One Hitter at Each Cardinals Affiliate Deserving a Promotion
Credit: @wbch0 on Instagram
As we did with the pitchers a few weeks ago, promotion season is well underway, and there are some well-performing hitters throughout the minor leagues for the Cardinals who deserve a shot at the next level. Today, I will go over one hitter at each level who I believe deserves a promotion to the next level.
FCL Cardinals (ROK): INF Sebastian Dos Santos
Overall, the FCL team and the offense have struggled to begin the season with a 7-15 record through their first 22 games, though one of the bright spots of the team so far has been 2025 DSL standout Sebastian Dos Santos, who has continued his 2025 form so far in 2026 with a .309/.460/.647 slash line with 5 homers and 12 XBH across 21 games played, coming to a 166 WRC+, which is tops in the system among all non-DSL prospects. Recently, in a Baseball America article, we got some rare underlying data on Dos Santos, and the top thing that stood out to me was the fact that Dos Santos has only chased 17% to start the season, which is very impressive for an 18-year-old, no matter the level. Other data we got from the article includes that Dos Santos has a 44.4% hard-hit rate to go along with an 82% zone-contact rate, all of which are very solid for his age. The Cardinals promoted Rainiel Rodriguez last season on June 3rd to Palm Beach, and while Dos Santos won’t get to Palm Beach that quickly, I would be surprised if he doesn’t get promoted by July if he keeps up this pace.
Palm Beach Cardinals (Single-A): 3B/1B Michael Dattalo
While Dattalo has battled some injuries to start the season, when on the field, he has been great with the bat. So far, across 18 games in Palm Beach, Dattalo has slashed .449/.513/.594 for a 203 WRC+. Since coming off the IL in early May, Dattalo has recorded multi-hit performances in 11 of 21 games, with six 3-hit games. Dattalo has had great plate discipline to start the season with a 10% K-rate and a 10% BB-rate, only chasing 14.75% of the time with a 16% whiff rate. If he keeps this pace up for even a little bit longer, the promotion for Dattalo will come quickly, as he clearly looks to be a more advanced hitter than the challenge that the Palm Beach level supplies, and Peoria may be a more appropriate challenge for the 22-year-old.
Peoria Chiefs (High-A): OF Won-Bin Cho
One of the biggest farm system storylines since May has been the emergence of Won-Bin Cho and his power after a cold start to the season in April (.200 AVG/.696 OPS). Cho has been one of the Cardinals’ top minor league bats since the start of May, slashing .319/.434/.694 for a 169 WRC+ with 6 homers and 17 XBH in his last 27 games. He is now up to a 136 WRC+ on the season, which ranks 9th among all Cardinals farmhands. The big difference for Cho this season is the power, as his previous career-high ISO (Isolated slugging) was .119 in Palm Beach back in 2023. This season so far, Cho is posting a .252 ISO while keeping the strikeout rate at a manageable 25.3%. Combined with a career-high 17% walk rate, this has allowed Cho to post a career high in both OBP and SLG. While he is only 22 years old, this is his third season at the High-A level, so seeing some progress from Cho this year was a must, and it is nice to see that coming to fruition. A promotion to Springfield would be interesting to see, though the upper levels of the minors are kind of heavy with the amount of outfielders right now.
Springfield Cardinals (Double-A): OF Chase Davis
Similar to Cho, Chase Davis is showing some encouraging signs to start his third stint in Springfield, though an injured hamstring makes this promotion a bit more complicated than the others on this list. Even with the injury, Davis more than deserves a quicker promotion to AAA to see if this start can translate. A power-driven profile coming out of the University of Arizona back in 2023, Davis has rarely shown his projected power throughout his minor league career. That has changed to start 2026, as Davis hit 8 homers in only 37 games to begin the season, slashing .231/.359/.446 for a 111 WRC+, with his .215 ISO being by far the highest of his career (previous high was .164). Combined with a 24.4% strikeout rate, which is well down from his 29.6% last season, and an increase in his walk rate from 13.6% to 16.7%, Davis is showing the most effective use of his hitting profile to begin 2026. At 24 years old, Davis more than deserves a quicker promotion to AAA to see if this start can translate. This is helped by the fact that Davis has turned himself into a plus defender in CF, which is a position that Memphis has very little depth or a true player at right now. (Baez is playing CF, which isn’t ideal.)
Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A): 1B/3B Blaze Jordan
With the promotion of Jimmy Crooks, Bryan Torres, and Nelson Velazquez in recent weeks, the likely promotions as of now are over for Memphis, though a pair of hot-hitting prospects in Blaze Jordan and Joshua Baez could force their way into the picture soon if they keep performing at the level they currently are. I decided to go with Jordan for this pick for a few reasons. The first is that he has been doing this all season, showing much more improved exit velocities and power while keeping his contact rates at well-above-average levels. This progress makes me more confident in his profile and its viability at the major league level, though his 11th-percentile 37% chase rate will have to improve in order to be a good MLB bat. The other major limitation on Jordan’s game is his defense; he profiles as a 1B/DH type, which is currently held down by Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera at the MLB level, making an injury the most likely option for a call-up. While he has played 27 games at 3B to begin the season, his lack of athleticism and left-to-right range makes him project as a significant liability at the position. While Jordan started the season playing 3B, since the recall of Cesar Prieto to the minor leagues, Jordan has played the position sparingly.
