By Rob Rains
Having seen many of their top prospects reach the major leagues – even if they have had to go back to the minors for refresher classes – the Cardinals’ organization is going through a period of change.
That change is reflected in the annual STLSportsPage ranking of the Cardinals’ top prospects, the ninth consecutive year compiling this list, completed each year following the amateur draft and the trade deadline.
There are 12 players on this year’s list – exactly half of the list – who were either unranked or not in the organization when the 2023 rankings were compiled.
There are six teenagers on the list who spent most of this season in rookie ball, the lowest levels of the organization. Only three players are currently at the Triple A level, six are currently at Double A, nine are at the two Class A teams and one who has yet to throw a pitch for the organization.
The list of players who graduated since last year include 2023’s top-ranked prospect, Masyn Winn, as well as catcher Ivan Herrera, outfielder Victor Scott II and pitchers Gordon Graceffo, Michael McGreevy and Adam Kloffenstein.
Dropping off this year’s list but still in the organization are Edwin Nunez (14th), Joshua Baez (16th), Brycen Mautz (17th) and Jeremy Rivas (22nd). Outfielder Moises Gomez (19th) is no longer in the organization.
The 2024 rankings come with the standard disclaimers for anybody new to this exercise. For the purpose of these rankings, players 25 or older are not eligible, which explains the absence of Cesar Prieto. Also, anybody who has played in the major leagues is not eligible.
These rankings also are based on a player’s potential for major-league success, not how close they are to reaching the major leagues, which helps explain the inclusion of six teenagers from the lowest levels of the farm system.
Four catchers made the list, showing the organizational depth at that position, as well as 12 righthanded pitchers. Nine players on this list were selected in the amateur draft by the Cardinals, 10 were signed as international free agents and the other five were obtained in trades.
Here is the 2024 STLSportsPage re-ranking of the top 24 prospects in the Cardinals organization, plus an extra “player to watch” from each of the five U.S.-based affiliates. All statistics are through games of Aug. 6:1Tink Hence
1. Tink Hence
Last year’s ranking: 2
A couple of minor injuries have limited Hence’s workload this season at Double A Springfield, but the righthander’s performance when he has been on the mound reflect his status as one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Hence, who turned 22 on Tuesday, is projected to be a front of the rotation starter when he reaches the major leagues. He pitched a total of three innings in two outings between May 30 and July 27, and that interruption in his season likely cost Hence a chance to finish this year at Triple A Memphis. In 59 innings this year he has 81 strikeouts with just 18 walks.
Major-league ETA: 2025
2. J.J. Wetherholt
Last year’s ranking: Not in the organization
The Cardinals were pleasantly surprised that Wetherholt fell to them with the seventh overall pick in last month’s draft. An infielder from West Virginia, the 21-year-old Wetherholt had been ranked as a candidate to be the first overall selection in the draft because of his elite bat-to-ball skills before he missed much of his junior season with a hamstring injury. He was considered by many draft experts as one of the best hitters in the draft pool, and it will be interesting to watch how quickly he moves through the organization after making his pro debut this month for Class A Palm Beach.
Major-league ETA: 2026
3. Quinn Mathews
Last year’s ranking: Unranked
The lefthanded pitcher out of Stanford, the Cardinals’ pick in the fourth round of the 2023 draft, made the biggest jump this season of any player in the organization. Mathews, 23, did not pitch after last year’s draft, and began this year at Palm Beach, then made a brief stop at Peoria before advancing to Springfield. Combined at the three levels, he has allowed just 64 hits in 107 innings and leads all of the minor leagues with 151 strikeouts, a performance that has scouts projecting that he will be a mid-rotation stater in the major leagues, perhaps sooner rather than later. In his last two starts, Mathews allowed one run over 12 innings with 20 strikeouts.
Major-league ETA: 2025
4. Thomas Saggese
Last year’s ranking: 10
Saggese had just joined the Cardinals’ organization in a trade from Texas at the time of the 2023 rankings, and since then has capped off a season when he was the MVP of the Texas League and has made a successful transition to Triple A Memphis, putting himself on the doorstep of a promotion to the major leagues. Saggese, 22, has played shortstop, second and third for Memphis and after a slow start to the year offensively, hit .349 in July with four homers and 14 RBIs in 83 at-bats.
Major-league ETA: September
5. Tekoah Roby
Last year’s ranking: 7
The trade at the deadline in 2023 that brought Saggese to the Cardinals also got them Roby, a 22-year-old righthanded pitcher, who happens to also be one of Saggese’s best friends. A shoulder injury has kept Roby out of action for much of this summer, but he reportedly is going to be able to get back on the mound and into some games before the end of the season. Roby has not pitched since the middle of May, logging only 33 innings over seven games. He also missed part of the 2023 season because of an injury, which does raise some level of concern.
Major-league ETA: 2026
6. Won-Bin Cho
Last year’s ranking: 6
A lefthanded hitting outfielder, Cho was the first amateur player signed by the Cardinals out of South Korea in 2022. Now 20 years old, he has made a steady progression through the lower levels of the farm system, spending this year at Class A Peoria. Cho struggled to begin the year after hitting .270 with 32 stolen bases last year at Palm Beach, but since the first of June has posted a .292 average as he has made the adjustments to the league. Cho has played almost exclusively in center field this season, and scouts believe he has the defensive ability to remain there as he moves up to the higher levels of the organization.
