photo: Brayden Smith (Palm Beach Cardinals)
The Cardinal Nation’s choice as the top hitter in the St. Louis Cardinals system during June is Palm Beach infielder/outfielder Brayden Smith, who edged out 11 other finalists. Smith led in wRC+, was second in batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases and fourth in OPS.
This article details the selection of The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Month. Considered were offensive results during June across the entire St. Louis Cardinals system. The winner as well as a group of runners-up, a.k.a. finalists, are highlighted.
Starting with the usual 60 plate appearances requirement, a total of 52 hitters in the system qualified. There were more strong contenders than usual, with 12 separating themselves with an OPS above .950, including four over 1.000 and four others over 1.100.
In a bit of a surprise, our June selection is Palm Beach infielder/outfielder Brayden Smith.
Demographics
Triple-A Memphis led the finalist list with three, while Double-A Springfield received two finalists from High-A Peoria during the month, doubling their total. Low-A Palm Beach and the Dominican Summer League Cards were represented by two each, with one finalist from the rookie level Florida Complex League.
The finalist position mix is made up of five infielders, three catchers, two outfielders and two infielder/outfielders.
Reminder
Please remember, this is NOT the “Player of the Month Among Top Prospects”. Every player in the system has an equal chance, with only their performance during the month used to differentiate the best of the best. Age and level, which are key prospect considerations, are not factors here, either.
We will take two views of the data. The first look will be basic stats, followed by rate stats. Names are listed in the first table in descending OPS order and in the second, by wRC+, Weighted Runs Created Plus.
Basic stats
| June hitter | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Miguel Hernández | FCL | 18 | 73 | 55 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0.327 | 0.493 | 0.655 | 1.148 |
| Bligh Madris | Mem | 22 | 88 | 71 | 20 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0.310 | 0.443 | 0.704 | 1.147 |
| Sebastian Rojas | DSL | 17 | 79 | 65 | 17 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0.385 | 0.456 | 0.677 | 1.133 |
| Brayden Smith | PB | 20 | 87 | 73 | 16 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 0.370 | 0.460 | 0.658 | 1.117 |
| Tre Richardson III | Peo/Spr | 20 | 83 | 69 | 23 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 0 | 0.304 | 0.422 | 0.667 | 1.088 |
| Jesús Báez | Peo/Spr | 17 | 74 | 65 | 16 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0.323 | 0.378 | 0.708 | 1.086 |
| Rainiel Rodriguez | Spr | 21 | 96 | 80 | 22 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0.338 | 0.448 | 0.575 | 1.023 |
| Luis Estrella | DSL | 18 | 83 | 69 | 17 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.434 | 0.580 | 1.013 |
| Joshua Báez | Mem | 23 | 103 | 93 | 20 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 27 | 4 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0.290 | 0.320 | 0.677 | 0.998 |
| Ryan Campos | Spr | 20 | 87 | 73 | 16 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 11 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 0.342 | 0.437 | 0.562 | 0.998 |
| Ryan Weingartner | PB | 22 | 97 | 84 | 21 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 23 | 12 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 0.298 | 0.381 | 0.583 | 0.965 |
| César Prieto | Mem | 20 | 86 | 70 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0.343 | 0.430 | 0.529 | 0.959 |
In OPS, 18-year-old Miguel Hernandez almost doubled his very meager May output in an outstanding June. In his second month in the US, the infielder edged 30-year-old Bligh Madris of Memphis, 1.148 to 1.147.
The extra-base hit leaders both came from Triple-A where Joshua Baez led Madris, 16 to 14. In fact, June was Baez’ second consecutive month with 16 XBH.
A new name to watch, 17-year-old DSL catcher Sebastian Rojas, was tops across the entire Cardinals system in doubles (10).
Baez was first in June home runs, again his second straight month of leadership with 10 long balls. Impressive! Next were Madris and another up-and-comer, Palm Beach infielder Ryan Weingartner, at seven apiece.
In slugging, another player coming into his own, infielder Jesus Baez, led the system at .708 and earned a promotion from Peoria to Springfield in the process. Next was Madris at an also strong .704, good enough to lead the organization for most months.
Ten of the 12 finalists hit over .300 in June with Rojas standing highest at .385. Next was Palm Beach infielder/outfielder Brayden Smith at .370.
Nine of the 12 posted an OBP over .400 or better with Joshua Baez (.320) far, far below the others. Hernandez was the leader at .493, with Smith next at .460.
