Catcher Rainiel Rodriguez and lefty reliever Sandro Santana were named to MLB Pipeline's first-team All-MiLB Prospect squad. Josiah Ragsdale, another player the Cards acquired at the MLB Trade Deadline, was a second-team pick. Only the Dodgers (4) had more prospects honored than the Cards (3).
Even though the St. Louis Cardinals’ Triple-A and Double-A affiliates in Memphis and Springfield lost in their respective championship series last week, postseason awards continue to roll in for the players who helped those squads be so successful this season.
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom worked to bolster the club’s Minor League system with top talent via trades, through the MLB Draft and via an improving player development plan. As a result of that work, the Cardinals were recently named as Baseball America’s No. 2-ranked Minor League system. Also, two players that Bloom acquired in the MLB Trade Deadline deals centered around MLB veterans Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Lars Nootbaar – relief pitcher Sandro Santana and outfielder Josiah Ragsdale – earned top Minor League awards in recent days.
Springfield’s 19-year-old slugger Rainiel Rodriguez, the top prospect in the Cardinals Minor League system, was named to MLB Pipeline’s All-MiLB Prospect first-team as a catcher. Santana, who was acquired from the Dbacks in the deal that sent Nootbaar to Arizona, was also a first-team selection as a relief pitcher. Ragsdale, who was acquired from the Brewers in the Aug. 3 deal that sent May and Romero to Milwaukee, was named to MLB Pipeline’s All-MiLB Prospect second-team after being one of 59 Minor League players to compile a 20-homer, 20-stolen base season.
The Cardinals’ three prospects honored by MLB Pipeline were one shy of that of the Dodgers. The Marlins, Guardians, Rays and Orioles had two prospects who were honored on the two teams.
Memphis reached the International League championship series where it lost to Rochester (Nats). Springfield failed in its bid to win consecutive Texas League crowns, losing in three games to Amarillo in the championship series.
An argument could be made that the Cardinals should have had four players honored with 21-year-old infielder Jesús Báez hitting 39 home runs and driving in 109 runs in 113 games over his full Minor League season. What he did in 59 games with Double-A Springfield was downright jaw-dropping: He hit 25 homers and drove in 68 runs. Báez, who was acquired from the Mets in 2025 in the trade that centered around former All-Star closer Ryan Helsley going to New York, mashed two more homers in the playoffs – one of them being a walk-off winner in Game 1 of the north division playoff series against Tulsa.
Rodriguez slashed .324/.413/.574/.987 with 30 doubles, 27 homers, 87 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 115 games split between High-A Peoria (28 games) and Double-A Springfield (87 games). Rodriguez, a 5-foot-10, 197-pounder, led Springfield to a Double-A-best second-half record of 47-22, a 2-0 sweep of Tulsa (Dodgers) in the North Division playoff series and a spot opposite Amarillo (Dbacks) in the Texas League championship series. He crushed a two-run homer in Wednesday’s third inning to give the Cardinals an early lead in the deciding Game 3.
The second youngest position player in Double-A, Rodriguez hit .328 with 22 doubles, 23 homers and 66 RBI with Springfield after being promoted from High-A Peoria on May 12. He became just fourth teenager to hit at least 23 homers at Double-A joining Delmon Young (26 in 2005) and current MLB superstars Bryce Harper (23 in 2012) and Juan Soto (24 in 2018). Also, he is just the fourth teenager with a wRC+ of at least 150 at Double-A over the past 20 years, joining Vladimir Guerrero, Mike Trout and Justin Upton.
Santana, 21, put together a strong 2026 at High-A, two Double-A stops and with Triple-A Memphis. In 46 games, the Cardinals No. 24 prospect went 5-2 with a 1.97 ERA with nine holds and six saves in nine opportunities. He also posted an eye-popping 101 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched – the fourth-most among all MiLB pitchers without a start.
In eight games with Springfield, foes hit just .074 against him and he limited the opposition to .036 hitting in seven games with Triple-A Memphis. Featuring a frisbee-like slider, Santana allowed lefties to hit just ,106 this past season.
Ragsdale, the No. 11-ranked prospect in the Cardinals system, slashed .295/.418/.536./.954 with 24 homers, 65 RBI, 65 RBI, 36 walks and 37 stolen bases across High-A and Double-A stops in the Brewers and Cardinals organizations.
The former seventh-round pick of the 2025 MLB Draft greatly boosted his fly ball rate in 2026, allowing him to reach career-best numbers with 25 doubles, 24 homers and three triples. Ragsdale, 22, also used his 70-grade speed (on an 80/20 scale) to swipe 37 bases in 40 tries in 2026.
