The St. Louis Cardinals announced Thursday they promoted shortstop Masyn Winn from their Triple-A affiliate.

St. Louis Cardinals @Cardinals

SS Masyn Winn has been selected from Memphis (AAA). <br><br>He will wear uniform #0. <a href="">#STLCards</a> <a href="">

Winn ranks No. 32 overall in MLB.com's list of the top 100 prospects. He has a .288/.359/.474 slash line with 18 home runs and 61 RBI in 105 games with the Memphis Redbirds this season.

Along with promoting Winn, the Cardinals placed Lars Nootbaar on the 10-day injured list with a lower abdomen contusion.

With Nootbaar unavailable, the Cardinals started Tommy Edman in center field for Thursday's 4-2 loss to the New York Mets. Assuming Edman continues to occupy center for the time being, it created the need for another middle infielder and opened the door for Winn to make his highly anticipated MLB debut.

"He's one of the most exciting players I've seen in a while, and I am thrilled that he is coming up, and we'll get a chance to see it up here," manager Oliver Marmol said, per MLB.com's John Denton. "This is an electric player, for sure."

As good as his offensive numbers are, Winn's defense might become his calling card in the bigs. MLB.com gives him a 60 scouting grade for his fielding and an 80 grade — the highest available — for his arm.

MLB Pipeline @MLBPipeline

Move over, Oneil Cruz!<a href="">@Cardinals</a> prospect Masyn Winn with a 100.5 mph throw from short! <a href="">

Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated the organization was already looking ahead to 2024 with the playoffs looking less and less likely.

Promoting Winn aligns with that vision, even if it probably only happened now because of Nootbaar's injury. The 21-year-old has the opportunity to make an early case for being the Opening Day shortstop next season.