The Cardinals are never really thought of as an organization that gets the elite prospects yet they keep churning out quality baseball players year after year. The same can be said for this crop of prospects coming through the system at the moment, though a few are higher ranked than most we’ve seen from them in a long time. One of the best things about the Cardinals’ prospects is that very few of them fail to be fantasy significant early in their careers due to their extensive player development system. It may have been a disappointing offense last year but there is help coming...soon.

Org. Rank (100): 13

Division Rank (100): 1st

Top-100 Prospects: 3

Org. Rank (300): 27

Division Rank (300): 3rd

Top-300 Prospects: 5

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Level

League

DSL Cardinals Red/Blue

Rookie Summer League

Dominican Summer League

GCL Cardinals

Rookie

Gulf Coast League

Johnson City Cardinals

Rookie

Appalachian League

State College Spikes

Class-A Short

New York-Penn League

Peoria Chiefs

Class-A

Midwest League

Palm Beach Cardinals

Class-A Advanced

Florida State League

Springfield Cardinals

Double-A

Texas League

Memphis Redbirds

Triple-A

Pacific Coast League

 

Top Prospects In The System

Dylan Carlson

Pos. - OF  Ht/Wt - 6’3” 205 lbs.  Bats: S Throws: L Age: 21

Level - Triple-A  Drafted - 2016 (1.33)  ETA: 2020

Grades: Hit: 55 Power: 60 Run: 55 Arm: 55 Field: 60

Carlson is a top-20 prospect in my book and as high as top-10 in others but either way, he is clearly the cream of the crop and for good reason with the grades you see above. He really blossomed in 2018 and 2019 and excelled in the upper minors, posting the first 20-20 season for a Cardinals’ farmhand since 2006. He’s got a quick, smooth stroke from both sides of the plate and with his great plate discipline, the hit tool plays up as well as his power, which is already plus to begin with. He had career highs in average, games, steals, home runs, and pretty much every other stat category which is a good sign as he was still young for the levels he was at. There is a shot that he breaks camp with the Cardinals as a starting outfielder but even if he doesn’t, he won’t be in the minors for long as he profiles as a 30-20 bat that St. Louis desperately needs in the middle of their lineup.

Nolan Gorman

Pos. - 3B  Ht/Wt - 6’1” 210 lbs.  Bats: L Throws: R Age: 19

Level - A-Advanced  Drafted: 2018 (1.19)  ETA: 2022

Grades: Hit: 50 Power: 65 Run: 40 Arm: 55 Field: 50

Gorman was a major prize in the 2018 draft as he clearly had the most power in the draft and the promise of adding to his hit tool. This was the draft analysis at the time “Pop. That’s what Gorman brings to the table in spades mind you. He won the MLB All-Star Game High School Home Run Derby and the Under Armor All-American Game Home Run Derby as well (both in MLB parks). When he’s locked in he is clearly the best power bat in the class with his Power tool grading at 65-70 on the 20-80 scale. The problem is there are holes in his swing and he can get a little aggressive at times leading to a fair bit of swing-and-miss especially on breaking pitches. Being a left-handed bat at the hot corner is unusual but if his fielding improves, there’s no reason he can’t stick long-term, though in all honesty first is the more likely spot for him.” Since then he has continued to show off the power as he reached High-A this year with a 2019 combined slash line of .248/.326/.439 in 456 at-bats with 15 homers, 65 runs, 62 RBI, and two steals. The problem is that he still had nearly a 30-percent K-rate in that time and a 43-percent pull rate. The defense has been an issue for him at the hot corner with 42 errors in 158 career games there. The move to first looks more likely once Paul Goldschmidt is no longer on the roster. The power is great but will the bat improve the way Joey Gallo ’s did or will he be more of a Rhys Hoskins type? That’s the question long-term.

