TOWER GROVE — St. Louis native David Freese, the Cardinals’ third base prospect on the doorstep of the majors, ripped a grand slam Wednesday night down in Venezuela, where he’s playing winter ball. The homer, a fourth-inning shot off Houston pitcher Kyle Middleton, was his second of the winter season and it drove Caribes de Anzoategui to a 11-4 victory.

Freese has had a few other wins already this winter.

The 25-year-old infielder had a breakout year in his first season with the St. Louis Cardinals. Acquired from San Diego for center fielder Jim Edmonds, Freese came to the Cardinals without an at-bat above the Class A level. With a third baseman already earmarked for Double-A — Allen Craig — the Cardinals accelerated Freese, pushing him to Triple-A. He responded with a .306 average, .550 slugging percentage and 26 home runs to go with 91 RBIs. He was billed as an average fielder when they got him, and by the end of the season scouts and coaches viewed his glove as an asset. It was, in short, the kind of season that makes an Organizational Player of the Year.

Freese was recognized by Baseball America as a Triple-A All-Star this year, and in the BA organizational awards (picked in the Cardinals’ case by me) Freese was the position player of the year. Scout.com recently released its selections for postseason awards, and Freese was its pick as the Cards Minors Player of the Year. The Cardinals selected Daryl Jones as a winner for the in-house award, though the discussion came down to Freese and the rising toolsy outfielder. Pitchers are given separate awards, with Jess Todd being the unanimous selection as the Pitcher of the Year. The Cardinals picked Todd, though they considered Nick Additon as a finalist for the award. Scout.com selected Adam Reifer as its Cards Minors Rookie Reliever of the Year.

But what if there wasn’t the fracturing of these awards? What if every minor-leaguer was tossed into the same pool and on Player of the Year was selected? Could be a hitter. Could be a pitcher. Could be all about performance. Could be all about production and the promise of more. Just pick only one player.

That’s the poll presented here.

The following are seven candidates (and an “other”) for you to choose who you think was the overall Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year. (A similar poll for the major-league team would hold little drama.) Tidbits and links on each name are listed below the poll.

The thumbnails:

NICK ADDITON, LHP: (MiLB.com) Lefty, a 46th-round pick in 2006, finished the season unbeaten in three starts at High-A Palm Beach. Overall, he was 11-5 with a 2.23 ERA in 28 games (22 starts). He struck out 121 in 137 innings pitched, and walked 40. He held opponents to a .208 average. He had a 31 2/3-inning long scoreless streak this past season, the longest in the minors at the point it ended.

MITCHELL BOGGS, RHP: (MiLB.com) Most of what Cardinals Nation knows about Boggs comes from his appearances at the big-league level, which included a strong start at Fenway Park, a 3-0 start and then a tumble. But in Memphis, Boggs did well enough for managers in the Pacific Coast League to select him as the best pitching prospect in the league. He went 9-3, 3.45 with 1.22 WHIP for the Cardinals’ Class AAA affiliate. Improving his stock with the managers was his status as a prospect (not, say, a six-year free agent or journeyman depth pitcher) and his three quality pitches.

DAVID FREESE, 3B: (MiLB.com) Mentioned most of it above. Freese went .306/.361/.550 for Memphis with 26 homers and 91 RBIs. Is off playing in Venezuela after getting the invitation from hitting instructor Dan Radison, who is down there working with the team. Freese has planted himself as the heir apparent to Troy Glaus, even with Allen Craig (playing the outfielder) and first-round pick Brett Wallace charging.

DARYL JONES, OF: (MiLB.com) Jones was a top-10 prospect the first couple years after he was plucked from a Houston-area high school and a potential college football career. Last year at this time, the decision was made that he had played his way out of the Top 30. Well, now he’s back in the top 10 — with a bullet. The speedy and young outfielder rocketed to Double-A and finished the season with a .316/.407/.483 line. He hit 13 homers with 24 steals. (Looking for a Prospect SAT on him. Jones:Player X:Crawford?)

ADAM REIFER, RHP: (MiLB.com) May have innings working against him, as he pitched just 30 1/3 for Batavia this past season. But he’s got the arm that gets attention. A power righthander who is one of a handful who can throw in that mid-90s mph territory. An 11th-round pick out of UC-Riverside in 2007, Reifer went 2-1, 2.97 with 41 strikeouts and 15 walks in those 30 1/3 innings. He held opponents to a .162 average.

FRANCISCO SAMUEL, RHP: (MiLB.com) A product of the Cardinals’ Dominican Republic facility, Samuel is ticketed to be a pitcher just catching his stride, and he could move swiftly through the system. He throws hard. He has a tight slider. He’s thrived in the late-inning job with High-A Palm Beach, and he’s refined control away from bounding to Triple-A, a possible destination for 2009. Samuel had 29 saves and finished 49 games for Palm Beach. He struck out 85 in 56 1/3 innings for Palm Beach, and overall he had 94 Ks and 53 walks in 63 2/3 innings total. Opponents hit .191 against him this past season.

JESS TODD, RHP: (MiLB.com) Perhaps the most talked-about prospect in the system this past year, Todd was an All-Star at two levels and he pitched at three this year. He rose to the rotation in Class AAA Memphis, where he will likely start 2009 after getting a taste of big-league spring training. Todd features one of the best pitches in the organization, his cutting fastball. He keeps the ball down, can move fast and may end up as a reliever. He went 8-6, 2.88 with 136 strikeouts in 153 innings.

OTHERS: Outfielder Jon Jay reached Triple-A where he hit .345 and completed a season with a .312/.382/.463 line with 37 extra-base hits. Good bounce-back year after a 2007 ruined by injuries. … 1B Josh Phelps hit 31 home runs and drove in 97 RBIs for Memphis. A major-league bat, Phelps hit .291/.373/.568. … C Bryan Anderson, who is getting a lot of play as the Cardinals’ brightest trade chip this winter, hit .308/.377/.416 and finished the year in Class AAA as one of the youngest players in the PCL at one of the toughest positions. He hit .388 in Double-A. … 3B Allen Craig, almost lost in all the talk of Freese and Wallace, did well, hitting .304/.373/.494 with 22 homers and 85 RBIs at Class AA.

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RIFFS & LINKS: Free-agent season (quietly) brings up the compensation possibilities. The Cardinals had six players file for free agency Thursday, and it’s possible a few of the Cardinals’ free agent will be Type A or Type B free agents. Those can bring draft-pick compensation. Three candidates to rank for compensation are Russ Springer, Jason Isringhausen and Braden Looper. To get the compensation, the Cardinals must offer any of the players arbitration — a risk, in some cases. But if Isringhausen is a Type A free agent and could land a high pick if he signed elsewhere, is that worth the risk that he’d take the offer of arbitration? … Westminster Christian pitcher Jacob Turner, a RHP, is ranked fifth on Baseball America’s Top 100 prep players list. … BA has its draft report card up for the Cardinals, and Jonathan Mayo has his take on the Cardinals’ organizational awards and performance at MiLB.com.

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