JUPITER, Fla. — Dynamic, athletic and with his own distinct swagger, Cardinals prospect and potential shortstop of the future Masyn Winn came into his first big-league spring training camp expecting a unique learning experience. The Cardinals' decision-makers similarly expected a great opportunity to learn.
Neither Winn nor the Cardinals knew going in what the ultimate lesson would be at the end of camp. That being that Winn is a lot closer than most people thought, himself included, to major-league ready.
It's now a worse-kept secret than the grass is green, it gets hot in Florida, or that folks in St. Louis enjoy baseball.
When asked what will be the value of Winn's spring training experience, both the abundance of playing time he received and the impressive performance he turned in with that time, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol replied, "Knowing he can."
Winn clearly knows it as well.
"That's why he'll be up here and contributing at an extremely high level," Marmol said. "It's one of the most impressive players I've seen on a field in a long time. I mean, what he does in just every aspect of the game — defensively, offensively, on the bases — Masyn Winn is good."
With Jordan Walker set to make his major-league debut, Winn is undoubtedly the crown jewel of the Cardinals' farm system.
This spring, Winn appeared in 18 games and made 17 starts (13 at shortstop, four at second base). He batted .333 (18-for-54) with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, nine RBIs, four stolen bases, a .393 on-base percentage and a .556 slugging percentage, on top of dazzling defense in the field.
Winn, who turned 21 last week, entered spring training as the fourth-youngest player in the Cardinals' camp behind Jeremy Rivas, Tink Hence and Walker.
"I think it's always good when a player gets a taste of it and goes, 'Wait a second. I can do this up here,'" Marmol said. "He's locked-in in a way where he's going to continue to get after it regardless of where he goes. That's just part of his personality. But he's one where giving him a taste of it and also him looking around and going 'I can play with these guys,' is a really good thing for the big picture."
Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 48 overall prospect in the minors after a standout 2022 season when he led Cardinals minor-league players in doubles (36) and triples (eight), Winn has already garnered plenty of accolades and distinctions in his professional career.
Dubbed the "Best Infield Arm" and "Best Athlete" as well as "Fastest Baserunner" in the Cardinals' farm system by Baseball America, that publication also made him the only prospect since 2018 to receive a top-of-scale rating of 80 on the 20-to-80 scale for his throwing arm. He received that grade in back-to-back years.
Last season, Winn also played in the All-Star Futures Game alongside players viewed as the game's next wave of stars.
None of those distinctions or labels sunk in for Winn the same way as it did to have played well in big-league camp.
Heck, before he arrived, he believed he was as likely to start the season back at Double-A as to move up to Triple-A.
"I think the biggest takeaway that I've gotten from it is I think I belong up here," Winn told The Post-Dispatch of his time in camp. "I think if I was with a different org, I'd probably be up there. We just so happen to have some of the best guys up the middle. I'm really excited."
Circumstances aided Winn's breakout camp. Starting shortstop Tommy Edman left to play for Team Korea in the World Baseball Classic. Paul DeJong played sparingly due to a dead arm and a back ailment.
The organization's top two shortstops were either overseas or on the shelf for a large chunk of camp, which allowed the bulk of the at-bats to go to Winn. With those at-bats, he showed, as Marmol said multiple times during camp, that he's further along at the plate than anticipated.
"I'm going to keep it a hundred percent honest," Winn said. "I expected to come out here and have a good time and soak up the knowledge, which is what I did. The fact that the WBC was going on and I got a lot of playing time, got a lot of at-bats, and I competed in those at-bats, for me that was the biggest part for sure."
Performance aside, Winn expressed appreciation for even being invited to camp and having interactions with more experienced players.
"The guys that have been up here and around me and kind of giving me some advice have been amazing," Winn said. "I can't thank those guys enough. I mean all the knowledge I've been around. Even without (Nolan Arenado) and (Paul Goldschmidt) and Lars (Nootbaar) and all those guys, there's still just a wealth of knowledge with our staff and the other guys that we have.
"Specifically, I want to say Juan Yepez, Taylor Motter and Brendan Donovan have been huge for me. Just an extra confidence boost, almost like a big brother mentality with those guys."
Winn said Motter pulled him aside "damn near every day" to give him advice about some aspect of the game or how to approach a certain pitcher or about his preparation.
The combination of the performance team and Motter getting on his case forced Winn to develop a rock-solid daily routine to get his body ready to play, something Winn had been sorely missing.
Donovan, who made his major-league debut last season and won a Gold Glove, constantly reminded Winn to be calm on the field, not to let his nerves overwhelm him, and to "Take a deep breath."
Willson Contreras and Yepez have brought Winn along for dinners, talking baseball and passing along things they've learned like "big brothers."
"Pushing into the season, I just want to go out there and ball," Winn said, looking ahead to the coming year in the minors. "I'm going to try to play the best shortstop I can.
"I'm going to try to keep the average up and help the team win. I've still got a lot of things to work on physically and mentally, working on the game, but whenever my name is called, I'm going to be ready for it."
Last season with Single-A Peoria, Winn slashed .349/.404/.566 with 11 doubles, seven triples, one home run, 15 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 33 games.
Following a promotion to Double-A Springfield on May 24, he slashed .258/.349/.432 with 25 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 48 RBIs and 28 stolen bases in 86 games.
"I mean, last year in Double-A, I hit .260. For me, I don't think that's very good. I think I should be a .300 hitter," Winn said. "Especially with the speed I have, I think I'm doing myself a disservice not hitting .300. But just showing up and showing myself that I can compete with even the best guys, take bags off the best catchers, make defensive plays with the best of them. ... I think it's just me showing up and competing that really showed me I can do it."
