Cardinals Star Outfield Prospect Finishes Second in Home Run Derby

In an Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby field that included several classic home run hitters and even 6-foot-5, 260-pound San Diego Padres slugger Alex McCoy, St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect Tai Peete showed the group that speedy leadoff hitters have plenty of pop, too.

Peete, one of the breakout stars of the Arizona Fall League and a leading candidate for the AFL’s Most Valuable Player award, shocked participants and viewers when he won two rounds of Saturday night’s Home Run Derby.

However, the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Peete seemed to run out of steam in the championship round and fell to Toronto Blue Jays outfielder/catcher Aaron Parker, 2-1. Parker was a late entry into the competition after Dodgers prospect Chase Harlan had to drop out, and he needed just two swings to defeat Peete in the championship round.

Peete, the No. 17-ranked prospect in the Cardinals’ Minor League system, hit 15 home runs in the three rounds of the competition – second most of any participant behind only Toronto’s Parker with 19.

Peete. 21, will be back in action on Sunday night (TV coverage: MLB TV) in the Arizona Fall-Stars Game. Peete’s Cardinals teammate, right-handed starter Tekoah Roby, was also chosen as an Arizona Fall-Star, but he will not compete in the All-Star Game as he is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery. In three AFL starts, Roby has not allowed a run over 9 2/3 innings while striking out 13 and walking just one.  

Peete has been the breakout star of the AFL, ranking second in the AFL in slugging (.676), second in OPS (1.114), second in runs scored (23), second in triples (five) and second in hits (26). He leads the AFL in stolen bases (20 in 24 tries), while also ranking fifth in batting average (.351), sixth in RBI (17), ninth in doubles (five) and 16th in on-base percentage (.438). Half of Peete’s 26 hits have gone for extra bases in his 18 games played.

In Saturday’s Home Run Derby, Peete beat Milwaukee Brewers prospect Eric Bitoni 9-8 in the first round with Peete impressively not using any of his nine allowed “outs.” In the second round, Peete was going up against Colorado Rockies catcher Jack O’Dowd, who tied for the most first-round long balls with 12. Peete not only beat O’Dowd 4-3, but he did so with four “outs” still remaining.

Parker, who was asked to participate in the event late Friday night following an injury to Harlan, thumped McCoy 12-7 in the first round and he rallied past Brooks Bryan 6-5 in the second round. After Peete hit just one long ball in the championship round, Parker won the event with a 477-foot blast over the wall in left-center field.

Peete, 21, was acquired by the Cardinals from the Mariners last February in the trade centered around All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan heading to Seattle. Peete, a native of Riverdale, Ga., was selected with the 30th pick of the 2023 MLB Draft by Seattle.

The No. 17-ranked prospect in the Cardinals system split his season between High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield. He hit for the cycle twice early in the season with Peoria and had a 5-for-5 performance with a 430-foot homer in Game 1 of the Texas League Championship Series.

Despite missing five weeks with an illness that resulted in him being hospitalized and losing approximately 25 pounds, Peete still played in 66 games and hit .296 with 19 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs and 56 RBI during the regular season. He cut into his strikeout rate (26.9 percent) and stole 16 bases in 24 tries. In five playoff games with Springfield, Peete went 8 for 22 (.364) with a double, two homers, six RBI and a stolen base.