I am doing a series where I offer up three fantasy baseball thoughts for every MLB team. I look at under-the-radar stats, playing time projections, projected roles, and off-season news to try and highlight the nuggets that might help you in your 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. We’ll do this thing in alphabetical order, and this time around I’ll consider three thoughts for the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals.
3 Fantasy Baseball Thoughts for the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals
Masyn Winn Takes the Next Step
Moving to the top of the order on a full-time basis plays a factor here. For Masyn Winn, he’s in a good position to continue his development. Based on a very early look at draft season, Winn is coming off the board around pick 180, but that’s something I suspect will increase by a few rounds by the time we get to Opening Day.
Last year, Winn had a strong season in his age-22 campaign. The shortstop hit .267 with 15 home runs and 57 RBI. Perhaps most notably, he scored 85 runs as he spent 102 of his 150 games in the leadoff spot. Beginning the season there could see Winn finish with 100 runs scored as he continues to take the next steps. Perhaps with a little disappointment, Winn stole just 11 bases last year after seeing better results throughout his minor league career. Now that he has adjusted to the big leagues, 20 stolen bases could be in his future this season.
From the power perspective, Winn’s upside is likely limited there. Unless there is a notable change, Winn’s 3.7% barrel rate and 32.7% hard-hit rate could hold him back. However, even if he maintains his 15 home runs from last season, with a little upside potential, that certainly plays if he can boost his stolen base total up to 20. Winn’s lack of strikeouts, 17.2%, and elite contact rate, 83.2%, will help him maintain his batting average.
Don’t go looking for anything elite here, aside from the runs scored, but Winn is a strong option up the middle.
Don’t Forget About Jordan Walker
Perhaps the most important thing to remember about Jordan Walker, is that he isn’t turning 23 until this May. Considering where Walker was being drafted last season, an ADP of about 290 is a far cry from that. However, his 2024 performance doesn’t exactly drive being drafted much higher.
In 51 games with the Cardinals, Walker struggled as he hit just .201 with five home runs and 20 RBI. A 28.1% strikeout rate certainly played a factor here, but when Walker makes contact, good things happen. Even compared to 2023, Walker’s performance took a dip after hitting .276 in 117 games with 16 home runs and 51 RBI.
While Walker should bounce back after last year’s struggles, it still remains to be seen whether he has an upside beyond 20 home runs. That’s not to say the upside or possibility isn’t there, but the good news is that it’s not something you have to pay for on draft day. Just make sure that your expectations are correctly adjusted.
Don’t Forget About Erick Fedde
I, for one, am very well guilty of this. With ADP just north of 300, Erick Fedde isn’t receiving much in the way of attention or buzz. There are two factors in that, and one isn’t necessarily deserved.
When we had last seen Fedde in the big leagues, he had a 5.81 ERA in 2022. Fedde reset himself in Korea and came back with a flurry last year. In 177.1 innings, Fedde had a 3.30 ERA over 31 starts. Based on his 3.88 xERA, we can’t expect Fedde to continue his success at that level, but there is still a lot to like. Having a dependable arm at the back end of your rotation to eat some innings simply can’t be overlooked.
The biggest problem is that Fedde struck out just 7.82 batters per nine innings. It’s not terrible to overcome, but sometimes upside in one area has to be balanced with dependability elsewhere. With a 7.6% barrel rate from opposing hitters, Fedde wasn’t necessarily hit too hard. That helps to make him a solid option.
