Cardinals prospect Won-Bin Cho extends hitting streak to nine games: Minor League Report (2024)

One of the hottest bats in the Cardinals' minor-league system had yet another multi-hit performance Thursday.

Won-Bin Cho, the Cardinals' 10th-ranked prospect, extended his hitting streak to nine games with a 3-for-4 performance in Class High-A Peoria's 8-0 victory against Quad Cities in Davenport, Iowa. The left-handed hitting outfielder tied his season-high in hits, scored two runs, added an RBI and also walked.

Following two-hit days on Tuesday and Wednesday, Cho continued the hot hitting with a first-inning single but was thrown out while trying to advance to second for the second successive day. He then lined an RBI single into right field to extend Peoria's advantage to 3-0 in the third inning and scored on a single by Zach Levenson.

Cho added a leadoff double in the seventh inning but was stranded on third base. The five-hole hitter, who also grounded out in the fifth inning, closed his efficient day with a walk in the ninth inning, coming around to score on Tre Richardson's RBI single.

All three of Cho's hits were off left-handed pitchers, improving his average against southpaws to .269 this season.

The performance continued Cho's torrid start to July, during which he possesses a .545 average with three doubles, nine singles, four RBIs and three walks. Cho has recorded four multi-hit efforts in seven games this month, including three straight days with at least two hits. He owns seven hits in his past 11 at-bats, jolting his batting average to the highest it has been since the third game of the season.

Since the start of his hitting streak on June 29, Cho's average has rocketed from .217 to .252. He also had a seven-game hitting streak in June, during which he hit .333 with five extra-base hits.

Outfielder Tommy Edman, Class AA Springfield (rehab assignment):One night after he was a late scratch from the Class AA Springfield lineup, Edman returned and went 1 for 3 at the plate with a walk. The Cardinals' utility standout, who is recovering from offseason wrist surgery, served as the designated hitter in Class AA Springfield's 6-4 home victory over Wichita at Hammons Field. Edman struck out in each of his first two at-bats before lining a single to center field in the fifth inning. He then worked a six-pitch walk in the seventh inning, batting back from an 0-2 count to reach base a second time. A pinch runner replaced Edman in the seventh, bringing an end tohis second appearance of the rehab assignment. On Tuesday, in his first appearance of the rehab assignment, Edman also went 1 for 3 from the designated-hitter position.

Infielder Cesar Prieto, Class AAA Memphis:The Cardinals' 18th-ranked prospect recorded his fifth multi-hit game in July with a 2-for-3 night in Class AAA Memphis' 3-2 home defeat to Norfolk at AutoZone Park. Entering the tilt with at least one hit in 10 of his past 11 games, Prieto built upon the stretch with a second-inning single and a double, which had an exit velocity of 101.3mph, to lead off the fifth. In the seventh inning, the left-handed hitting infielder reached on a four-pitch walk and scored the game's tying run on Arquimedes Gamboa's RBI single that knotted the game at 2-all. Across his past 12 games, Prieto boasts a .392 average with as many multi-hit performances as strikeouts (seven). The recent surge has catapulted Prieto's splits to .306/.351/.484 in 78 games this season.

Right-handed pitcher Max Rajcic, Class AA Springfield:Looking to build off one of the strongest starts of the season, the Cardinals' 14th-ranked prospect navigated through early damage to pitch into the sixth inning against Wichita. Rajcic yielded three runs (all earned) on five hits in 5⅔ innings, with all three runs coming via solo home runs. He gave up leadoff blasts in the first and third innings with a one-out homer sandwiched in between them in the second inning. Despite the hearty contact, though, Rajcic struck out five and did not walk a batter while throwing 60 of his 99 pitches for strikes. He did not factor in the decision for only the second time this season and owns a 7-7 record with a 4.88 ERA in 16 starts.

Left-handed pitcher Brycen Mautz, Class High-A Peoria:In search of the first High-A victory of his career, Mautz finally reached the plateau in his 16th start of the season. The Cardinals' 20th-ranked prospect, who started the season 0-10, pitched five scoreless innings against Quad Cities, allowing five hits while striking out five and walking a season-high five batters. Mautz faced action on the basepaths in his final four innings of the start after retiring the River Bandits' first four hitters. However, the southpaw worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning with a groundout and benefited from a pair of double plays that kept it scoreless. The second-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2022 MLB draft posted his first scoreless effort of the season, improving to 1-10 with a 5.92 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 76 innings.