Budding St. Louis Cardinals star shortstop Masyn Winn has been working on his speed this offseason. He told reporters at the Cardinal’s “Winter Warmup,” a media event at Busch Stadium this past week, that he wants to steal 30 to 40 bases in 2025. Winn added that he wants to improve every facet of his game, which is coming off a great rookie season.
Emerging Cardinals Talent Targets a Tripling of Stolen Bases
Working on His Speed
Winn told reporters he has been working with his former track coach this offseason to improve his speed. He’s been running speed, endurance, and flexibility drills.
“Big thing I’ve been working on is my speed,” Winn told reporters. “I didn’t take as many bags as I would have liked to last year. I want to go out there and take 30 to 40 and even more than that if I can. But the biggest thing for me has been speed for sure.”
In 2024, Winn stole 11 bases in 16 attempts. He wants to at least triple his stolen base output in 2024. Winn had the 19th fastest average sprint speed in the League in 2024 at 28.8 meters per second. 27 times he was clocked at more than 30 feet per second, the 17th most in the League.
The shortstop often bats in the leadoff position. For Winn, working on speed isn’t just about stolen bases.
“If I can turn singles into doubles, doubles into triples for the guys behind me, just producing more runs I think that will help them, that will help the team,” Winn said.
Improving Every Aspect of His Game
Winn had a strong rookie season. He slashed .267/.314/.416 in his first full MLB season. He added 15 home runs with 57 RBI.
“As a whole it was a good first step. I’d love to be better in every aspect of the game,” Winn said.
The 22-year-old said he wants to improve his batting. He told reporters he wants to improve on his home run totals. Winn did show good plate discipline in his rookie season. He was in the bottom 25th percentile for both strikeout rate and swings and misses according to Baseball Savant.
He also wants to improve on his defensive play, saying he wants to cut down on his 18 errors in 2024. Winn had the seventh best fielding run value among MLB shortstops last season at four. Winn’s best defensive asset is his arm. Among all infielders, Winn had the third fastest average throw speed at 92.7 miles per hour in 2024. He maxed out at 101.2 miles per hour.
Part of a “Hungry” Young Core
Even though his career is just starting, Winn has his eyes on being a cornerstone piece for the Cardinals. He referenced players like Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright in his press sessions with reporters this week when talking about wanting to be a part of this organization for a long time.
“This city has welcomed me with open arms,” Winn said of St. Louis while wearing a jersey of the city’s NHL team, the Blues. “This city has been nothing shy of unbelievable to me, me and my family, we love it here.”
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol praised Winn and several of the other young players on the team in his session with the media.
“This young core is hungry,” Marmol said. “They’re excited, they’re passionate, and they’re looking forward to making their mark in Cardinal’s history.”
The organization is focusing on developing young players. The Cardinals have parted ways with several veteran players so far this offseason and are actively shopping star third baseman Nolan Arenado. These moves have come with lower expectations externally for the team. Internally however, Winn said they are still expecting to win games.
“Decreased expectations, we don’t care about them,” Winn said. “That’s not what we expect. We want to go out there and compete.”
Main Photo Credits: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
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