photo: JJ Wetherholt (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
3/12 update
OF Joshua Baez has been added to our Spring Breakout roster.
Baez, 21, was named to the 2024 All-Spring Breakout Second Team after hitting a 455 ft. HR in the inaugural event. pic.twitter.com/s29xkdqoM1
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) March 12, 2025
Fourth catcher Rainiel Rodriguez was taken off the roster in favor of Baez.
In their Friday, March 14 Spring Breakout showcase game against Miami Marlins prospects, the St. Louis Cardinals will deploy a roster of 27 players. Of them, 17 are members of The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 prospects. Leading the way are no. 1 and no. 2 prospects, shortstop JJ Wetherholt and pitcher Quinn Mathews.
Pitchers (8) | TCN rank | Catchers (4) | TCN rank |
Osvaldo Berrios | Leonardo Bernal | #8 | |
Tyler Bradt | Ryan Campos | #35 | |
Angel Cuenca | Jimmy Crooks | #6 | |
Luis Gastelum | #31 | Rainiel Rodriguez | #34 |
Cooper Hjerpe | #7 | ||
Quinn Mathews | #2 | ||
Zack Showalter | #17 | ||
Cade Winquest | |||
Infielders (9) | TCN rank | Outfielders (6) | TCN rank |
Dakota Harris | #50 | Nathan Church | |
Brayden Jobert | Chase Davis | #10 | |
Jonathan Mejia | #25 | Travis Honeyman | #28 |
Yairo Padilla | #38 | Zach Levenson | #27 |
Cesar Prieto | #21 | Yordalin Pena | |
Thomas Saggese | #5 | Jose Suarez | |
Miguel Villarroel | |||
JJ Wetherholt | #1 | ||
RJ Yeager |
Notably missing are TCN’s no. 3 and no. 4 prospects, pitchers Tink Hence and Tekoah Roby. Both are coming off injury-interrupted 2024 campaigns but are currently in St. Louis’ camp.
Other Top 15 pitchers not included are all starters – Michael McGreevy (no. 9), Sem Robberse (12), Chen-Wei Lin (13), Gordon Graceffo (14) and Ian Bedell (15). McGreevy and Graceffo have already debuted with St. Louis, but so has infielder Thomas Saggese, who is on the Spring Breakout roster.
Mathews and Hjerpe (no. 7) are the cream of the pitching crop and as such are the likely starting candidates for the game. Very successful with Palm Beach in 2024, Luis Gastelum (no. 31) and Zack Showalter (no. 17) could be late inning options.
All four catchers are ranked prospects, while the very young outfield has just two players with any Double-A experience (Nathan Church and no. 10 prospect Chase Davis).
The manager will be Ryan Ludwick, assisted by bench coach Gary Kendall, the 2024 Kissell Award winner. Coaching first base will be Bernard Gilkey with Cardinals icon Jose Oquendo at a very familiar spot, third base.
The game will be televised in-market on Fan Duel Sports Midwest and out of market on MLB Network starting at 12:10 p.m. ET. I will be there in person to report on the action.
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