Major-league ETA: 2027
7. Chase Davis
Last year’s ranking: 4
The organization’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft from the University of Arizona, Davis – a lefthanded hitting outfielder – spent most of his first full pro season at Class A Palm Beach before a recent promotion to Peoria. Davis, 22, hit eight home runs for Palm Beach in 267 at-bats, a good total in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League, while hitting .232. Davis has played both left field and center, but likely profiles better in left as he moves up in the organization. His drop in the rankings from last year is due more to the addition of Wetherholt and Mathews to the list than his own performance.
Major-league ETA: 2027
8. Chin-Wie Lin
Last year’s ranking: 18
Signed last summer as an international free agent, Lin’s rise in the rankings comes after an impressive season at Palm Beach. The 22-year-old righthander, a native of Taiwan, averaged more than a strikeout per inning while holding opponents to a .202 average, allowing just 64 hits in 89 innings in his first full professional season. Games like Lin’s most recent start, on Aug. 1 against Bradenton, show his potential – seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out eight.
Major-league ETA: 2027
9. Leo Bernal
Last year’s ranking: 9
The first of the four catchers on this list, the 20-year-old switch-hitter spent this season at Peoria after playing at Palm Beach in 2022 and 2023. Bernal turned in a similar offensive performance while moving up a level. A native of Panama, Bernal has a career-high nine homers this year to go with a .269 average and 45 RBIs in 283 at-bats. Scouts also believe he has the defensive skills that will allow him to remain behind the plate as his career progresses.
Major-league ETA: 2027
10. Jimmy Crooks
Last year’s ranking: Unranked
A product of the University of Oklahoma, Crooks just missed being included in the 2023 rankings, being listed as the extra player to watch from Peoria. Crooks, 23, moved up to Springfield this year, where he has been the primary catcher in his second full season in the organization. A fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft, the lefthanded hitter has posted a .303]6 average, which ranks near the top of the Texas League batting race, to go with nine homers and 47 RBIs in 252 at-bats.
Major-league ETA: 2026
11. Rainiel Rodriguez
Last year’s ranking: Not in the organization
The first of the six teenagers included in these rankings, the 17-year-old Rodriguez will be a new name to most Cardinals’ fans, even those who pay closer attention to the minor leagues. He was born in the Dominican Republic, attended high school in Pennsylvania, then moved back to the D.R. and signed with the Cardinals in April for $300,000. A righthanded-hitting catcher, Rodriguez has been among the leaders of the Dominican Summer League in home runs (10), RBI (36) and average (.350) through 34 games. One of his home runs was estimated to have gone 474 feet. He will need work defensively, scouts believe, to remain behind the plate and it will be interesting to watch his progression in coming years.
Major-league ETA: 2030
12. Leonel Sequera
Last year’s ranking: Unranked
An 18-year-old righthander signed in 2022 out of Venezuela, Sequera spent most of the season pitching for the rookie Florida Complex League team. He made 12 starts and struck out 43 batters in 41 innings while only issuing 14 walks. He had a 1.54 ERA across four games in July, and that performance allowed him to “jump the fence” and move up to Palm Beach and join the rotation as one of the Florida State League’s youngest starters.
Major-league ETA: 2029
13. Keiverson Ramirez
Last year’s ranking: Unranked
Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing just 155 pounds, the 18-year-old righthander has a lot of room for physical growth. Signed as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2023 for $75,000, Ramirez has the ability to throw a fastball, slider and changeup, all for strikes. Over nine starts in the Dominican Summer League this year Ramirez allowed only three earned runs over 43 innings, a 0.63 ERA, while recording 42 strikeouts and issuing only six walks.
Major-league ETA: 2028
14. Branneli Franco
Last year’s ranking: Not in the organization
The third teenage righthanded pitcher on this list is also the best known. Franco, 17, signed for $800,000 as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic in January, the highest bonus given out to this year’s class. Already 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Franco doesn’t have as much physical projection as Ramirez but scouts believe he will be able to throw in the upper 90s to go with a slider and changeup. He is still working on his command, having walked 18 and hitting five batters in 30 innings this year for the Dominican Summer League team while striking out 31.
Major-league ETA: 2029
15. Brian Holiday
Last year’s ranking: Not in the organization
Holiday was the Cardinals’ third-round pick in this summer’s amateur draft after his junior season at Oklahoma State, where the 5-foot-11 righthanded pitcher dominated his opponents. After pitching at a Florida junior college he transferred to Stillwater and made 16 starts, going 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA. Holiday, 21, struck out 128 batters and walked only 18 in 113 innings, allowing only 82 hits. After that heavy workload in the spring, Holiday likely won’t begin his pro career until next season.
