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Which Springfield Cardinals are representing St. Louis in the Arizona Fall League?

By Matt Turer
October 12, 2021

Eight St. Louis Cardinals prospects begin their Arizona Fall League season with the Glendale Desert Dogs this Wednesday, kicking off a 30-game schedule stretching from October 13 through November 19. Three of MLB.com's Top 30 St. Louis Cardinals prospects, including No. 1 prospect Nolan Gorman, are participating. Gorman also finds

Eight St. Louis Cardinals prospects begin their Arizona Fall League season with the Glendale Desert Dogs this Wednesday, kicking off a 30-game schedule stretching from October 13 through November 19.

Three of MLB.com's Top 30 St. Louis Cardinals prospects, including No. 1 prospect Nolan Gorman, are participating. Gorman also finds himself on MLB.com's Top 100 list, coming in at No. 24 in Major League Baseball. Glendale will roster one other Top 100 guy in Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Bobby Miller (#78), who started three games for Springfield's Double-A Central rival Tulsa (AA, Dodgers) this season.

Also heading to Glendale is Cardinals athletic trainer Chris Whitman, who has been in Springfield since the 2019 season and was just named the Double-A Central Certified Athletic Trainer of the Year.

While the 2020 AFL season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two current St. Louis Cardinals (and 2019 Springfield Cardinals) were on Glendale's 2019 roster--OF Dylan Carlson and RHP Kodi Whitley--meaning members of this year's batch could be nearly ready to make an impact on the Major League level.

Seven of the eight Glendale members are Springfield Cardinals alumni, with the eighth being Cardinals No. 8 prospect LHP Zack Thompson, who appeared in 22 games (19 GS) for Triple-A Memphis in 2021.

INF Nolan Gorman // St. Louis Cardinals prospect ranking: 1

In Springfield for just 43 games in 2021 before heading up to Memphis, Gorman made his mark. The top prospect in the system, the 21-year-old Gorman became the first player in Springfield regular season history to homer three times in a game when he did so in back-to-back-to-back at-bats on June 12 vs. Arkansas. Gorman had multiple four-hit efforts as well on his way to a .288 average and .862 OPS over 177 at-bats, doubling six times with 11 home runs, 26 runs and 27 RBIs. He was named Double-A Central Player of the Week on June 13. Gorman finished his split AA/AAA season with a .279/.333/.481 split with 20 doubles, 25 home runs, 71 runs and 75 RBIs.

INF Brendan Donovan // St. Louis Cardinals prospect ranking: 18

Donovan hit at every level he visited in 2021, including (and most of all in) Springfield. A former 7th rounder out of South Alabama, the 24 year old hit .319 with a .411 OBP and .860 OPS during his 50-game Double-A stint, tallying 15 extra-base hits in 185 at-bats and swiping eight bases. In total, Donovan played in 108 games between Low-A Peoria, Springfield and Memphis with a .304/.399/.455 season split, 34 extra-base hits and 18 steals.

He can also play a little outfield:

INF Juan Yepez // St. Louis Cardinals prospect ranking: 27

A member of the St. Louis Cardinals 2021 Wild Card roster despite not yet making his MLB debut, Yepez had one of the best seasons of anyone in the system. The 23 year old hit 27 home runs and 29 doubles between Springfield and Memphis, batting .286 with a massive .969 OPS. Yepez played just 19 games with Springfield in 2021, hitting four doubles and five homers in 63-at bats before getting the call to Triple-A. His season has already earned him a Triple-A Postseason All-Star nomination and the MLB Pipleline St. Louis Cardinals Hitting Prospect of the Year.

RHP Andre Pallante

A Top 30 prospect to start the 2021 season, Pallante started 21 games for Springfield in his first full Minor League campaign. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in his first nine starts of the season, finishing with a 4-7 record and 3.82 ERA over 94.1 innings, striking out 82. He was named Double-A Central Pitcher of the Week on August 16. Pallante appeared in two games for Memphis following the completion of the Double-A season, giving up two runs over 5.0 innings.

RHP Jake Walsh

Walsh was one of Springfield's most impressive relievers in 2021, something that showed on June 3 when the St. Louis Cardinals named the righty their Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May. A former 16th rounder out of Florida Southern, Walsh tallied 13 relief outings with Springfield this season, where he was 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 18.0 innings, striking out 25. Like Pallante, Walsh joined Memphis for the final stretch, appearing in four games and striking out nine batters over just 4.0 innings (9.00 ERA, 1.25 WHIP).

OF Lars Nootbaar // St. Louis Cardinals

Nootbaar's Springfield run came during the 2019 season, but he still counts as an alumni heading to Arizona this fall. Not that Springfield fans were surprised, but Lars is already a fan-favorite in St. Louis.

RHP Jordan Hicks // St. Louis Cardinals

Why are there no photos of Hicks in Springfield yet he's still on this list? Because while the flame-throwing righty is technically an alumni (he was assigned a number and appeared on the Springfield roster towards the end of the 2017 season), he never appeared in a game for the Double-A Cardinals. But it wouldn't be long until Springfield fans figured out why: