The St. Louis Cardinals are inviting six of their top 30 prospects to spring training, which begins in just two weeks.

Top prospect JJ Wetherholt is getting the nod, as are Quinn Mathews, Ixan Henderson, Blaze Jordan, Chase Davis and Luis Gastelum. 

It's well established that the Cardinals are going through a rebuild in 2026, so watching prospects play and develop in spring training will be important for both fans and for the organization. With a handful of Cardinals players leaving for the World Baseball Classic, there should be added opportunities for some of them as well.

Here's what you need to know about each of these six:

A versatile infielder, Wetherholt 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, giving him multiple paths to big league playing time.

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.

He is a consensus top five prospect from both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, who each released their prospect rankings last week.

A fourth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2023, Mathews is expected to make his debut this season. Now 25 years old, he went 4-7 in 2025, spending most of his campaign at Triple-A Memphis. In total, he was 4-7 with a 3.73 ERA, tossing 99.0 innings.

Given his lower workload, the Cardinals may want to take it easy with him again this year, but he looks like a possible rotation component, especially from June-on.

A 23-year-old lefty, Henderson was an eighth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2023 from Fresno State. He went 9-7 with a 2.59 ERA at Double-A Springfield last season, tossing 132.0 innings. The Cardinals have accumulated a lot of depth in the rotation, but Henderson could certainly earn his chance as well as the season progresses.

A former third-round pick of Chaim Bloom's when he was with the Boston Red Sox, Jordan still possesses big power at the age of 2023. He hit .270 last season with a .331 on-base percentage, also smacking 19 home runs and 28 doubles. He also only struck out 60 times in 450 at-bats.

The team's first-round pick from 2023, Davis is now 24 years old. A University of Arizona product, he hit .242 with 10 home runs at Double-A a season ago.

A right-handed pitcher who signed out of Mexico, Gastelum is now 24. He went 3-5 with a 4.02 ERA in 2025 at Double-A, making 46 appearances out of the bullpen. He struck out 92 hitters in just 62.2 innings, showcasing the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that bullpens live for. With the Cardinals expected to have so much turnover in their 'pen this year, there should be chances for him to make an impact.

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