The Cardinals have five prospects in the MLB Pipeline Top 100.
Update 9:45 p.m. CT: An earlier version of this story had the MLB Pipeline rankings wrong. They have been corrected now.
8:00 a.m. CT: MLB Pipeline released its Top 100 prospect rankings on Friday night, and there are some stark differences from the Baseball America rankings that came out earlier this week for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Remember: BA gave the Cardinals four prospects inside its Top 100 including JJ Wetherholt (3), Liam Doyle (33), Rainiel Rodriguez (35) and Joshua Baez (54).
Well, MLB Pipeline gave the Cardinals five, and had some different thoughts as well:
Here's what you need to know:
JJ Wetherholt (5)#
Ranked No. 3 by Baseball America, Wetherholt is still a consensus top-five prospect in the sport.
A versatile infielder, he was drafted No. 7 overall by the Cardinals in 2024 out of West Virginia. His debut is likely to be the most exciting part of this season's rebuild for fans and he could even begin the season on the big-league roster. With Nolan Arenado traded, there is an opening at third base, and if Brendan Donovan is dealt, there is an opening at second.
Playing 109 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in 2025, he hit .306 with 17 home runs, 59 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. The Fangraphs ZIPS projections just came out on Friday morning and had Wetherholt hitting .254 with 10 homers, 20 doubles and 12 stolen bases in 2026.
Liam Doyle (34)#
Doyle was ranked No. 33 by Baseball America, so this is also a very consistent ranking.
Drafted No. 5 overall by the Cardinals in 2025 out of Tennessee, there's significant pressure for the organization's future resting on his left arm. Still just 21 years old, he made just two appearances in the minor leagues after getting drafted, tossing 3.2 innings between High-A and Double-A. He gave up just one run and struck out six.
The Pitcher of the Year in the SEC in 2025, he led D-I baseball in strikeout rate (15.4). In addition to Tennessee, he also pitched at Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss, two other baseball powers.
Rainiel Rodriguez (37)#
Ranked No. 35 by Baseball America, Rodriguez slides down two spots here.
Just 19 years old, Rodriguez isn't expected to debut until 2028. He played 84 games between Rookie Ball, Single-A and High-A in 2025, hitting .276 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs. He figures to begin the year at High-A after playing just four games there in 2025.
Joshua Baez (87)#
A second-round pick of the Cardinals in 2021 out of Florida State, he's projected to make his major league debut this season.
He hit .287 across High-A and Double-A in 2025, spending 79 games at the latter. He had 20 home runs and 79 RBIs, and he stole a whopping 54 bases.
Baez was ranked No. 54 by Baseball America, which is the biggest deviation here between the two lists.
Leonardo Bernal (98)#
A 21-year-old switch-hitter, Bernal is expected to debut this season. He was not in the Baseball America Top 100 rankings at all.
He spent the entire 2025 campaign at Double-A Springfield, hitting .247 with 13 home runs, 70 RBIs and a .332 on-base percentage. Between him, Rodriguez and Ivan Herrera, the catcher position looks like the strongest position in the entire Cardinals organization - for now.
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