Tommy Edman is the newest unlikely star in St. Petersburg. Louisis

Since the turn of the millennium, St. The Louis Cardinals have only had one season to lose. During this time, the organization has developed countless baseball bettors on both sides of the baseball. The chief among them is 27-year-old superstar indoor player Tommy Edman, who has quietly become one of the game’s most valuable players.

Superstar? Tommy Edman? I know it may seem a little rich. After all, Edman shares the list with franchise legends Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, as well as more traditional superstar types like Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. But Edman, depending on which value you are looking at, is between 16 and the best player in baseball.

Edman is the shining star of the sixth round of Stanford University’s 2016 MLB Amateur Draft. Looking at the minors, it seemed that Edman was moving in the direction of being a major league contributor, albeit a glove-first, super-useful, being the Cardinals prospect of the 20th FanGraphs before the 2019 season. Here’s what local potential writers Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel had to say about Edman:

Edman is a switch striker Joey Wendle. … He has more power to hit with his right hand, but he doesn’t do much damage in games. Edman’s flat swing is most effective in capturing the squares in the upper half of the zone, making him well-positioned to hit as the batsman-thrower meta-game continues to move toward high-speed balls. Bat-to-ball skills dictate powerless profiles like Edman’s. He will either score enough to be 50, or he will not hit or be on the list unless he starts playing more defensive positions.

Looking at Edman’s production in the smaller leagues, the above perspective was true. Prior to 2019, he did not hit more than seven home teams in any season and never achieved a drop above any level of 0.439 (which was more than 38 games in 2017 in Single A). But when the 2019 hit hit, everything changed: he set a record for his seven home teams with just 49 games in Triple-A Memphis, reaching 0.305 / .356 / .513. Edman’s production, along with versatility in defense, forced him to promote, even though he was not yet on the 40-man list.

Fortunately for Edman and the Cardinals, the offensive production continued. Much like Edman forced himself into a major league club, he broke into the daily lineup, taking the lion’s share of time in third base. All in all, Edman’s numbers were terribly similar to Triple-A’s, hitting a 0.30 / .350 / .500 slash – a good 124-weighted run plus (wRC +). Combined with the slippery defense he was already known for, his 3.9-point win in baseball was 11th since the time he was called up and, despite a shortened season, he was the most valuable player on the team.

The seasons of 2020 and 2021 turned out to be fewer years for Edman than just offensive. But in 2022, he has returned to his impressive and more versatile newcomer level, having posted 123 wRC + today. The keys to Edman’s success on the plate? Much better skill set with breakthrough and walking.

For the first time in his career, Edman is working above average in both punching and walking, at the 74th and 59th percentiles, respectively. Of course, this has led to better contact, as he also achieves career excellence in terms of average exit speed, heavy impact rate, expected base-weighted and barrel rate.

Although the blow has returned for Edman in 2022, the two elite parts of his game that have not fallen or flowed over the years have been his defense and mainstream. No matter what position he is on, Edman has proven to be a first-class defender. He is the third-best defender in the game, with eight outs better than the average defender.