Outfielder Tai Peete, an outfielder with a rare blend of speed and power, recently recorded a cycle for High-A Peoria by recording a homer, single and triple over the final three innings a big win over Wisconsin.
While former switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje garnered most of the headlines when the Cardinals acquired him as the key centerpiece of a deal involving All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan on Feb. 2, outfielder Tai Peete could prove to be the top talent acquired by St. Louis.
Peete, a 20-year-old outfielder with a rare blend of power and speed, showed off his massive potential in High-A Peoria’s 34-7 defeat of Wisconsin on Aril 16.
Despite having just one hit (a double) heading into the seventh inning, the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Peete ended up hitting for the cycle in the Chiefs big victory. Peete’s cycle was the 18th by a Cardinals’ Minor League prospect since 2005.
Peete, the No. 18-ranked prospect in the Cardinals system, per MLB Pipeline, singled and homered in a seventh inning in which Peoria scored 10 times. Needing only a triple of the cycle, Peete led off the ninth inning by drilling a hard-hit ball to the 405-mark in right-center and he made it to third base standing up.
Peete ended the night 4 of 7 with a double, triple, homer and four RBI. He had 10 total bases and raised his batting average 62 points with the stellar night at the plate.
Plenty of pop from Peete
Peete was the No. 30 pick of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Mariners. Last season for High-A Everton, Pete had 24 doubles, four triples and 19 home runs to go with 25 stolen bases in 36 attempts in 125 games. Strikeouts were a huge problem, however, as he whiffed 162 times and he batted just .217 with a .288 on-base percentage.
This season, Peete is slashing .231/.344/.538/.882 by cutting his strikeouts to 16 to go along with nine walks. He already has five doubles and a triple to go along with three homers and 14 RBI.
Cijntje, the No. 5 prospect in the Cards system, has cooled off after a strong start to the season. He pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit baseball in his first start, but he has surrendered 11 hits, 10 earned runs and four homers in his last two starts. Cijntje, who is focusing only on working as a right-handed starter this season, does have 16 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings pitched this season.
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