Though the offseason trades of Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado are painful for St. Louis Cardinals fans, they are already bearing fruit at the minor league level.

On Thursday night, MLB Pipeline declared that the Cardinals have the No. 4-ranked farm system in the sport, buoyed by those very offseason trades, plus recent draft successes like JJ Wetherholt, Liam Doyle and Joshua Baez.

This is a major improvement from before the 2025 season, when the Cardinals were ranked at No. 20.

Here's what you need to know:

The Cardinals have two recent top seven overall Draft picks (Wetherholt, Doyle), two 2025 breakout prospects (Rodriguez, Baez), a former switch-pitcher who could take off now that he’s fully righty (Cijntje) and a Minor League Gold Glove catcher (Bernal). And that’s just the Top 100 group. As part of its rebuild, St. Louis has gone into talent acquisition mode on the farm, bringing in the likes of Cijntje, Brandon Clarke, Yhoiker Fajardo and Tai Peete this offseason to add bulk to an already-exciting system. Turning this into the Cards’ next homegrown contender is the next step.

(via MLB Pipeline)

1) INF JJ Wetherholt

2) LHP Liam Doyle

3) C Rainiel Rodriguez

4) OF Joshua Baez

5) SWP Jurrangelo Cijntje

6) C Leonardo Bernal

7) LHP Quinn Mathews

8) C Jimmy Crooks

9) LHP Brandon Clarke

10) RHP Tekoah Roby

1) That's a lot of catchers. Three catchers in the top 10 is very rare and a potentially big luxury. With Yohel Pozo and Ivan Herrera in the big leagues already, the Cardinals have a surplus of catching talent. Could they utilize one of them down the road in a trade? It's certainly possible.

Crooks is 24 and has already made his major league debut while Bernal is projected to debut next year and Rodriguez in 2028. Bernal is currently playing for Team Panama at the World Baseball Classic, showcasing his talents for the world.

2) There's a lot of instant impact coming. The Cardinals aren't necessarily ready to compete in 2026, but they do have a first wave of young players who are absolutely going to be up this year. Wetherholt, Baez, Cijntje, Mathews, and Crooks are all anticipated to be in the big leagues this season. Liam Doyle is projected to make his debut in 2027, but don't count out a possible 2026 debut for him either.

Baez hit a mammoth home run in Grapefruit League action on Friday. And Mathews was excellent in his action on Thursday, fanning seven Pirates over just 2.2 innings. 

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