Cardinals trade Aledmys Diaz to Blue Jays for prospect J.B. Woodman

On Friday December 1st the St. Louis Cardinals traded infielder Aledmys Diaz to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfield prospect J.B. Woodman. Who is J.B. Woodman? Let’s find out.

J.B. Woodman, OF: A native of Orlando, Florida, Woodman attended college at the University of Mississippi and had an impressive junior season in 2016, hitting .323/.412/.578 with 14 homers, 12 steals, 33 walks, and 48 strikeouts in 232 at-bats.

With natural power and speed he got some first round consideration from some clubs but contact issues with wooden bats in summer ball (he fanned 51 times in 128 at-bats in the 2015 Cape Cod League) inserted enough doubt into his profile to hold him to the second round.

Woodman spent 2017 with Lansing in the Low-A Midwest League, hitting .240/.320/.378 with seven homers, 40 walks, and 157 strikeouts in 362 at-bats.

Listed at 6-2, 195, he is a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower born December 13, 1994. Woodman features above-average raw power, average running speed, and an arm strong enough for right field.

He has multiple attractive physical tools but Woodman’s game skills are rather unrefined for a college player, particularly his swing mechanics that don’t translate his strength into game power often enough. His defense, very good in right field, is ahead of his offense at this point.