Cardinals trade Stephen Piscotty to Athletics for two prospects

There was more prospect trade action on Thursday, with the St. Louis Cardinals shipping Stephen Piscotty to the Oakland Athletics for minor leaguers Yairo Munoz and Max Schrock. Here’s a quick look.

Yairo Munoz, INF-OF: Munoz is from the Dominican Republic, signed by Oakland in 2011. He split 2017 between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Nashville, hitting a combined .300/.330/.464 with 13 homers, 22 steals, 21 walks, and 86 strikeouts in 446 at-bats.

Munoz is listed at 6-1, 185, a right-handed hitter, age 22. He’s a good athlete with above-average running speed and surprising raw power. There’s been concern about an over-aggressive approach and his walk rates are low, though he handled Texas League and Pacific Coast League pitching without undue difficulty in 2017.

He’s been groomed as a super-utility player and has innings at every defensive position except first base and catcher. His arm plays well at shortstop and third base and he’s looked good in limited outfield innings.

Max Schrock, 2B: Schrock was originally drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 13th round in 2015 from the University of South Carolina. He came to the Athletics in 2016 for Marc Rzepcynski. Schrock had a very impressive 2017 season with Double-A Midland, hitting .321/.379/.422 with 34 walks and 42 strikeouts in 417 at-bats.

Schrock is listed at 5-8, 180, a left-handed hitter, age 23. None of his physical tools are particularly impressive but he has a high-revving game motor and great instincts, notably as a hitter, fitting the “scrappy second baseman” stereotype. Lack of range and arm strength limits him to second base but he catches everything he gets to and made just six errors in 2017.