Matthew Liberatore

Pos. - LHP  Ht/Wt - 6’5” 200 lbs.  Bats: L Throws: L Age: 20

Level - A-Advanced  Drafted - 2018 (1.16)  ETA: 2022

Grades: Fastball: 60 Slider: 50 Curveball: 60 Changeup: 55 Control: 55

Liberatore was originally drafted by the Rays in 2018 and was then traded to the Cardinals this offseason in the deal for José Martínez among others. His draft profile was “A projectable prep pitcher is just the type of guy teams like to take in the first round and that’s what this southpaw is. A fastball that stays 89-94 throughout his starts and touches 96 is the main pitch, and one that he’s worked on controlling a lot this spring. Three secondary pitches play off the fastball in a slurve (slow curve) of sorts that has nice spin to it that will miss bats consistently. His slider is a new addition to the arsenal and the early returns on it show it’s been a good pitch to add and makes him really tough on left-handed hitters. The changeup is the pitch with the most projection left in it and should be a 60-65-grade pitch in a few years. He is clearly the best left-handed pitcher in the class.” In his year and a half in pro ball since being drafted, he’s added a few ticks to the fastball as it sits in the low-90s now consistently. The fastball, changeup, and curveball are all future 65-grade offerings with the slider staying average, but still good enough to miss bats in the majors. He is more command than control at the moment, which isn’t uncommon for a young, lanky southpaw, and the stuff allowed him to pitch to a 3.10 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with a 76:31 K:BB in 78.1 innings in 2019. He profiles as a number 2-3 rotation piece with a great four-pitch mix and feel for pitching and changing speeds. If he gets more control, a number two starter with good strikeout potential is the ceiling for him. 

Jhon Torres

Pos. - OF  Ht/Wt - 6’4” 199 lbs.  Bats: R Throws: R Age: 19

Level - Rookie  Signed - July 2016  ETA: 2023

Grades: Hit: 50 Power: 55 Run: 50 Arm: 60 Field: 55

Acquired from the Indians farm system in the trade involving Oscar Mercado , Torres has an impressive set of tools that are all raw, but promising. The frame is already there even though he’s just 19 and that means that he can focus on using that frame to polish the tools rather than having to adjust to what changes can come when a player’s frame grows. The raw power is real and plays to all fields and he has the beginnings of an advanced approach at the plate though there is still tendencies to expand the zone more than he should. St. Louis took an aggressive approach with him in 2019 starting him at full-season A-ball in Peoria but through 21 games he was hitting just .167 with three XBH and 29 strikeouts so they sent him down to their Appalachian League rookie team where he hit .286 with six homers, nine doubles, and a .527 SLG in 33 games. Torres is still young and raw having come from the Columbia youth baseball ranks but there is reason to be excited about his hit-power-speed combo while he shows off a plus arm in the outfield. He profiles as a major league right fielder when all is said and done with the potential of being a .275 hitter with 30 home run and 12-15 steals thrown in but there is a lot of development and polish needed on both sides to reach that ceiling.

Ivan Herrera

Pos. - C  Ht/Wt - 6’0” 180 lbs.   Bats: R Throws: R Age: 19

Level - A-Advanced  Signed - July 2016 ETA: 2022

Grades: Hit: 55 Power: 50 Run: 30 Arm: 55 Field: 55

Tell me if you’ve heard this before? The Cardinals have a good hitting catcher coming through their system from Latin America. Yeah, only this time it’s not Yadier Molina , but it’s his heir apparent. Herrera has hit at every spot he’s been so far in his pro career, hitting .335 in his DSL debut and then following up with a .348 in the GCL in 2018. The 2019 year saw him hit .284 between Class-A Peoria and High-A Palm Beach at just 18 years old. The short, quick, stroke allows him to get to the zone quickly and stay in the sweet spot for a long time increasing the consistency of the contact he makes and indicating the power will start to show up soon in game action. He puts on a show in batting practice but as he matures the 15-plus home run upside he possesses will start showing through. Being a catcher allows him to recognize pitches better than the average 18-year-old hitter and it led to a sub-eight-percent K-rate in 2019 despite being the third-youngest player at full-season A-ball. The defense lags behind the bat but he’s put in quite some time improving in the arm strength category and the blocking department giving hope that he’ll be an effective weapon against opposing run games as he progresses through the system. He’s still a few years away as catchers take a bit longer to develop than others as they have to learn the pitch-calling aspect and defense and offense but he is well on his way to being an impact catcher at the major league level soon enough.

Prospects To Watch For

Zack Thompson

LHP Age: 22 A-Advanced ETA: 2022

Thompson was taken in the first round of the 2019 draft by the Cardinals out of the University of Kentucky. His draft profile at the time was “At Kentucky, aside from missing two months with an elbow issue, that didn’t require surgery, he’s been a high-quality starter from the left side of the pitching rubber and put together a masterful Junior campaign. In 14 starts in 2019, Thompson posted a 2.40 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, .184 BAA, 130:34 K:BB ratio over 90 innings. His high-three-quarter delivery is clean and offers nice deception to hitters as he keeps the ball hidden until release. A four-pitch arsenal of a 91-94 mph fastball, low-80s slider, a 1-to-7 curveball, and a fading changeup gives him all he needs to keep hitters off-balance while the fastball, with run and angle, and the slider are the two best of that group. If the health questions stay at bay, he profiles as a mid-rotation starter who could make for a low-tier number-two arm as well.” After making his pro debut at Advanced-A and pitching 15.1 innings with a 23:4 K:BB ratio, mostly coming out of the bullpen, not much has changed on his projection. He should be a fast riser through the system given the polish he came out of college with but there will still be stretching out for a major league season and innings load. Thompson is a prototypical lefty in terms of velocity and control and that profiles as a number three starter as the velocity isn’t quite there to be a number two in the big leagues.

