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I wonder who the top prospects are that will play for the FCL Cards? Padilla comes to mind. Rujano, De Los Santos, Hernandez I think too. I’ve said it before, but the timing of their schedule seems weird. I thought it should closer to the draft. But, then again, most top pitchers only pitch a few innings. I’m guessing they’ll be a pretty big international flavor.
Padilla is in the Palm Beach roster but on the 7 day IL.
Most of the prior years DSL guys will be in the roster though like the 3 more notable guys you mentioned.
I agree it is odd timing as draft players particularly high school guys can’t get any game action. I think teams want more time to eval them in their complex though instead of putting them directly in games.
The Roster Matrix has the preliminary FCL roster. Top prospects in our rankings are shortstops Miguel Hernandez and Sebastian Dos Santos.
St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix – 2026 Regular Season
Our FCL team roster has the same players.
Thanks. Brian. I am disappointed Cana isn’t on the roster. And I guess Lunawould be a possibility next year.
It is very rare that any international signee doesn’t spend at least one season in the DSL. There are a lot of orientation tasks with these teens beyond what occurs on the field.
But it is also rare that someone is signed for $2.3 million like Luna. Hopefully, he will tear up the league like Rainiel did in 2024.
Here is why I suspect that bling is correct. Until the last few years, players were not paid for anything they did that was not part of the regular season.
Previously, between the end of spring training and the start of the FCL was two months of extended spring training (April and May) during which the players worked for free. But now, players must be paid for their participation in all offseason camps.
So, by moving the FCL schedule a month earlier, they shortened the total time they have the players by a month, saving a month of pay for all the FCL players.
I have no idea if this was THE driver or A factor in the change, but I bet I am not the first person to think of it this way.
P.S. Another factor may be that fewer and fewer high schoolers are being targeted in the draft. And with the draft a month later and the Complex Leagues a month earlier than they were historically, there are now no official rookie level games remaining post-draft and post-signing.
Since almost all the draftees today are collegians, it doesn’t matter much. The drafted hitters and a few of the pitchers can go to Low-A and the other pitchers who had a long layoff and/or threw a lot of innings earlier in the spring can just work out during August in a low stress environment.
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