For this month’s Cardinals column I wanted to take a look at and introduce you to (if you don’t already know him) Masyn Winn, ranked #7 on my 2021 Cardinals Top 50 prospects.
Winn was drafted in the 2nd round, 54th overall in the 2020 draft by the Cardinals. The talented two-way player is solid on both sides of the ball and should continue to develop as both a pitcher and a shortstop. I’m never a guy who’s very high on the two-way players, but they’ve been growing on me lately. I really like what Winn brings to the Cardinals and would like to see him stay as a two-way player in the future. The 19-year-old is beginning his pro career this season in Low-A Southeast (formerly called Florida State League) with the Palm Beach Cardinals.
Winn is a solid defender with tons of range and quickness as an infielder. He’s mainly stuck at shortstop most of his high school career, but with his abilities, he could easily play anywhere on the field. With the bat, Winn has decent bat speed and with his strength, he should tap into plus power as he matures in the coming years. Winn is a fairly aggressive hitter and sometimes tends to swing at pitches out of the zone more often than not. He can definitely improve on that and will end up having an above-average hit tool. Winn has plus speed and can get down the line in no time at all. With a few tweaks over the coming years, Winn has the ability to become a solid asset for the Cardinals wherever he ends up playing in the field. I think he sticks more in the middle infield than in the outfield.
As a pitcher, Winn has a cannon for an arm. He sticks with mainly a fastball, curve, and changeup. The fastball sits in the mid 90’s and tops out at a solid 98 mph. The curve floats around 80 mph with a sharp downward drop and projects as a plus pitch. His changeup is his weakest pitch sitting in the low 80’s. It could end up being above average in the future, but it’s just average. To me, Winn has the stuff to be a solid bullpen arm over a starter. I like his fastball a lot and wouldn’t doubt if he gets over 100 mph by the time he gets to the big leagues.
Masyn Winn just finished off a double play with an 88.5 MPH throw to first!
In case you’re wondering, that’s very, very fast for a 19 year-old shortstop in his first professional game pic.twitter.com/dCZUpieh0r
— Palm Beach Cardinals (@GoPBCardinals) May 5, 2021
Overall I can see Winn sticking on both sides of the ball in the MLB. Still quite a few years away, so we will see how he can handle doing both at a higher level. Not too sure as of yet what the Cardinals’ plan of attack for Winn is. They want to develop him as a two-way player but only time will tell. But if he ends up sticking with just one position, whichever one that may be, he should have no problem being an above-average player.
From a fantasy standpoint, Winn could potentially have a ton of value if you have the patience to wait for him to make his debut. I don’t think he will be in the MLB until at least 2024, giving him tons of time to develop into an even better SS/RHP. Keep him on your radar for the future, he will be one of the Cardinals’ big names.
I am the St. Louis Cardinals correspondent for Prospects1500. Live in Manitoba, Canada. Big sports fan for all sports. Love my Philadelphia Eagles, San Jose Sharks and the Boston Red Sox. Part of Diamond Duos V deep dynasty league. Always free to answer questions, or just chat fantasy sports. Thanks!! Follow me on Twitter at @ChrisEros
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Chris Eroshttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/cardinals005/
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Chris Eroshttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/cardinals005/
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Chris Eroshttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/cardinals005/
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Chris Eroshttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/cardinals005/
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