Just some light reading.
All four major contributors at MLBTR made their individual predictions for each player. Only one person predicted the Cardinals sign anyone in the top 50: Cody Ponce
Had never heard of him but their write up was somewhat intriguing. Kind of a harder throwing Mikolas back when he made the jump. Interesting idea.
39. Cody Ponce, SP: two years, $22MM
Tim: White Sox / Anthony: Cardinals / Darragh: Brewers / Steve: Giants
Probably a surprise entrant on the list for many readers, Ponce is a relative unknown to the general MLB fan base but is firmly on the radar of big league scouts. The former Brewers second-rounder pitched briefly in the majors with the Pirates from 2020-21 but was roughed up for a 5.86 ERA in 55 1/3 MLB frames.
Ponce has spent the past four seasons pitching in Asia, spending the 2022-24 campaigns in Japan before pitching for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2025. The right-hander posted strong numbers with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2022-23, struggled with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2024, and broke out with one of the most dominant pitching performances in KBO history this past season.
Ponce, 32 next April, logged 180 2/3 innings with a 1.89 ERA out of the Hanwha rotation in 2025. He fanned an incredible 36.2% of his opponents against just a 5.9% walk rate. The huge 6’6″, 255-pound righty piled up 252 strikeouts overall — shattering the previous record of 225. (The KBO plays a 144-game season, as compared to MLB’s 162-game slate, it should be noted.) He also set the KBO’s single-game strikeout record when he set down 18 batters on strikes versus the SSG Landers back in May.
Ponce sat 93.2 mph with his four-seamer during his MLB days, but he’s added velocity and now sits around 95-96, occasionally climbing as high as 98 mph. He pairs the improved heater with a cutter, changeup and curveball, the latter two of which both miss bats at an above-average level.
The breakout showing for Ponce has some parallels to that of Erick Fedde a few years ago, though Ponce’s prior NPB success in 2022-23 is something that Fedde didn’t have on his track record. Scouts who spoke to MLBTR opined that Fedde had better command but Ponce offers more upside and much better weapons to miss bats in the majors. He’ll be a year older than Fedde was when he made his MLB return, but we’re betting that Ponce can still top Fedde’s overall guarantee, and a third year might not be entirely out of the question.