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The St. Louis Cardinals’ shortstop Masyn Winn is showing so far that he’s fully capable of being the team’s every day starter at the position. Contact hitting and defense has been his focus, and it’s paying dividends for the strong armed, slick fielding rookie.
So far this season, the Cardinals shortstop Winn has put up a .349/.356/.465 slash line with two stolen bases, five runs scored, and five batted in. That’s more than enough production when he provides excellent run saving capabilities at a premiere defensive position.
Simplifying Approach at the Plate
When asked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Winn said this about his approach at the plate. “I want to get on base, first and foremost. That’s my first priority, would love to drive some balls, hit some home runs, but that’s not necessarily my job. I think those will come by accident. If I just stick to the approach they want me with, just line drives through the middle, I think it will be better for me in the long run.”
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has said that he’s not concerned with Winn’s offense. While this may be true, the club obviously is steering Winn towards a defense first, contact hitting mindset. Marmol acknowledged Winn has made some changes in the batter’s box this season.
Marmol had this to say about Winn’s hitting goals during spring training. “Not as much movement, seeing the field before getting in the box, using the bunt from time to time. Being under control as far as when to take his shots. It’s been fine. I think we’re going to continue to see him make strides in the right direction. We want to make sure that his main focus at the moment is just playing good defense, and he’s done a good job of that.”
Slow Starts are Normal for Cardinals’ Shortstop Winn
For his career in the minors, Winn has hit .272 with a .351 on-base percentage and a .437 slugging percentage. Last season in 105 games at Triple-A, he slashed .288/.359/.474 with 18 home runs and 17 stolen bases. Those numbers included huge numbers in July. The slick fielding shortstop put up a .359/.427/.750 slash line for the month of July while clubbing eight homeruns and driving in twenty-three. His offense slowed considerably when he made the jump to the majors mid-August. Winn slashed .172/.230/.238 with a pair of home runs and two stolen bases.
The early struggles in the majors shouldn’t have surprised anyone who has been following his career so far. He has traditionally gotten off to slow starts when jumping to the next level. Winn has shown at every level the ability to adjust and succeed, and there’s no reason to believe that the trend won’t continue.
Patience is Key
Winn is definitely ready to make his mark in the big leagues. Undoubtedly, there will still be some bumps in the road with a player so young. At 22 years old, he’s one of the youngest players in the majors, so it’s likely he will go through some rough patches and have some growing pains. Hopefully, management and fans alike won’t put too much pressure on such a young player playing a premiere position. The future is bright for the Cardinals’ rookie shortstop Winn, and he should be a contributor for years to come.