Major-league ETA: 2027
16. Darlin Saladin
Last year’s ranking: Unranked
Signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic, Saladin has been in the organization since 2020. The righthanded pitcher, 21, spent much of this season at Palm Beach before earning a promotion to Peoria. He had a 1.95 ERA over 60 innings in low A, and has made seven starts for Peoria, recording 49 strikeouts in 39 innings. Combined, Saladin has 111 strikeouts, 28 walks and allowed 85 hits over 99 innings.
Major-league ETA: 2027
17. Max Rajcic
Last year’s ranking: Unranked
A product of UCLA, Rajcic was the Cardinals’ sixth-round pick in the 2022 draft. The righthanded pitcher, who turned 23 earlier this month, has spent this season in the Springfield rotation, racking up 97 strikeouts in 100 innings while issuing 33 walks. That came after he was named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2023 in his first pro season, split between Palm Beach and Peoria.
Major-league ETA: 2026
18. Zack Showalter
Last year’s ranking: 23
One of the players obtained from the Orioles in the deadline trade last year for Jack Flaherty, the righthanded Showalter, 20, has spent this season in the Palm Beach bullpen, where he converted eight of 10 save opportunities while compiling a 2.62 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 34 innings, holding opponents to a .203 average.
Major-league ETA: 2028
19. Sem Robberse
Last year’s ranking: 12
Obtained from the Blue Jays at last year’s trading deadline, Robberse has spent this season in the Memphis rotation. The fact that the 22-year-old righthander moved down in the rankings this year is more a reflection of the new, younger pitchers added to this list than because of a drop in his performance, although the native of the Netherlands has been on the injured list since June which kept him from making his case for a higher ranking.
Major-league ETA: 2025
20. Cooper Hjerpe
Last year’s ranking: 12
Injuries are also part of the reason for the drop in these rankings for Hjerpe, the Cardinals’ first-round pick from Oregon State in the 2022 draft. He only pitched 41 innings in his first pro season last year, and after beginning this year back at Peoria, was promoted to Springfield but the 22-year-old lefthander went back on the injured list in early July after just four games.
Major-league ETA: 2026
21. Ian Bedell
Last year’s ranking: 21
Another product of the Cardinals 2020 draft, Bedell, out of the University of Missouri, has split this season between Springfield and Memphis. The righthander barely qualified for this list as he will turn 25 in September. He has been a steady starter the last two years after throwing only a combined 8 innings in 2021 and 2022 because of Tommy John surgery. He has logged 106 innings this year with 110 strikeouts between the two levels.
Major-league ETA: 2025
22. Jonathan Mejia
Last year’s ranking: 15
Despite his drop in these rankings from 2023, Mejia has enjoyed his best pro season this year. An international free agent from the Dominican Republic who signed in 2022, Mejia posted a .299 average and stole 18 bases while splitting time between second base and shortstop for the Complex League team as a 19-year-old. He had hit a combined .219 in his first two pro seasons.
Major-league ETA: 2029
23. Yairo Padilla
Last year’s ranking: Not in the organization
A switch-hitting shortstop from the Dominican Republic, Padilla was 16 when he signed with the Cardinals in January for a $760,000 bonus. He turned 17 in June, and his first pro season in the Dominican Summer League has been a big success, hitting .288 with 22 stolen bases in 34 games. Already 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, there is a lot of room for strength and physical projection.
Major-league ETA: 2030
24. Sammy Hernandez
Last year’s ranking: Unranked
Hernandez was acquired by the Cardinals in a trade from Toronto before the 2023 deadline. The fourth catcher on this list, the 20-year-old righthanded hitter spent this season at Palm Beach, posting a .284 average with 22 of his 74 hits going for extra bases.
Major-league ETA: 2028
Here is the extra “player to watch” for each of the Cardinals’ five U.S.-based affiliates:
Memphis – Between players included in these rankings, or who aren’t eligible either because they have made their MLB debut or are 25 or older, there are not a lot of players to choose from. Andre Granillo, 24, has put up good numbers splitting the year between the Springfield and Memphis bullpen.
Springfield – Even though Jeremy Rivas dropped out of the rankings, that is primarily because of all of the new talent coming into the organization. Rivas, 21, has had the best offensive season of his career, hitting .283 for Springfield and dramatically cutting down his strikeout total from previous years.
Peoria – The Cardinals selected lefthanded pitcher Ixan Henderson with their eighth round pick in the 2023 draft from Fresno State. In his first full pro season, the 22-year-old Henderson earned a promotion to Peoria after posting a 2.10 ERA in Palm Beach with 79 strikeouts in 73 innings. He allowed two runs in six innings in his debut with Peoria.
Palm Beach – Travis Honeyman, the Cardinals’ third-round pick in 2023, played well this season – when he played. Injuries which kept him off the field last year have limited him to just 20 games this season, and the first thing the 22-year-old outfielder is going to have to prove is that he can stay on the field and off the injured list.
Complex League – Another teenage pitcher to watch is righthander Nelfy Ynfante, 19, who struck out 62 batters in 52 innings this season while only issuing 17 walks. The Dominican Republic-native signed as an international free agent and was one of the members of the high school graduating class from the organization’s Dominican academy in 2023.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
Photo of Tink Hence by P.J. Maigi courtesy of Springfield Cardinals
