Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals 22-Year-Old Slugger Showing Early Signs Of Greatness In Minors

St. Louis is looking forward to the youngster's development
Nate Hagerty|
Aug 20, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium as the sun sets during the fourth inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Aug 20, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium as the sun sets during the fourth inning of a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are being led by their youth core and hopefully, there are more rising stars making their way through the minors who could soon be impactful.

Youngsters such as Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan and Iván Herrera have helped the Cardinals achieve a 7-8 record while they sit only 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.

Before being placed on the 10-day injured list for a bruised left knee, Herrera was the team's top slugger. However, there's another young catcher at the bottom of St. Louis' farm system whose recent performance deserves recognition.

"Congrats to C/1B Josh Kross (A) on being named Florida State League Player of the Week!" the organization announced Monday afternoon. "Kross, 22, led the league this week with three home runs, six extra-base hits and nine RBIs to lift (Single-A) Palm Beach to a 4-2 record this week. He currently leads the FSL in SLG (.852), OPS (1.239) & TB (23)."

Kross is batting .333 with nine hits, seven extra-base hits including three home runs, 11 RBIs and a 1.239 OPS in 27 at-bats across seven games played for Single-A Palm Beach this season.

The Cardinals' 2024 sixth-round draft pick spent most of his time playing first base throughout his first professional campaign with Single-A Palm Beach last year but has equally divided his time at 1B and behind the plate as a catcher in 2025 (26 innings played in both positions).

After struggling offensively last season -- batting .216 with 16 hits, six extra base hits including zero home runs, 11 RBIs and a .694 OPS in 74 at-bats across 23 games played for Single-A Palm Beach -- Kross looks much more confident with his plate approach in 2025.

Considering that the Cardinals already have Herrera, Pedro Pagés and No. 4 and No. 7 St. Louis top prospects Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal, it should be interesting to see whether Kross remains with the franchise several years from now.

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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