photo: Won-Bin Cho (Peoria Chiefs)
The Peoria Chiefs finished the season five games under .500 but improved over 2025. The High-A club fell short of the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. However, many in-season promotions upward helped fuel Springfield’s division title team.
The Season
The High-A Peoria Chiefs started 2026 with a 10-13 record through April and continued this pattern throughout the season. At the end of the first half, Peoria had a 32-34 record, nine games behind South Bend (CHC). The Chiefs tied for third place in the six-team Midwest League West Division.
The second half of the season for manager Roberto Espinoza and team was one game worse, as they went 31-34, this time finishing 9 ½ games behind Quad Cities (KC) in fifth place.
Their overall record of 63-68 was the second worst in the division.
League Stats
Peoria ended in the upper-middle of the pack of the 12-team MWL in most offensive stats, starting with 1089 hits and 728 runs, third and fifth, respectively. Of those hits, 244 were doubles, 27 were triples and 173 were home runs.
The team struck out 1279 times, second most, took a free base 509 times (last) and stole a base 195 times (sixth) in 255 attempts. The Chiefs had a .252 batting average, sixth in the league, and their .784 OPS was fifth, making their offense one of the better ones in the MWL.
Meanwhile, the pitching side was rough. Their 5.37 ERA was eighth and their 1.56 WHIP was 10th. While they gave up 1130 hits, 10th, the team also issued the sixth-most walks with 621 and put 92 more batters on base after hitting them with a pitch.
While their BA against of .261 was 10th best, the Chiefs pitchers added to the issue by putting too many batters on base without the benefit of a hit and they paid for it.
Surprisingly, the cumulative ERA of the starters was a very high 5.12, eighth in the league, while the bullpen ranked was also eighth, but with a worse ERA at 5.62.
Coaching Staff
Roberto Espinoza: Espinoza continued his second season as Peoria manager after spending four years with the Florida Complex League Cardinals.
In his first season, his Chiefs team won 51 games of 130. Their .392 winning percentage was Peoria’s worst since 2021. The club improved in 2026, with the Chiefs winning 48% of their games. So, it was not the best of results, but progress was made.
It is worth noting that the subpar results are not new. The Chiefs have missed the playoffs in six of the last seven years, finishing over .500 only in 2023, when they lost in the first round.
Michael Oh: In Oh’s first year as pitching coach, the bullpen and especially the rotation were not a team strength. The team ERA rose by almost a run year-to-year, from 4.83 in 2025 to 5.37 in 2026, of course with mostly different players.
Michael Habas: Habas entered his first season in Peoria as the hitting coach, and his impact was felt. The Chiefs smashed their single season home run record, and many hitters progressed through the system under his watch.
Jason Eary: Another newcomer to the system, Eary finished his first professional season and his first as bench coach.
Player Movement
Looking at the names in this section indicate how important players who began the season with Peoria were to Springfield’s Texas League North Division Championship squad.
While these players didn’t spend all season with Peoria, they certainly impressed while they were there. All three are a part of our Top 50 Cardinals Prospects and all started 2026 at Dozer Park.
Jesus Baez: Before his successful campaign at Springfield, Baez experienced success at the High-A level, playing 54 games. The Dominican-born infielder picked up 54 hits and 14 RBIs in his first two+ months with the ballclub, earning him a promotion to Springfield, where he quickly picked up Double-A pitching.
Tanner Franklin: Franklin was one of Peoria’s most reliable starting pitchers, with an ERA more than a run below the team average at 4.21. Before he was promoted to Double-A at the beginning of August. Franklin went 4-4 in 19 games, striking out 91 batters but also giving up 59 hits and 34 runs. The former third-round pick improved in his five Texas League starts with a 3.76 ERA and has a bright future ahead.
Jack Gurevitch: Gurevitch also spent two+ months in central Illinois, hitting .302 over 59 games. His 17 home runs were tied for the team lead, but the man he tied with, Jalin Flores, played in 54 more games for Peoria.
Among the many others to earn in-season promotions to Springfield are catchers Rainiel Rodriguez and Chase Heath, infielder Tre Richardson, relievers Jack Findlay, Jose Davila and Nolan Sparks, outfielders Tai Peete, Won-Bin Cho and Ian Petrutz, starting pitchers Blake Aita and Yhoiker Fajardo and catcher/infielder Cade McGee.
Those moving upward from Palm Beach to join Peoria during the summer include shortstop Yairo Padilla, pitchers Ty Van Dyke, Jacob Odle, Brian Holiday, Jack Martinez, Cade Crossland and Liam Best, infielder/outfielder Brayden Smith, third baseman Michael Dattalo, infielder Ryan Weingartner and outfielder Yordalin Peña.
Among those joining the Chiefs around the early August trade and draft window were three outfielders, 2026 draft picks Andrew Williamson (CBB) and Caden Ferraro (third round) as well as non-drafted signee Tristan Bissette.
Award Winners
Weekly and monthly awards were relatively scarce for Chiefs players in 2026, but four position players received league recognition.
Won-Bin Cho (late May), Tre Richardson (June), Jack Gurevitch (July), and Andrew Williamson (September) each took home Midwest League Player of the Week honors.
The Chiefs had no MWL Pitchers of the Week during 2026, nor did the club have any league Pitchers of Players of the Month.
Midwest League All-Stars
No Chiefs received a 2026 Midwest League All-Star berth, the fourth time in five years that Peoria was passed over in league-wide recognition.
However, Josiah Ragsdale, traded from Milwaukee to St. Louis at the deadline, earned MWL All-Star honors for his time with Wisconsin. After the trade, the outfielder was assigned to Springfield, so he never suited up with the Chiefs.
TCN Top Prospects
Dozer Park was home to many of The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 prospects throughout the year. While many made a stop in Peoria, some of the top names include #1 Rainiel Rodriguez, #4 Tanner Franklin, #8 Brandon Clarke, #13 Yhoiker Fajardo, #14 Jacob Odle, #15 Jesus Baez and #19 Tai Peete.
What is next?
Next, the 2026 Springfield Cardinals Season Review will be published, so be on the lookout for that.
The full schedule for The Cardinal Nation’s annual article series highlighting team results and top hitters and pitchers across the St. Louis Cardinals system can be found in the following article. After our free Team Recaps across affiliates, we will recognize individual player leaders through the current month and into November.
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