Wetherholt leads way as 5 Cards prospects make Top 100 list

ST. LOUIS -- Queried at a recent Baseball Writers' Association of America awards banquet about what would make their respective 2026 seasons a success, Cardinals prospects JJ Wetherholt, Leonardo Bernal and Brycen Mautz all responded with the same answer.

Even though they finished 2025 at different levels of the Minor Leagues, Wetherholt, Bernal and Mautz all admitted that they had Busch Stadium in their sights for 2026 with the young and rebuilding Cardinals.

One of the reasons the Cards decided to go all in on the franchise’s first full-scale rebuild in three decades is the depth of dynamic talent they have at the Minor League level. Not only do the Cardinals have a player MLB Pipeline views as the No. 5-ranked overall prospect in Wetherholt, but they also have three players in the Top 40 and five ranked in the Top 100 of MLB Pipeline’s new prospect rankings list.

Wetherholt, who will be given every shot to make the Cardinals' Opening Day roster in Spring Training, is slotted at No. 5 -- the same spot he was at the end of 2025 when he slashed .306/.421/.510 (.931) with 28 doubles, 17 homers, 23 stolen bases and 59 RBIs. Left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle, the No. 5 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cards, ranks at No. 34, while 19-year-old catching phenom Rainiel Rodriguez slots in at No. 37. Outfielder Joshua Baez, who dramatically reshaped the direction of his career with a 2025 season where he smashed 20 homers and stole 54 bases, soared to No. 87. Bernal, a Gold Glove-winning catcher last season with Double-A Springfield, is ranked No. 98.

“It’s definitely exciting to be a part of this organization now, because there are a lot of guys who are hungry to make a name for themselves,” said Wetherholt, a prospect who can play second base, third or shortstop. “We all want to bring winning baseball back to St. Louis, and you can feel that as a young guy.”

The Cardinals are one of five organizations with five prospects on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, while the Mariners (seven), Mets (six) and Guardians (six) lead the way. The Pirates, Dodgers, White Sox and Marlins also have five prospects in the new rankings.

In a breakdown of the rankings, 77 players came from the MLB Draft, while 23 were locked up in the international signing period. Some 73 of the players hail from the United States, while the Dominican Republic has produced 11 and another five are from Venezuela. Shortstop (26) has the most Top 100 prospects -- including No. 1 Konnor Griffin (Pirates), No. 2 Kevin McGonigle (Tigers), No. 3 Jesús Made (Brewers), No. 4 Leo De Vries (Athletics) and Wetherholt -- while outfield (21), right-handed pitcher (18), left-handed pitcher (14) and catcher (12) round out the positional leaders on the list.

New Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom spent two years with the club in an advisory role, and one of his first evaluations was that St. Louis needed to reinvest in its farm system to breathe life back into the organization. The Cardinals have done just that by dramatically boosting their staffing at all levels of the Minor Leagues, while also investing heavily in technological advances that should help them better evaluate and develop the talent they have in their system.

“Big picture, I’m really pleased and very excited with how the first year went,” Bloom said of the addition of staff and the increased focus on player development. “The reality is there are days when you say, ‘Man, we’re trying to do a lot right now all at once.’ There are other days when you say, ‘We’re not moving nearly fast enough.’ That’s just the nature of this business because it’s so competitive. I think to the extent that there is a little discomfort and a little anxiety about what we’re doing, people trying to adjust to what we’re doing and people trying to push -- all those things are good, and it should feel a little uncomfortable.

“I’m really happy with our new leadership and our returning staff for staying engaged in the process and that was an ask I made of them in Spring Training. It’s not always going to be perfect or feel comfortable, but that’s what growth feels like. As long as we stayed with it, I thought we’d look up at the end of the year and feel like we came really far. Now, a lot of the stuff we’re doing in terms of helping our players is starting to feel second nature. Not to say we’re going to continue growing, evolving and changing, but I’m just really happy with the group we have and where they will take us in Year 2.”