Elehuris Montero

3B Age: 21 Double-A ETA: 2021

Montero was signed all the way back in 2014 and started making his way through the system in 2017 when he came stateside. The big, 6’3”, righty has a violent stroke that generates a lot of raw power but not much else against better pitching right now. He was able to feast on the fastball first approach in the lower minors but was near the top of the farm system in K-rate last year as he made it to Double-A at nearly 30-percent, a smallish sample size. The plate discipline isn’t there with him and he relies more on making hard contact with great bat speed than he does on reading the pitch and waiting for the best ones to hit. The arm is of the plus variety but the speed, range, and footwork are all fringy at best meaning he may have to find a new defensive home going forward, especially if he physically matures any more than he already is at 215 lbs. The upside is there for him to be a five-hole hitter with 25-home run power and a lower average.

 

 

Trejyn Fletcher

OF Age: 18 Rookie Ball ETA: 2024

Fletcher is one of the highest-drafted high schoolers in Maine history when the Cardinals took the tantalizing outfielder in the second round in 2019. He has a very intriguing blend of power, speed, and arm that could make him a 20-20 centerfielder if everything comes together. But there are big questions as to whether they will come together or not. Fletcher has a big leg kick in his right-handed swing that can screw up his timing from time-to-time and make it tough to repeat the stroke from pitch-to-pitch. The approach is questionable as well as he struck out 43-percent of the time (76 Ks in 43 games) in his rookie debut across two levels last season. It wasn’t all bad though as he had seven steals and four homers and a .244 average in that span adding 15 runs and 26 RBI. If he can re-tool his swing to cut down on the leg kick and make the bat get to the ball quicker and shorter, the average and power should show up more consistently and if the routes in the outfield get better, Fletcher could be a very interesting guy to follow the progress on and have a shot at the 20-20 ceiling we mentioned earlier.

 

 

Junior Fernandez

RHP Age: 23 Triple-A ETA: 2020

Fernandez made a major jump in 2019 as he went from High-A to the Majors and put up a dominant stat line in the process. Through 65 innings in the minors he put up a 1.52 ERA with 80 Ks and a 1.12 WHIP before pitching 11.2 innings, striking out 16 and posting a .205 BAA. He relies on a near-triple-digits sinker as his main pitch and then plays the above-average changeup off of that to fool hitters. The slider gets mixed in in the upper-80s for a different look and spin from the righty. There isn’t much projection left for Fernandez except for him to learn how to throw more quality strikes making him a more effective high-leverage type bullpen arm. If he can control the stuff a bit better, it will only make him more dominant in the pen and setup more as a setup man than a middle reliever with nice strikeout stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johan Oviedo

RHP Age: 22 Double-A ETA: 2021

Signed out of Cuba in July of 2016, the time in states has been a bit uneven at times, but overall the stuff makes him a very interesting starting pitcher to watch out for coming down the pike. Over the last 81.1 innings in 2018, he pitched to an impressive 3.10 ERA at Class-A Peoria. The 2019 campaign started off hot in the first month with a 1.60 ERA over 33.2 innings at High-A, which earned him a promotion to Double-A Springfield, but that didn’t go as well with a 5.65 ERA in 113 innings while posting a 128:64 K:BB ratio in that span. At 6’6”, Oviedo is an imposing figure on the mound and that can work to his benefit, but also detract from the stuff at the same time. He uses the long levers to get massive extension (up to 10 feet at times) to get on top of hitters and give them less time to react, however the long arms also make it tricky for him to control his four-pitch and makes him more hittable than he should be. The fastball sits 94-98 and he changes speeds with it well but it can get too flat at times. The slider his tight, late, bite fueled by the high spin rate and it could be a plus out pitch, if the control improves. A curveball is there to change hitter’s looks at him and a developing changeup should be at least an average fourth pitch. Oviedo’s frame and stuff give him a ceiling of a number three starter but the control issues might put him in the pen long-term.