Jimmy Crooks' Torrid Triple-A Start Has Cardinals Paying Close Attention

Jimmy Crooks posted a 107.9 mph max exit velocity, a 258 wRC+ and three home runs across his first six games at Triple-A Memphis, and at 24, the Cardinals' 2022 fourth-round pick is turning what looked like a settled catching depth chart into an active roster puzzle.

Through 26 plate appearances with the Redbirds, Crooks slashed .400/.538/.900 with a double and six RBIs, ranking among the best wRC+ marks in the International League during that window. The headline numbers were compelling on their own, but the batted-ball data underneath made the argument for real skill development. His average exit velocity on his first 12 batted balls reached 98.5 mph, and his hard-hit rate spiked to 69.2 percent, nearly double the 42.1 percent he logged across all his Triple-A plate appearances in 2025. A one-week hot streak can manufacture a slash line; it rarely manufactures a 27-point jump in hard-hit rate alongside it.

The contrast with Crooks' previous big-league exposure is stark. When he made his MLB debut on August 29, 2025, he batted .133/.152/.244 across 46 plate appearances that September. He looked like a player still searching for his footing against major-league arms. The 2026 batted-ball profile suggests something has materially changed in the approach.

Defensively, Crooks strengthened the case further. He threw out both runners who attempted to steal against him and handled the automated ball-strike challenge system cleanly, which makes his early profile explicitly two-way. That ABS detail carries real weight given the broader Cardinals catching picture: Pedro Pagés, the team's Opening Day starter, missed a challenge on a pitch 2.4 inches outside the zone in the recent Detroit series while Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler went 4-for-4 on challenges in the same game. Crooks passing that test in Memphis while Pagés visibly struggles with it in the big leagues is not a coincidence the Cardinals front office can ignore.

The path to St. Louis is crowded but not closed. The Cardinals are running Pagés as their primary catcher, with Yohel Pozo as the backup and Iván Herrera largely deployed as the designated hitter to preserve roster flexibility. Memphis teammate Leo Bernal, MLB Pipeline's No. 91 overall prospect, adds yet another name to the organizational catching queue. Under normal circumstances, none of that clears quickly.

But roster math is rarely normal. An injury to Pagés, a prolonged offensive slump, or a continued breakdown at the ABS system opens an immediate door. A front office already willing to shift Herrera to DH is clearly comfortable making unconventional decisions at the position. If Crooks is still posting 98-plus average exit velocities and a wRC+ north of 200 into late April, the recall argument becomes harder to dismiss with a wave.

The next Memphis series serves as the first real confirmation test. Sustained hard contact, continued ABS success and another week of disciplined plate appearances would move Crooks from organizational depth to legitimate short-term option. Through the opening week of the 2026 season, the evidence is pointing in only one direction.