This weekend, the Cardinals will wrap up the 2026 season, one that should lay the groundwork for October baseball in the coming years.
While fans are rightfully disappointed to miss out on the postseason for the fourth straight season, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the Cardinals' future. Here are just five of those:
1. Walker and Burleson anchoring the middle of the order
Both Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson walk out of this season as some of St. Louis' biggest building blocks for the future.
Walker and Burleson became the first Cardinals duo to have 100-plus RBIs in the same season since Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in 2022. They complement each other extremely well, as entering Friday, Burleson had a .924 OPS against right-handed pitching and Walker posted a .885 OPS against lefties. Both players had a .905 OPS or higher with runners in scoring position as well, showing they are the ideal players to have up in the biggest spots of a game.
2. Strong rookie class
Headlined by JJ Wetherholt, the Cardinals had 13 players make their MLB debut for them during the season, many of whom could have significant roles with the club moving forward.
Wetherholt has already established himself as the club’s leadoff man and Gold Glove-caliber second baseman, while Joshua Báez and Leo Bernal look like they could be staples in the heart of the Cardinals’ order for a long time. Quinn Mathews looked strong in his first stint in the rotation, and arms like Cooper Hjerpe, Luis Gastelum and Cade Winquest impressed out of the bullpen.
It’s hard not to walk away encouraged by that group.
3. Starting pitching renaissance
Entering Friday, the rotation’s 4.10 ERA was 11th-best in baseball, with five starters posting an ERA of 3.84 or lower on the season.
Kyle Leahy broke out in his first season as a starter, posting a 3.66 ERA in 30 starts, while Andre Pallante rebounded from a rough 2025 to post the best ERA among the team’s starters (3.61). Even newcomers Mathews (3.65 ERA) and Hunter Dobbins (3.67 ERA) impressed in their opportunities.
For the first time in years, the Cardinals are not entering an offseason searching for stability in their rotation.
4. Loaded farm system
The Cardinals have waves of talented prospects on their way to supplement this Major League core. Headlined by MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 overall prospect Rainiel Rodriguez, who looks to be a star in the making, the Cardinals have even more exciting names set to join prospects Baez, Bernal, Mathews and Hjerpe.
Baseball’s fourth-ranked farm system, according to MLB Pipeline, the Cardinals feature top arms Liam Doyle (No. 2) and Tanner Franklin (No. 6) -- both of whom boast big-time fastballs and exciting secondary pitches that can turn them into front-line starters. Brandon Clarke (No. 9), Jurrangelo Cijntje (No. 12), and Yhoiker Fajardo (No. 13) all had great years after being acquired in trades this offseason.
On the position player side, outfielders like Alexander Frias (No. 5), Trevor Condon (No. 7) and Josiah Ragsdale (No. 11) join slugging shortstop Jesús Báez (No. 15) as the next wave of bats to potentially join the Cardinals lineup. This is the most talented and deepest group of prospects the Cards have had in over a decade, and they’ll be joining an already talented young core budding in St. Louis.
COMPLETE CARDINALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
5. It’s just Year 1 of the Chaim Bloom era
Sounds like a pretty great place to be in after Chaim Bloom’s first year running baseball operations in St. Louis. Bloom began to implement changes to the Cardinals' player development over a year ago, and the fruits of that labor has become more and more apparent the longer it’s been in place. But Bloom and this group know it’s only the beginning, and where things go from here will determine how fans view this era of Cardinals baseball.
It’s safe to say it’s off to an exciting start, one that the organization hopes will result in new banners being flown at Busch Stadium in the coming years.