Cardinals Rookie Proved He Belonged in MLB After Six Years in Minors

Growth, as St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol pointed out repeatedly over the final month of the 2026 season, can be measured in a variety of ways.

One way, of course, is the standings – an area where the Cardinals fell back a win from 2025 (78-84) to 2026 (77-85), one that was somewhat expected with the widespread youth on the roster and the club selling off veteran pitchers JoJo Romero and Dustin May for prospects at the MLB Trade Deadline.

Instead, the Cardinals tried to evaluate areas of growth in non-traditional ways in a non-traditional season in St. Louis.

Growth was having a defined core group of players – Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Masyn Winn, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and Riley O’Brien – take major steps in their games and evolve into building blocks.

Growth was seeing Leo Bernal, Joshua Baez, Quinn Mathews, Cooper Hjerpe and Nathan Church live up to the hype that followed them from the Minor Leagues and show signs they can be depended on going forward. Growth was seeing Bryan Torres and Blaze Jordan work for 11 and six years, respectively, for their big-league and then put on stirring performances in their MLB debuts.

Growth was Andre Pallante and Gordon Graceffo shaking off the struggles of 2025 and showing the fortitude to change the trajectory of their careers.

“This is a really young group, but there’s been a lot of progress with so many of these guys,” Marmol said. “You can go up and down the lineup and you see growth from so many of our guys. Then, go to the rotation and what McGreevy, Pallante and Leahy did this season, and the bullpen as well. Our staff has really enjoyed pouring into that group. They are hungry for information and they want to be coaches, so that’s made it a lot of fun.”

Rookie Homering in MLB Debut After 11 years in Minors was A Top Cardinals' Story 

However, as president of baseball operation Chaim Bloom reminds, the Cardinals still have major gulfs between them and MLB’s top teams. The National League champion Brewers, after all, finished 26 games ahead of St. Louis and battered the Cards in 11 of 13 head-to-head meetings. Much more growth is needed for the Cards to better navigate the difference the rebuilding and contending.

With growth being the focus, let’s look back at the performances by individual players in the 2026 season and how they will figure into the Cards’ plans going forward in 2027 and beyond:

Player name: Blaze Jordan

Age: 23

How acquired: Acquired by the Cardinals in a trade with the Boston Red Sox for left-handed pitcher Steven Matz on July 31, 2025

2026 statistics: MLB – 74 games, .247/.276/.382/.658, 16 runs, 46 hits, eight doubles, four triples, three home runs, 28 RBI, 30 strikeouts, seven walks. Triple-A Memphis – 57 games, .313/.373/.548/.921, 37 runs, 72 hits, 19 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, 35 RBI, 29 strikeouts, 19 walks, two stolen bases in two tries.

Key numbers: Despite featuring average speed, Jordan led the Cardinals in triples with four in 2026. Also, Jordan has an excellent strikeout rate (15.1 percent) after striking out just 30 times in 199 plate appearances.

Looking back to 2026: After spending six seasons in the Minor Leagues with the Red Sox and Cardinals, Jordan finally got the call for his MLB debut on June 12 to replace a struggling Nolan Gorman. Jordan showed off his value to the Cardinals right away with two hits and an RBI in his first MLB game and a triple, a homer and three RBI in his second MLB game against the Minnesota Twins. Initially, there were doubts as to whether Jordan could play third base in the big leagues, but he actually held up well there. He committed just five errors in 120 total chances at third base and his defensive range ranked in MLB’s 75th percentile. One of Jordan’s biggest hits as a Cardinal – a three-run smash to center for his first Busch Stadium homer – came on Aug. 27 against the Orioles. Later in that game while making a stellar defensive play to save a wild throw from George Soriano, Jordan suffered a nasty high ankle sprain that ended his first MLB season prematurely.  

Looking forward to 2027: Just before suffering his season-ending ankle injury, Jordan was working with Cardinals coaches to become more proficient at lifting balls into the air. His ground ball rate (45.6 percent) is just above the MLB average (44.1 percent) and the club wanted him trying to drive more balls in the air. That work showed up in his monthly progression as he went from hitting .235 in June and .227 in July to .275 in August. If the Cardinals strike out in free agency, they could turn to Jordan to be their primary third baseman for 2027. The Cardinals love that he doesn’t strike out much and he hits balls to all fields. Defensively, Jordan showed that he can handle third base and first base – something that should make him more valuable to the team going forward.