continuing to do damage throughout the series, further cementing his place among the most productive hitters in the International League. When a catcher starts hitting balls with that kind of authority while also reaching base at a .423 clip, people in the front office tend to stop pretending not to notice.

What makes Crooks especially interesting is that this surge is not coming out of nowhere. The foundation was already there in 2025. Last season at Memphis, he hit .274/.337/.441 with 14 home runs over 98 games. That was a solid year, but this is a different level. The on-base percentage has jumped. The slugging percentage has taken off. The overall offensive profile looks stronger, more polished, and more dangerous.

To be fair there is still swing-and-miss in the game. Crooks has struck out 25 times already, and the strikeout rate remains elevated at roughly 39 percent in this early sample. That matters. At the major-league level, pitchers will test every hole in a hitter’s swing and then keep testing it until he proves he can adjust.

But Crooks is countering that concern with real thump, improved plate discipline, and the kind of extra-base authority that changes games in a hurry. In plain English, yes, there is risk in the profile, but there is also enough reward here to justify the conversation.

And that conversation should not stop with the bat. Crooks has also been a central figure in Memphis’ success behind the plate. The Redbirds are 9-0 when he starts at catcher, and Memphis improved to 14-7 with Sunday’s 6-5 comeback win to take sole possession of first place in the International League.

That does not happen by accident. Catchers influence games in ways that do not always show up in a box score. Game-calling, receiving, handling the pitching staff, managing tempo, controlling the running game—all of it matters. Scouts have already noted Crooks’ solid receiving skills and arm strength, and those traits only strengthen his case.

Compared to Pedro Pagés and Iván Herrera, Crooks’ defensive skills stack up well. While Herrera is respected for his game management and Pagés is steady behind the plate, Crooks has shown a quick release and strong pop times, helping control opposing runners. His receiving and blocking are at least on par with the current St. Louis duo, and some evaluators believe his arm strength could make him the strongest of the three. That context only makes his rising offensive impact more compelling.

This is where the spotlight really gets bright. Crooks already got a taste of the major leagues in late 2025, and it did not go well on paper. He hit just .133 over 46 plate appearances. But that small sample should not be used as the final word on his major-league readiness. Plenty of good hitters get punched in the mouth the first time they step into the big leagues.

The question is not whether the first look was rough. The question is whether the player has responded. So far in 2026, Crooks has answered that question with authority.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ catching picture remains open enough to invite scrutiny. Pedro Pagés has struggled offensively early in the season, hovering around a .188 average, while Iván Herrera remains part of the mix. That means there is no airtight wall blocking Crooks from opportunity. If the organization wants more offensive upside from the catching position, Crooks gives them every reason to believe he could deliver it.

If he keeps hitting like this and the current catchers continue to scuffle, it is not out of the question that Crooks could find himself back in St. Louis by early summer, perhaps even as soon as June. The timeline will depend on both his consistency and the performance of the big-league tandem, but as each week passes, the window for a call-up appears to be opening wider.

At his current pace, he projects to finish with 25-plus home runs, an OPS north of .900, and the type of offensive production that would play at any level if even most of it holds. No, projections in April are not promises. Baseball has a way of humbling a man right after he starts reading his own headlines. But the early returns are strong enough that this is no longer just a player to monitor. This is a player pressing the issue.

Jimmy Crooks is not simply having a good week. He is showing signs of becoming the best version of himself yet. The bat has more thunder. The on-base skills are sharper. The defensive value remains credible. And the overall profile now looks much more like a player preparing to help a major-league club than one merely biding his time in Triple-A.

The real question, though, is whether Crooks is the answer for the Cardinals over the long haul or mostly a spark for right now. Given his age and steady growth, evaluators feel Crooks has the tools to be a long-term contributor behind the plate, not just a temporary solution if the club needs immediate help.

How he handles the adjustments of big-league pitching in his next opportunity will go a long way in determining whether he can secure that role for years to come, but the upside is real.

The Cardinals may not have to make the call today. But if Crooks keeps this up, they are going to have to make it soon. And when they do, it will not be because of prospect hype or fan pressure.

It will be because Jimmy Crooks earned it.

The Cardinal Chronicle in association with Gateway Sports