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Not sure why Bernal isn’t being mentioned. I see Bernal as our catcher of the future. Of If they’re going to trade a catcher, I’d just as soon them trade Crooks. Crooks and Fedde might bring a pretty good prospect.
I was thinking earlier today that Victor Scott II has not come close to his ceiling yet. Same goes for Walker and Winn. I don’t think Nootbaar has quite hit his ceiling yet, either. If he stays healthy, he’s on pace to hit 23 HR this season at age 27.
Glad to see that Ryan Fernandez had a good outing tonight for Memphis. Last year it looked he he made it look like we got him only because Boston didn’t protect him. And he pitched well enough for the Cardinals in 2024 to strengthen their bullpen. This year he’s been struggling. Hopefully, he’s on his way to regaining the from he had in 2024.
Also, I noticed that Riley O’Brien has been having a good year so far.
Also, there’s no obvious replacement for Matz in 2026, unless they want to break Rom into the majors by working him out of the bullpen next year.
With Matz gone, and Fedde likely gone, and if Maton wants too much
money, and if Helsely asks for more money than the Cardinals are willing to pay, the last four months of 2025 for the minors and, 2026 spring training in 2026 ought to be interesting.I really enjoyed your article on Cerfolio and the photos. I didn’t fully realize the depth of the changes that the Cardinals have made over the past year. Cerfolio is only 32 years old, actually 6 years younger than Oli Marmol. I had my doubts about Marmol when they gave him the job as field manager. But he has really grown into the role.
I just noticed that Jordan Walker turned 23 years old today. I’m going to celebrate tonight by repeating to myself…. Jordan Walker is only 23 years old…Jordan Walker is only 23 years old…over and over again until I fall asleep.
All we can do is stay tuned. One of BW’s primary strategies, IMO, for evaluating prospects has always leaned toward watching what they do (coaches, evaluators, trainers) rather than listening to what others say.
It’s always nice to see a player like Baez emerging, although it seems like it’s been a long time coming. There’s still a week and a half left in May, so it will be interesting to see what Brian and Kyle do with him on the next ranking, especially if he hits well in the first half of June.
Raniel Rodriguez just turned 18 years old last January. He’s still three years away from legally buying a beer. He could still be growing. The organization doesn’t need another catcher, for now. I’d be interested to find out if Rodriguez can run and throw. Could he play in the outfield? I don’t expect to hear anything until at least sometime in 2026.
Ixan Henderson is another player that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Alec Willis name was mentioned a few times during spring training and he even showed up on a few photos during spring training. No news since.
Looking forward to Chen Wei-Lin earning a promotion in the next ranking.
Too bad about Koperniak’s apparent downturn.
I had high hopes for Bedell. Mizzou alumnus and all that. Makes me wonder if he has ever fully recovered from TJ surgery.
Right now it looks very likely that the best available in the draft will be a pitcher. Add a high ceiling arm this July to a pretty impressive line of pitching prospects, and the major league Cardinals’ team should soon be even more competitive than it is now, especially if what’s going on with Baez turns out to be real, and/or if Walker finally figures it out.
With a good read, a good jump, and a good route, that ball hit by McKinstry leading off the 8th could have been caught. And the lead run for the Tigers would not have been on base. Burleson was playing the outfield like he had lead feet.
I could support electronic checked swing easier than I would support automatic balls and strikes. Checked swing, to me, is more along the lines of checking to determine if the runner was out stealing or out running the bases. Automatic balls and strikes effectively take the plate umpire out of the game entirely. The plate umpire does not only call balls and strikes. He keeps the players in line and respectful and disciplined, and he keeps them from getting the ‘big head’, especially the new ones who have not yet learned who’s who, and where they, personally, fit into the overall scheme of things. In essence, the umpires are part of the game. On the other hand, there should be a better process in place for evaluating plate umpires so that MLB can deal with them, appropriately, but not violently.
One thing that stands out in TCN ranking is that the Cardinals organization overall is completely devoid of a power hitting corner outfielder. Almost makes me want to take Jace LaViolette in the Draft, although the potential for gaining another so called ‘hitter’ that strikes out half of the time is alarming.
He’s just 3 months past the age of 18. He might grow an inch or two in the coming years. No idea what his arm is like or if he could play in the outfield. Exciting to see s kid rake at any level even if it’s only the FSL.
Yeah. I’m glad TCN didn’t choose to print the rest of this guy’s ….? BTW, I am 100% supportive pf keeping things civil around here, although if someone blows his stack once in a while, I get it. That’s just human action/reaction. But I get annoyed and start to feel alienated when I have to constantly look at adolescent gibberish somehow trying to present itself as dialogue.
It seems like the only way betting can influence a game is if a manager is trying to lose. I just don’t have it in me to believe that Rose deliberately tried to lose a game. As far as players are concerned, it would take at least half of the team conspiring to lose a game because of a bet. That might have happened before the 1919 World Series scandal, but not since.
BTW, the report that I read said that $5000 in 1919 amounts to $91,000 in today’s money.
FWIW, it is on Henderson’s Player Page here at The Cardinal Nation. Go to Rosters>Springfield or enter his name in the blue magnifying glass area at the upper right.
Thanks. I do know that TCN typically explains the pronunciation of the name of a player with an unusual, or unfamiliar name. I did look, first, at TCN roster matrix, but I did know about the blue magnifying glass. I know it’s way too early to talk about it, but I’m already looking forward to what the TCN 2026 Prospect Guide has to say about him compared to what they had to say about him in the 2025 Guide.
Re: May 13, Minor League Notebook by Michael Goff
For anybody, besides mudville, who was wondering how to pronounce
‘Ixan’, as in Ixan Henderson, here it is:I’d just as soon take my chances on a pitcher with high upside, rather than an outfielder that has trouble putting the bat on the ball like Gorman and Walker. Maybe try for a hitter again in the 2026 draft.
Regarding trading Helsley, I think most would agree that it depends on where the Cardinals are in the standings at the trade deadline. There’s also the outside possibility that the Cardinals might try to extend Helsley after the end of the season. Seems highly unlikely, but you can’t rule it out. The Cardinals do not have a replacement for Helsley lined up and we all know what it feels like to lose a game after going into the 9th with a lead.
Thanks for posting, Rat. Glad to hear it. Too bad Rose was so stubborn about the gambling thing he did. Given that, I don’t think it would have been good look for MLB for Rose to be admitted to the HOF. However, I don’t doubt that he will be admitted posthumously, and I’ll be thrilled when it happens. In my mind Rose and Bench were two of the best baseball players of all time.
Shoeless Joe Jackson is another matter. He got banned because of his association with the 1919 Black Sox scandal where Chicago deliberately threw the 1919 World series for today’s equivalent of $91,000 each (according to Wikipedia). However, Shoeless Joe ‘had led both teams in several statistical categories and set a World Series record with 12 base hits’ which suggests that he did not participate in the scandal. But, then, ‘It was alleged that Jackson admitted to participating in the fix during grand jury testimony on September 28, 1920.'(Wikipedia) Admission of participation in the conspiracy pretty much ends the argument in my mind.
The problem with a young pitcher like McGreevey is that sometimes they get ‘figured out’ by the opposing teams. Then they start getting banged around over and over again. I’m okay with just letting the organization handle a kid like this in the way they think is best.
Regarding Liberatore…I thought they should have let him stay in the bullpen. Now it’s starting to look like he could be a rotation piece for years to come.
