Cardinals Star Shortstop Ranked Among Best In MLB

The Cardinals have a star on their hands at the shortstop position.

Aug 22, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) is congratulated after he scored a run during the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have fallen out of postseason contention and will likely be on the outside looking in for the third consecutive year. They have not reached October since 2022, and they were swept in the Wild Card round that season. They are 69-71, 16 1/2 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central and 6 1/2 back of the New York Mets in the Wild Card picture.

Still, the 2025 season hasn't been a total loss for St. Louis. They have often preached runway for their younger players, and this has been a year in which they have given such opportunities to those players. Masyn Winn was the starting shortstop last year, and he has remained a solid player in 2025.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report ranked him as one of the top shortstops in Major League Baseball.

Cardinals' Masyn Winn Ranked Among Top MLB Shortstops

Aug 28, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) throws to first base in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

"From a pure tools standpoint, Winn might be the best defensive shortstop in baseball, and he has provided enough offensively to look like a clear long-term building block for the Cardinals. Aside from showing a bit less pop after tallying 52 extra-base hits and 15 home runs a year ago, he has more or less backed up his terrific rookie campaign," Reuter wrote.

Winn is slashing .254/.309/.368 with nine home runs, a 2.2 WAR, 51 RBI and a .677 OPS. He missed a little time earlier in the season due to a back injury, but has since performed well and is becoming a key building block of the Cardinals future.

The 23-year-old shortstop has taken full advantage of his opportunity to grow as a player and become a franchise cornerstone. His power numbers are down a bit, but he still plays elite defense and is also a strong contact hitter with solid speed.

A Gold Glove Award certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility for Winn as the Cardinals try to piece together the next few years of their rebuild. While certain players may be traded in the offseason, Winn is unlikely to be a part of such movement and will instead be somebody that St. Louis chooses to build around going forward.

It will certainly be interesting to see just how things play out as the Cardinals enter the next phase of their rebuild, which will be headed up by Chaim Bloom.

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