Compiled by Staff
Road Trip time: Destination Memphis
Rob Rains and STL Sports Page tries to keep our readers up to date on the minor leaguers and especially the prospects and those who are progressing in their careers in the Cardinal organization.
We do this in several ways: long-form features dealing with interesting things about the players that you would not get elsewhere, and brief updates so the readers as well as listeners to the “Rains on the Cardinals” Podcast will be in the know.
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For the second time this season we are in Memphis checking out the players. As of August 19, 2026, the Redbirds have an overall 2026 regular-season record of 66 wins and 53 losses (.555 winning percentage).
We will have a couple of features coming up about Cooper Hjerpe’s comeback and how Nolan Gorman, Victor Scott, II (shown being interviewed by Rains) and Thomas Saggese are doing since being sent down from the Cardinals two months ago. We saw Saggese. hit a home run Wednesday night and Scott II hit a triple.
This article will serve as a brief roundup to remind you of who is at Memphis and if they are playing or not. It would be advantageous to Cardinals fans to get acquainted with the minor league players as they may be the games available to watch if the baseball talks don’t go well at the beginning of the 2027 season.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is up in December, so if the major league teams hold a lock out the minor leagues will still be playing. The other reason to keep up with the minors is these are the Cardinals of the future.
The manager is Ben Johnson, one of the hardest working managers out there. He is shown in the photo, right after he finished pitching batting practice.
Johnson has been with the Cardinals organization a total of eight years, first as a player after being drafted in 1999 and since 2019 he has been the manager of Triple-A Memphis.
Who’s at Memphis?
-Denotes they are on the 40-Man Roster
With all the back-and-forth, it can be a challenge to remember if a player is at Springfield, Memphis, or even DFA’d, so we made a list of players with the Memphis team on Aug. 19, 2026.
The Position Players
-Leo Bernal (C/DH): Elite switch-hitting catching prospect ranked high in the Cardinals system. Very good season, just waiting for the call from the major leagues
Chase Davis (OF): High-profile outfield bat known for power and presence in the middle of the order. Former first round pick, played much better lately.
-Nolan Gorman (OF): Has had a recent power surge but still working on other parts of his game.
-César Prieto (INF): Cesar Prieto is on the 40-Man roster and has been up with the Cardinals this year. Came back from his recent stint from the Cardinals and will keep working to try to get tack.
-Thomas Saggese (INF): Thomas Saggese, shown in te photo with Rains is a versatile infielder contributing regular high-level Triple-A at-bats. He is taking advantage of opportunities. Still working on trying to find out what he needs to do to get better.
-Victor Scott II (OF): Has played better lately and is trying to maximize what he does best.
Notable Pitchers
Jurrangelo Cijntje (RHP, LHP) or SP Switch Pitcher. He pitched on Wednesday night. He was coming off his best start since is promotion to Triple A. 11 Strike outs. He worked four innings, allowed one run, walking three, striking out four. He also committed two throwing errors.
-Cooper Hjerpe (LHP) On the come-back trail after missing almost two years due to elbow injury. Pitching well.
-Quinn Mathews (LHP) Quinn Mathews pitched in Cincinnati on Monday for the Cardinals and he was back in Memphis on Tuesday.
He will be going back an forth as needed and is expected to make another start in St. Louis soon as the defacto sixth starter. We were there when he rejoined the Redbirds.
-Brycen Mautz (LHP) Brycen Mautz , shown left, has seen some time in St. Louis this year. He came in to the Redbirds game in relief on Wednesday night. He walked three and gave up a hit for two runs in 2/3 of an inning.
-Ryan Fernandez (RHP) Hard-throwing reliever on the 40-man roster. Working to find consistency.
-Matt Svanson (RHP) – Like most of the players he is trying to find consistency. Tuesday night he came in with the score tied in the tenth inning and allowed the go-ahead run.
Pete Hansen (LHIP) Pete Hansen is part of the Memphis rotation and he started the game we were at Wed. Aug. 19, 2026. He is 2-4 on the season with a 4.67 ERA, 73 strikeouts in 19 appearances, 17 starts and 79 innings pitched. Hansen is shown in the photo, right during the game.
Mason Molina (LHP) He’s a prospect. He’s. pitched better since his promotion from Springfield.
[Ixan Henderson (RHP) He was recently activated from the Injury List and had one start– but on Wednesday Aug. 19 (today as this report is written) he is back on the IL so he is now out for the season.]
Other Players
Ramon Mendoza (INF)- He’s had a good season. Depth infielder, plays a variety of positions.
Colton Ledbetter (OF)- He’s played better lately. He came in the Brendan Donovan trade and has had an uptick lately.
-Ramon Urias (3B)- Major league infielder on a rehab assignment after being bothered by elbow injury.
Noah Medlinger (IF)- Noah Mendlinger has been with the Cardinals organization for five years, having been signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021. Fans might recognize the name as he often signs autographs at Spring Training and volunteers for fan meet and greets. The photo to the left was this year in Springfield.
