By: J.P. Schwartz
@Jaypers413 on Twitter
JP’s FreedomCardboard Blog

2012 St Louis Cardinals Top 15 Prospect Rankings

Every year at this time I like to rank each team’s top prospects. My criteria is based upon both past performance and future potential to his parent team. This is my ranking of the 2012 St Louis Cardinals Top Prospects. If you have any questions about my rankings, feel free to shoot me a message on twitter @Jaypers413

To qualify, a prospect must have fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings in MLB

#1 Shelby Miller RHP
Born: 10/10/1990
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: 11-6, 2.77ERA, 139.2IP, 53BB, 170K

#2 Carlos Martinez RHP
Born: 9/21/1991
Highest Level Reached: High-A Palm Beach Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: 6-5, 3.93ERA, 84.2IP, 44BB, 98K, .238BAA

#3 Zack Cox 3B
Born: 5/9/1989
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: .306, 27(2B), 13HR, 68RBI

#4 Tyrell Jenkins RHP
Born: 7/20/1992
Highest Level Reached: Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: 4-2, 3.86ERA, 56IP, 13BB, 55K, .296BAA

#5 Kolten Wong 2B
Born: 10/10/1990
Highest Level Reached: Low-A Quad Cities River Bandits
2011 Combined Stats: .335, 15(2B), 2(3B), 5HR, 25RBI, 9SB (1st Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#6 Oscar Taveras OF
Born: 6/19/1992
Highest Level Reached: Low-A Quad Cities River Bandits
2011 Combined Stats: .386, 27(2B), 5(3B), 8HR, 62RBI

#7 Matt Adams 1B
Born: 8/31/1988
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: .300, 23(2B), 2(3B), 32HR, 101RBI

#8 Charlie Tilson OF
Born: 12/2/1992
Highest Level Reached: Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: .333 (9 hits in 27 at-bats), 2(2B), 5RBI (2nd Round Pick 2011 MLB Draft)

#9 Eduardo Sanchez RHP
Born: 2/16/1989
Highest Level Reached: MLB St Louis Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 1-1, 2.45ERA, 7.1IP, 2BB, 6K, .125BAA
MAJORS: 3-1, 1.80ERA, 5 Saves, 30IP, 16BB, 35K, .144BAA

#10 Lance Lynn RHP
Born: 5/12/1987
Highest Level Reached: MLB St Louis Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 7-3, 3.84ERA, 75IP, 25BB, 64K, .279BAA
MAJORS: 1-1, 3.12ERA, 34.2IP, 11BB, 40K, .203BAA

#11 Trevor Rosenthal RHP
Born: 5/29/1990
Highest Level Reached: Low-A Quad Cities River Bandits
2011 Combined Stats: 7-7, 4.11ERA, 120.1IP, 39BB, 133K, .247BAA

#12 John Gast LHP
Born: 2/16/1989
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: 9-8, 4.02ERA, 161.1IP, 61BB, 113K, .269BAA

#13 Jordan Swagerty RHP
Born: 7/14/1989
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: 5-3, 1.83ERA, 8 Saves, 93.2IP, 23BB, 89K, .204BAA

#14 Joe Kelly RHP
Born: 6/9/1988
Highest Level Reached: Double-A Springfield Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: 11-6, 3.68ERA, 132IP, 59BB, 113K, .258BAA

#15 Maikel Cleto RHP
Born: 5/1/1989
Highest Level Reached: MLB St Louis Cardinals
2011 Combined Stats: MINORS: 8-6, 3.81ERA, 134.2IP, 65BB, 135K, .234BAA
MAJORS: 0-0, 12.46ERA, 4.1IP, 4BB, 6K, .333BAA

Disclaimer – I did not attend any minor league games this year, nor do I claim to have any scouting experience. These lists are the product of my own research of statistics and online scouting reports.