In the wake of Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom trading Brendan Donovan to the Mariners last week, it was pointed out by many, including me, that the Cardinals are now incredibly young, to the point that there are no players in the projected starting lineup over age 28, and only three over 25. (The projected rotation has five guys in their 20s as well.)
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
That, obviously, is a sign that St. Louis is going to let the young guys play this season, so that they can have every opportunity to establish themselves as MLB regulars. That’s particularly key, both for player and team, for Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman, two young hitters (they’re only 23 and 25, respectively) who have yet to take off despite two seasons of opportunities. They’ll have every chance this year. That is the plan.
But it is also worth noting that the Cardinals have young guys behind those starters who, if given an opening, will be encouraged to bust their way through. The addition of No. 91 prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje in the Donovan trade brought the number of Cardinals in MLB Pipeline’s new Top 100 Prospects list to six.
But don’t let that get you thinking that those prospects are far off. In fact, five of those six players (with the exception of slugging catching prospect Rainiel Rodriguez, who is only 19 and has yet to play beyond High-A) might well be in the Majors this season. For all the talk surrounding how the Donovan trade signaled that the Cardinals are focusing on youth and the future, a lot of that youth will be in St. Louis sooner rather than later. And they will be coming from all over the diamond.
Here’s a look at the major position groups for the Cardinals, both now and in the near future, and how some of these guys might make their way to the Majors in 2026, maybe even by the All-Star break … or sooner.
Catchers
St. Louis has no more crowded position than catcher. There are currently five catchers on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster. That includes Iván Herrera, who is probably their best hitter who might play much more at first base and DH than behind the plate. There’s also likely Opening Day starter Pedro Pagés, backup Yohel Pozo, 24-year-old Jimmy Crooks (who debuted late last season) and No. 98 overall prospect Leonardo Bernal.
Pagés and Pozo are the only guys over age 25. Perhaps not surprisingly, considering how things are going in St. Louis right now, they’re the ones whose spots on this team, at least for 2027 and maybe the end of 2026, feel the most perilous. Pitchers famously love throwing to Pagés, but his .643 OPS in the Majors is more suited to a backup role. Pozo was a great story who got off to a hot start and had a couple of dramatic homers -- including a great one to win a game at Wrigley -- but he batted .119 and slugged .194 after the All-Star break. Neither has done enough to stand in anyone’s way.
In his 15-game late-season cameo, Crooks was actually worse at the plate than that duo (he had six hits, two of them for extra bases, in 46 plate appearances), but he instantly drew praise for his defensive abilities. He was a .274 hitter with 14 homers in 98 games with Triple-A Memphis, though, so there is reason to think his bat has greater potential. Right behind him is Bernal, who won a Minor League Gold Glove Award last year and has shown a little bit more with the bat, too, as a switch-hitter. That Bernal is already on the 40-man roster -- and has Rodriguez directly behind him -- is a sign he might be pushed earlier rather than later.
And then there is Herrera, who doesn’t have nearly the defensive chops of the rest of the group but does have an All-Star-level bat. He wants to keep catching and has been working at it relentlessly all offseason, which St. Louis has encouraged. But the club also wants to make sure to get his bat in the lineup every day, to the point the Cardinals briefly played him in left field last season. (He struggled there.) This season might be Herrera’s last chance to stay at catcher. With those three catchers all coming up, the juice might not be worth the squeeze. The Cardinals’ catchers on Opening Day will be Pagés and probably Pozo, but there is a non-zero possibility neither is in that spot by July or earlier.
Infielders/outfielders
First, the infield. The Donovan trade cleared out a spot for MLB Pipeline No. 5 prospect JJ Wetherholt, but even if that had not happened, Wetherholt would likely still be starting on Opening Day. He’s an electric talent who has done nothing but hit since the Cardinals drafted him seventh overall in 2024, and even though he has played shortstop in the Minors, third base and second base (his likely initial position in the Majors) should be no sweat for him.
Wetherholt is also a big personality that Cardinals fans will absolutely adore, something that should not be underappreciated: St. Louis' franchise has always revolved around star centerpieces, and Wetherholt has the charisma and talent to be its next one. He’ll have to have a truly ghastly Spring Training not to be in the lineup on Opening Day, and for many Opening Days to come.
Gorman will likely start at third base, and he’s surely playing for his job: He might even platoon with Thomas Saggese. But there is no logical person behind him in the system unless Jesus Baez, acquired in the Ryan Helsley deal, figures something out quickly.
What’s really fascinating is what happens in the outfield. The prospect-related intrigue mostly comes from right field, because this sure seems like it’s Jordan Walker’s last chance. That’s a strange thing to say about someone who is still only 23 years old, but Walker has gotten progressively worse results in each of his three seasons in the Majors since entering 2023 as a top-five overall prospect. There are positive early reports about him this offseason, and he still hits the ball incredibly hard (when he hits it), so he’ll get lots of grace for the first half of the season to figure it out.
But if he doesn’t, Joshua Baez is right behind him, raking in Triple-A and busting into the MLB Pipeline Top 100 at No. 87. And it should probably be his time sooner rather than later: He is, after all, just one year younger than Walker. Many Cardinals fans have felt that Walker has been given too much slack, that he needs to earn his starting job and that he needs some competition. He's got some now.
Pitchers
Only two Cardinals seem assured, barring injury, that they’ll hold on to their rotation spots all season: lefty Matthew Liberatore and free-agent acquisition Dustin May (who, if he pitches well, could wind up a candidate to move in July). After that, it’s a hodgepodge, which leaves many opportunities for prospects on the rise.
No. 34 prospect Liam Doyle likely won’t be the first to get one of those opportunities, but that’s only because St. Louis sees him as a potential ace. The club will wait until the No. 5 pick in last year’s Draft out of Tennessee is good and ready, which might not take too long. He’ll turn 22 in June and already throws very, very hard, so it’s not difficult to believe he could very soon be one of the Cardinals’ five best starters.
Cijntje is roughly a year older than Doyle, and if the Cardinals have the switch-pitcher focus on throwing just right-handed (as the Mariners planned to), he could find himself on the fast track. And that’s not even considering the cases of Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews, two former Top 100 prospects whose stars have dimmed a bit but are still just 23 and 25, respectively.
There are other options, of course, including Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins, two 26-year-olds Bloom acquired from Boston in trades for Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras. And that’s the point.
The Cardinals have been bedeviled the past few seasons by having so little system depth that players like Jose Barrero, Garrett Hampson, Ryan Valade, Anthony Veneziano and Jorge Alcala have had to fill in. That is no longer an issue. There are young guys rushing the gate. They’ll be here before you know it.