With the Minor League season kicking off, here's where the Cardinals’ Top 30 Prospects are projected to start:
- JJ Wetherholt (MLB Pipeline No. 5), INF -- St. Louis (MLB)
- Liam Doyle (MLB No. 32), LHP -- Springfield (Double-A)
- Rainiel Rodriguez (MLB No. 35), C -- Peoria (High-A)
- Joshua Baéz (MLB No. 82), OF -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Jurrangelo Cijntje (MLB No. 86), RHP -- Springfield (Double-A)
- Leo Bernal (MLB No. 92), C -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Quinn Mathews, LHP -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Jimmy Crooks, C -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Brandon Clarke, LHP -- Injured (shoulder surgery)
- Tekoah Roby, RHP -- Injured (Tommy John rehab)
- Tanner Franklin, RHP -- Peoria (High-A)
- Ryan Mitchell, OF/SS -- Palm Beach (Single-A)
- Yhoiker Fajardo, RHP -- Peoria (High-A)
- Ixan Henderson, LHP -- Injured (left flexor strain)
- Tink Hence, RHP -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Yairo Padilla, SS -- Injured (shoulder strain)
- Cooper Hjerpe, LHP -- Injured (Tommy John rehab)
- Tai Peete, OF -- Peoria (High-A)
- Emanuel Luna, OF -- Extended spring training (Dominican Republic)
- Jesús Baéz, INF -- Peoria (High-A)
- Brycen Mautz, LHP -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Luis Gastelum, RHP -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Deniel Ortiz, 3B/1B -- Springfield (Double-A)
- Cade Crossland, LHP -- Palm Beach (Single-A)
- Chen-Wei Lin, RHP -- Springfield (Double-A)
- Blaze Jordan, 1B/3B -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Braden Davis, LHP -- Memphis (Triple-A)
- Hancel Rincon, RHP -- Springfield (Double-A)
- Jack Gurevitch, 1B -- Palm Beach (Single-A)
- Mason Molina, LHP -- Springfield (Double-A)
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Team to watch
This pick could go several different directions with the way the Cardinals have spread out their talent, but to focus on only one, the High-A Peoria roster comes with a ton of intrigue. Only 19 years old, Rodriguez has the most power potential of any Minor League catching prospect, and he’ll look to build on last year’s 20-homer campaign. Franklin was taken with the 72nd overall pick last year after working out of the Tennessee bullpen, but he’ll lead the Peoria rotation to begin his first full season. He averaged 96.2 mph and touched 99.9 with his four-seamer in last month’s Spring Breakout game and showed a low-90s cutter and mid-80s sweeper that could be future above-average pitches. Fajardo showed a slight velocity bump up to 94-96 in the same game that makes the 19-year-old righty all the more interesting in his first season as a St. Louis farmhand. Similarly, there will be a lot of eyes on Peete after his acquisition from the Mariners in the Brendan Donovan trade. The 20-year-old has above-average power, plus speed and an impressive glove in center but needs to make more contact in his second turn at High-A.
Players we could see in MLB in 2026
As Wetherholt’s arrival has shown, there will be ample opportunities for Cardinals prospects to break through to St. Louis during the club’s rebuild. Coming off his 20-homer, 54-steal breakout season in 2025, Báez continued to display his trademark power this spring, and pushed some fans to believe he should jump straight to the Majors. Instead, the Cardinals understandably wanted him to get Triple-A exposure first. If he mashes as expected, it could be a quick hook to The Show in the first half. Crooks, who got in 15 MLB games last season, is off to a hot offensive start in Memphis, and that’s big for a catcher who could be plus defensively already behind the plate. Mathews will need to improve his control in Memphis to earn the MLB debut many thought would come in 2025, but he still has many believers within the organization. A wild card here is Gastelum, a 24-year-old reliever with a screwball-like changeup that could punch a lot of tickets out of the MLB bullpen.
New faces
The Cardinals were busy on the trade market in the offseason, and Top 30 prospects Cijntje, Clarke, Fajardo and Peete all came over in winter deals involving Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan and Sonny Gray. Cijntje opens the highest of the group at Double-A, and notably, he’ll be focused on pitching right-handed in games to begin his St. Louis career after working as a switch-pitcher in the Seattle system. The Cardinals won’t close the book on him throwing lefty and will allow the 2024 first-rounder to work from both sides during bullpens between starts to keep both lanes open. But he’s shown better velocity and a higher ceiling as a right-handed thrower, and we’ll get a look at that with his move to Springfield.
On the shelf
Clarke underwent offseason shoulder surgery to address a blood-flow issue that may have caused the blisters that limited him to 38 innings at Single-A and High-A in 2025. He will likely miss April and May as a result. Roby and Hjerpe both underwent Tommy John surgery last season, though the latter should be closer to a return after having the procedure last spring, compared to Roby in July. Henderson opened the season on the Memphis 60-day injured list with a flexor strain, and Padilla will begin on the Palm Beach IL with a shoulder strain.
How to watch
Fans can watch Minor League Baseball games for free on the Bally Sports Live app or at BallySports.com. Fans may also purchase an MLB+ subscription, which includes access to MiLB games live and on demand, in addition to live MLB audio for all 30 teams, MLB Network and MLB Big Inning. Plus -- with or without a subscription -- Minor League games featuring MLB's top prospects are available in the MiLB Free Game of the Day.