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All 3 are in the same range in my book so I have no problem with them being ranked in any order. I don’t like my own rankings in hindsight hearing about how flat Fajardo’s fastball is from Kyle and now BA as well (I had Padilla, Fajardo, Franklin) and would likely drop Fajardo a few spots from my #13. Kyle points out that Fajardo may struggle as he moves up and I think of Franklin, Fajardo, and Padilla, Fajardo has the lowest ceiling of that group while being High risk instead of Extreme like Franklin and Padilla. BA agrees with Padilla and Franklin having higher upsides at 55 compared to Fajardo’s 50 and Fajardo having Average risk compared to the other 2s High.
The biggest surprise to me on their list was Bryan Torres. I have him at 31, but I didn’t expect BA to have him in that range at 27. His upside is likely a platoon bat utility type guy, but he should be able to stick around on a big league club for a few years.
Torres can play every position (even has catcher experience technically) whereas Saggese only has experience at SS, 2B, and 3B. In my opinion, they are probably comparable at 2B and Torres is probably better at everything else. I don’t know that I’ve ever actually seen Torres play 3B though so I can’t evaluate him there. But Saggese isn’t very good there so I’m just assuming Torres is better. Torres is a really good athlete all around.
Not over Saggese, but Torres as a 26th man, a .441 OBP and .905 OPS in Memphis who can play darn near every position in a pinch would be a nice piece to at least try out for at least April (cough cough JJ is a Cardinal an extra year).
Id like to see how his .441 OBP translates, it won’t fully but high threes isn’t so bad….GScott, love the optimism….. and if he doesn’t and gets hurt or struggles out of the gate? Then 2027 is maybe a lost season, so you get him for 4 good years only?
Hedging your bets is a no brainer on this one economically.
I’m a fan of *not* hedging bets with Wetherholt, and I don’t think the Cards will do that anyway. If Wetherholt is good, they should be signing him to an extension rather than playing poorhouse ball and getting him for only his pre- and arb years. JJ for 10+ years at 2B is what I say. I think he’ll play up to that level, as well.
JJ – Church is better. No question. Church is super elite. Torres is probably average to slightly above in CF and above average at the corners. Think of Church as basically Siani level in the field (and maybe at the bat too).
Chitown, I understand what you are saying in regards to JJ but to truly hedge your bets you would need to keep him in Memphis until mid June or early July. If he comes up in May or early June he would still have enough time to rack up enough stats to finish top two in ROY.
As stl25 alluded to, the Cardinals would be better off thinking about extensions instead of service time manipulations. I’m not saying they should extend anyone this year but within the next year or two I would lock up both Winn and JJ to long term deals (unless they both crater which is unlikely). They say good teams have to be strong up the middle and those two could be our double play combo for the next decade. They could be our Trammell and Whitaker.
As hard as it is to fathom right now, at some point the Cardinals will spend money again.
As stl25 alluded to, the Cardinals would be better off thinking about extensions instead of service time manipulations. I’m not saying they should extend anyone this year but within the next year or two I would lock up both Winn and JJ to long term deals (unless they both crater which is unlikely). They say good teams have to be strong up the middle and those two could be our double play combo for the next decade. They could be our Trammell and Whitaker.
As hard as it is to fathom right now, at some point the Cardinals will spend money again.
Yep. We can dream of having an ever improving with the bat Winn (following the sort of Yadi career arc) and his smooth swinging dance partner up the middle with Wetherholt, add in some Bernal behind the plate and an improved pitching pipeline…and we’re in business. Finding solid players at the corners should never be terribly difficult. Finding cornerstones at the 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 are what keep teams constantly scouting.
Torres is a decent outfielder, but Church is in the Siani range defensively. Church also has a plus arm. I also think he will hut way better than Siani. The jury is out if Torres will hit aT the MLB level.
I don’t see Torres as a top 30 prospect. Of all the newish prospects we have added I don’t see a utility guy being rated higher than recent top draft picks or prospects we’ve traded for.
GScott, I agree with you. But if he doesn’t finish in the top of the rookie of the year voting or he gets hurt or something of that nature, they have wasted a year.
Running a major league baseball team is a business, considering how little the amount of time he got in AAA. It would be more than reasonable for them to say they wanted to get another hundred at bats in Memphis.
If they can get an extension worked out that completely opens up a whole different conversation and everything I said is completely null and void.
Ive said multiple times I think since they’re spending basically nothing this year, JJ, Winn, Burley, Herrera and Libby should be extended right now and overly paid for 2026 and 2027. Which will save them when they’re actually competitive and they can apply that extra money to pieces that are needed at that time.They will have only wasted a year if they don’t sign him to an extension. After the Cardinals emerge from the rebuild I would like to think that Bill DeWitt will stop running the Cardinals as if they are the Rays or Marlins or Pirates and will actually try to extend his top young talent. It would be ironic if we look back at some point and realize that Paul DeJong got an extension but Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt did not. That would be wild.
Of course maybe JJ will make the decision easy by putting up a .590 OPS this upcoming spring training (don’t count on it).
JJ, Winn, Burley, Herrera and Libby should be extended right now
Bill probably won’t extend anybody or do any multi-year contracts before the new CBA is in place. He certainly won’t until a TV revenue is deal is in place.
Yeah I wasn’t talking about extending anyone right now. Winn and Wetherholt have a year or two before they are eligible for free agency.
Now would be reckless for many reasons and the sort of financial gamble Cardinal ownership would not take. Besides the TV revenue and CBA/lockout issues, there are performance risks to consider. As to Winn, knee surgery is no small matter for an athlete, including a shortstop. Since JJ has 47 games in AAA and yet to face MLB competition, “average right side infielder”, while disappointing, is within the range of possible outcomes. I think that the Cardinals will focus their financial resources on MOTO bats and top/mid rotation starters, hopefully in the form of extending and retaining homegrowns. If McGreevy continues to look solid and durable, he would be a contract candidate once the business uncertainties are resolved.
Bling, McGreevy also runs the risk of injury or regression. He’s no different than Winn or Whetherholt in this regard. Why show favoritism towards him but not the myriad of other prospects or young players?
BA posted its new national Top 100.
3 Wetherholt
33 Doyle
35 Rainiel Rodriguez
54 Joshua Baezhttps://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2026-top-100-prospects/
I knew BA really liked Baez but still surprised to see him up at 54. In another article, they list who were players that received at least 1 vote for the top 150.
JJ Wetherholt, SS
Liam Doyle, LHP
Rainiel Rodriguez, C
Joshua Baez, OF
Quinn Mathews, LHP
Brandon Clarke, LHP
Jimmy Crooks, C
Leonardo Bernal, C
Tanner Franklin, RHP
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