ST. LOUIS, Mo. – May 4, 2019 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today their selections for Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for April, with Palm Beach Cardinals (High-A) teammates Johan Oviedo and Justin Toerner taking the honors.

Oviedo (pronounced Oh-vee-ah-doh) went a perfect 5-0 in six games (five starts) for Palm Beach, striking out 35 batters in 33.2 innings pitched. The 6-6, 210-pound right-hander is leading the Florida State League in wins (5) and is co-leading the league with his 35 strikeouts.  Oviedo, 21, was born in Havana, Cuba and signed by the Cardinals as an international free-agent on July 2, 2016.

“Johan has had an outstanding start to his 2019 season in the Florida State League,” stated Cardinals’ Director of Player Development Gary LaRocque. “With over 33 innings of work, he and Justin Toerner have helped Palm Beach maintain a top spot in the league standings.”

Toerner (pronounced Turner) reached base safely in all but one of his 21 games played in April and hit safely in 17 of those 21 April contests, batting .394 (28-for-71) with a .531 on-base percentage.

The 22-year-old Toerner is currently leading the Florida State League in batting (.367), on-base pct. (.500), walks (20), runs scored (20) and OPS (1.006) and has a team-high 16 RBI. The left-handed hitting outfielder was drafted by the Cardinals last June in the 28th round (843rd player overall) out of Cal State University-Northridge.

“Justin’s month included Florida State League Player of the Week honors (April 8-14) to begin the season and he’s continued to put together consistent at-bats,” said LaRocque.