Cardinals prospect Won-Bin Cho continues June surge with two doubles: Minor League Report (2024)

Cardinals outfield prospect Won-Bin Cho continued his bounce-back performance in June with two extra-base hits on Wednesday for Class High-A Peoria.

Fresh off a two-hit game on Tuesday, the 20-year-old went two-for-five with two doubles and two runs scored in Peoria’s 7-0 win over Cedar Rapids. The two-hit effort gave Cho back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time this season. He improved his average to .219 and a .621 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

In his first season in High-A, Cho finished May with a .172 batting average and a .250 slugging percentage in 64 at-bats. The native of South Korea struck out 27 times in that span and produced three extra-base hits — two doubles and a home run — in 19 games across his second month with Peoria. The troubles left him with a .204 average and a .563 OPS through his first 38 games.

Over his last nine games since the start of June, Cho has hit .281 and slugged .531. His improved average and power numbers at the plate include three doubles, a triple, and a home run in 32 at-bats. Cho has reached base safely with a hit in six of the last seven games he’s played in.

Here are other performances from around the Cardinals farm system:

Catcher Willson Contreras, Class AAA Memphis (rehab assignment): In his second minor league rehab game, Contreras caught five innings, as planned, and took two at-bats before being replaced by Nick Raposo in the sixth inning of Memphis’s 3-2 against Jacksonville. Contreras went hitless and earned an RBI on a groundout to shortstop in the first inning that scored infield prospect Thomas Saggese from third base. The next step in Contreras’s rehab assignment has not been determined. Contreras has been on the injured list since May 8 after suffering a fractured left arm.

Right-handed pitcher Gordon Graceffo, Class AAA Memphis: Forming a battery with Contreras, Graceffo threw five scoreless innings, allowed four hits, one walk, and struck out four batters on 92 pitches (58 strikes). Graceffo improved to 8-5 on the year and lowered his to 3.84. The scoreless start was Graceffo’s second consecutive scoreless outing. All four hits allowed by the 24-year-old were singles — three of which had exit velocities below 80 mph, per Statcast. Graceffo, who has had dips in velocity, averaged 93.1 mph with his fastball and touched 96 mph. He landed his fastball for nine called strikes and had three swings-and-misses on the pitch.

Left-handed pitcher Pete Hansen, Class High-A Peoria: Six scoreless innings against Cedar Rapids helped Hansen earn his first win of the season after he had gone 0-5 through 11 starts. The former third-round pick from the 2022 MLB draft entered Wednesday with a 5.03 ERA but shaved it down to 4.53 with his third quality start. Hansen, who struck out five batters and walked two, limited Cedar Rapids to four hits, all of which were singles. After beginning May with a 7.58 ERA, Hansen has maintained a 3.10 ERA across his eight most recent starts. He’s struck out 36 batters and walked 14 in that stretch.

Right-handed pitcher Darlin Saladin, Class Low-A Palm Beach: Saladin, the Cardinals minor league pitcher of the month for May, logged his third consecutive quality start as he completed six innings and allowed two runs against Tampa. The only two runs the righty allowed came on a two-run home run in the first inning of Palm Beach’s 3-2 loss. Saladin walked the first batter he faced on Wednesday after he got ahead, 0-2, in the count. A 90.5 mph thrown middle-low in the strike zone to the next hitter, Tampa’s George Lombard Jr., was lifted to right-center field for the first home run Saladin has allowed in 11 games (10 starts) this season. Before the home run from Lombard, Saladin had completed 54 innings without giving up a home run. Over his last three outings, Saladin has a 1.89 ERA. He’s maintained a 1.95 EERA and 1.02 walks and hits per inning (WHIP) across 60 innings for Palm Beach.