# Ixan Henderson And Josh Kross Named Cardinals Top Minor Leaguers For April 2025

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/
- Published: 2025-05-06T14:00:00-05:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

### **_LHP IXAN HENDERSON & 1B/C JOSH KROSS NAMED CARDINALS TOP MINOR LEAGUERS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL_**

[⌊Cardinals News Header⌉⌊Cardinals News Header⌉[

**ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 6, 2025 – **The [St. Louis Cardinals](https://www.mlb.com/cardinals)
today announced their selections for Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month
for April, with Springfield Cardinals (AA) left-handed starting pitcher **_[Ixan Henderson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hender000ixa&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-06_br)_**_(
pronounced EE-shawn)_ and Palm Beach Cardinals (A) catcher/first baseman **_[Josh Kross](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=kross-000jos&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-06_br)_**
taking home the honors.

[⌊Josh Kross⌉⌊Josh Kross⌉[

Kross**, **22, slashed .288/.376/.671, and led all qualified Cardinals hitters in
home runs (6), RBI (29), runs scored (18), extra-base hits (14), total bases (49)
and OPS (1.047). He homered in four straight games from April 11-15, and capped 
the streak with a cycle on April 15 vs. Clearwater at the [Jackie Robinson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=robinja02,robins010jac&search=Jackie+Robinson&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-06_br)
Training Complex on Jackie Robinsin Day, going 4-for-5 with 6 RBI.

“Josh has shown improvements in multiple areas of his offensive game, especially
in the areas of impact quality and productive launch angles,” said Cardinals Director
of Player Development **_Larry Day_**. “He is hitting the ball harder at better 
angles compared to last season, which leads to his power production. These improvements
are likely byproducts of his off-season training, and an awesome example of how 
an organizational off-season program can directly impact in-season player production.
Josh is maintaining offensive success while also re-introducing catching to his 
defensive skillset, adding defensive versatility to his own tool bag as well as 
Gary Kendall’s Palm Beach ball club.”

The 6’1”, switch hitter was drafted by the club in the 6th round of the 2024 MLB
Draft out of the University of Cincinnati and appeared in 23 games with Palm Beach
last season. Kross led all Single-A hitters in HR, RBI, XBH and TB for the month
and was also recognized as the Florida State League Player of the Week from April
7-13. He is the second Palm Beach hitter to earn organizational Player of the Month
honors since the start of 2022, joining [Chase Davis](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=davis-036cha,davis-031cha&search=Chase+Davis&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-06_br)
in June of 2024.

[⌊Ixan Henderson⌉⌊Ixan Henderson⌉[

Henderson, 23, posted a 2-1 record with a 2.79 ERA (6 ER/19.1 IP) and 24 strikeouts
across his first four career Double-A starts. Among Cardinals minor league hurlers
with at least 17.0 innings pitched, Henderson ranked in the top five in ERA (5^(
th)), OPS allowed (5^(th), .608), SO/9 (2^(nd), 11.17) and SO/BB ratio (2^(nd), 
4.00), while also ranking 3^(rd) in total strikeouts. He did not allow more than
three runs in any of his starts, which was highlighted by 5.0 scoreless innings 
with 8 strikeouts and a win in his first start of the season on April 10 at Amarillo.

“Ixan’s April success comes as no surprise to those that have been around him,” 
stated **_Day_**. “He is relentless when it comes to his physical and mental preparation.
Eric Peterson and the rest of our pitching group have done a tremendous job to ensure
that Ixan has a clear plan of attack prior to each start, and Ixan has been amazing
in executing the plan. Often seen taking notes in the dugout in between starts, 
Ixan and Eric have placed high developmental priorities on the sweeper and fastball
combination, which has led to Ixan’s effectiveness in April.”

Selected in the 8th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Fresno State, Henderson finished
his first full professional season last year with an 8-4 record, 2.34 ERA and 105
strikeouts across 22 appearances (17 starts) between Peoria (High-A) and Palm Beach(
Single-A). He is the first Springfield minor leaguer to earn organizational Pitcher
of the Month honors since [Jake Walsh](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walshja02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-06_br)
in May 2021.

**— STL —**

### Share this:

 * [  Facebook ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=facebook)
 * [  X ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=x)
 * [  Email ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Ixan%20Henderson%20And%20Josh%20Kross%20Named%20Cardinals%20Top%20Minor%20Leaguers%20For%20April%202025&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyrdcast.com%2Fixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025%2F&share=email)
 * [  LinkedIn ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=linkedin)
 * [  Mastodon ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=mastodon)
 * [  Nextdoor ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=nextdoor)
 * [  Pinterest ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=pinterest)
 * [  Reddit ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=reddit)
 * [  Tumblr ](https://www.nyrdcast.com/ixan-henderson-and-josh-kross-named-cardinals-top-minor-leaguers-for-april-2025/?share=tumblr)

### Like this:

Like Loading…

### _Related_