More Power Could Be On Horizon For Cardinals’ Won-Bin Cho
When he made the decision to opt out of the Korean major league draft and pursue a chance to sign with an MLB organization, Won-Bin Cho moved to Atlanta and sought competition where he could, anything to get the attention of scouts.
It was late in the fall ball season, and Cho had to hop from team to team all in pursuit of a higher level of talent to test his swing against.
That was never a guarantee.
Now in his third pro season, it will be.
The first amateur signed by the Cardinals out of Asia, the 20-year-old Cho followed a strong showing in minor league camp with an assignment to High-A Peoria.
Cho is positioned to advance where his swing takes him. The lefthanded-hitting outfielder with a strong feel for the strike zone and a frame that suggests more power hit .270/.376/.389 last year in 105 games at Low-A Palm Beach.
He mixed in 32 stolen bases. It’s the seven home runs where the Cardinals want to see an uptick.
“He’s a very physical hitter,” Palm Beach manager Gary Kendall told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this spring. “He puts a good swing on the ball. He drives the ball. For a young hitter, his exit velocities were incredible.”
It was eye-catching EVs that made Cho’s swing a social media sensation. During a high school showcase in November 2020, he hit a ball 468 feet at 112 mph. He followed that with a 485-foot blast that left his bat at 115.
It was that budding power and athleticism that drew the Cardinals to make an offer. The athleticism has manifest with range to play center field. The power has yet to perk.
Cho has made hard contact in the minors, but a 50% groundball rate keeps that bat speed from reaching new heights. Cho has been working to get more lift from his swing at the same time that his body is maturing.
Finding the competition isn’t the quest now.
Surpassing it is.
REDBIRD CHIRPS
— Among the early assignments of intrigue for the Cardinals was standout reliever Edwin Nunez appearing on the Double-A Springfield roster—as a starter. Last year the righthander had 65 strikeouts in 63.2 innings to go with a 3.39 ERA, though all 41 of his appearances came in relief. By extending Nunez to start, the Cardinals are creating more innings for him to develop pitches and possibly seeing if he excels as a starter before he is typecast in relief.
— Righthander Sem Robberse, one of a handful of pitchers acquired at the trade deadline, made a strong impression in his first big league camp with his advanced feel for pitching and opponents’ uncomfortable reactions to the deception of his delivery. That translated into his first two starts for Triple-A Memphis as he went 2-0 with back-to-back five-inning, one-run appearances. He struck out nine against eight hits.
