Ortiz hit .387/.535/.771 with 34 homers over two seasons at Walters State (Tenn.) CC, sprinkling in summer stints in the Appalachian (2023) and MLB Draft (2024) Leagues to help boost his stock. He went to the Cardinals in the 16th round last year and signed for $200,000 ($50,000 of which counted toward St. Louis’ bonus pool). The right-handed slugger opened his first full season at Single-A Palm Beach and proved to be one of the Florida State League’s most prolific hitters in 2025 with a .294/.406/.446 slash line and 10 homers in 77 games before his promotion to High-A Peoria in late July.
Ortiz can look like he’s leaning back to begin his stance before thrusting himself forward with a leg kick. That produces enough kinetic energy to play into the strength of his 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame and generates pullside launch. His 105.3 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity ranked highly in the FSL, as did his 49.3 percent hard-hit and 12.5 percent barrel rates. Perhaps because of the movement, Ortiz can be susceptible to higher velocities, and while he doesn’t chase much, his in-zone contact rate is subpar, though that’s less of a worry given the thunder when he does put bat to ball.
A below-average runner who didn’t post a Sprint Speed above 26.6 ft/sec in the FSL, the Puerto Rico native has picked his baserunning spots very well in the early going, and that savviness could treat him well even without wheels. He has enough arm strength for third base, but he’s also mixed in a heavy dose of first this season. The Cardinals believe he has enough athleticism to keep getting looks at the hot corner, but if he needs to move across the diamond full-time, he will need to maintain this level of power production to meet the position’s high offensive threshold.