The .300/.400/.500 line was not a high bar in June, with all but three finalists exceeding that target. Joshua Baez and Weingartner missed due to BA and OBP and Jesus Baez fell short in OBP. All 12 slugged over .500.
Only one of the finalists had more walks than strikeouts. Memphis infielder Cesar Prieto at 11-to-10 is a regular in the category, though Hernandez at 16-to-17 was also close.
Baez led the system in June RBIs with 27 (in just 23 games). Jesus Baez and DSL outfielder Luis Estrella are the only others in the organization with more than 20, having driven in 21 each.
Another player who moved up to Springfield from Peoria during the month, infielder/outfielder Tre Richardson, stole a perfect 15 bases in 15 attempts. Smith was second among finalists and tied for third in the system with 10 steals (in 12 tries).
Advanced stats
| June hitter | Tm | Age | PA | BB% | K% | BB/K | ISO | BABIP | wRC+ |
| Brayden Smith | PB | 22 | 87 | 12.6% | 19.5% | 0.6 | 0.288 | 0.423 | 193 |
| Bligh Madris | Mem | 30 | 88 | 18.2% | 22.7% | 0.8 | 0.394 | 0.341 | 188 |
| Miguel Hernández | FCL | 18 | 73 | 21.9% | 23.3% | 0.9 | 0.327 | 0.412 | 175 |
| Tre Richardson III | Peo/Spr | 24 | 83 | 15.7% | 25.3% | 0.6 | 0.362 | 0.341 | 167 |
| Rainiel Rodriguez | Spr | 19 | 96 | 14.6% | 20.8% | 0.7 | 0.238 | 0.400 | 164 |
| Jesús Báez | Peo/Spr | 21 | 74 | 6.8% | 18.9% | 0.4 | 0.385 | 0.304 | 159 |
| Sebastian Rojas | DSL | 17 | 79 | 10.1% | 12.7% | 0.8 | 0.292 | 0.400 | 157 |
| Ryan Campos | Spr | 23 | 87 | 12.6% | 21.8% | 0.6 | 0.219 | 0.412 | 157 |
| Ryan Weingartner | PB | 21 | 97 | 12.4% | 19.6% | 0.6 | 0.286 | 0.305 | 152 |
| César Prieto | Mem | 27 | 86 | 12.8% | 11.6% | 1.1 | 0.186 | 0.361 | 141 |
| Joshua Báez | Mem | 23 | 103 | 3.9% | 26.2% | 0.1 | 0.387 | 0.283 | 139 |
| Luis Estrella | DSL | 17 | 83 | 12.0% | 27.7% | 0.4 | 0.246 | 0.429 | 136 |
Four finalists are still teenagers. At 17 years old, DSL players Estrella and Rojas are our youngest finalists. Next is Hernandez at 18 and Double-A catcher Rainiel Rodriguez at 19.
At 30, Madris is the other bookend as our oldest finalist with Prieto next at 27.
Good fortune in the guise of a very high BABIP (.400 or better) benefited half of our finalists. Exceptionally high were Estrella (.429), Smith (.423) and Hernandez and Springfield catcher Ryan Campos (.412 each). At a normal .304/.305 were Jesus Baez and Weingartner with Joshua Baez a tad unlucky at .283.
Hernandez (21.9%), followed by Madris (18.2%), stood highest among the finalists in walk rate.
On the less positive side, two finalists, both Baezes, posted a June walk rate under 10%. Joshua was lowest at 3.9% with Jesus at 6.8%.
Toughest to strike out was Prieto at 11.6%, followed by Rojas (12.7%).
At the high end of the K spectrum, Estrella fanned at a 27.2% rate, with Joshua Baez next at 26.2% and Richardson at 25.3%.
In Isolated Power, ISO, Madris was first at .394, with the Baez boys right behind. Joshua’s ISO was .387 and Jesus’ was .385.
In weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+), Smith was clearly on top at 193 with Madris next at 188. While others had good marks, their wRC+s dropped off from there.
In summary, Smith led in wRC+, was second in batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases and fourth in OPS. This was not a slam dunk decision, as other finalists also had statistical advantages.
The most significant concern is probably Smith’s very high BABIP, but he was not alone in that concern. Perhaps he won’t be able to repeat with a more reasonable BABIP, but his June results speak for themselves.
Brayden Smith receives the honor of The Cardinal Nation’s May Player of the Month.
About the winner
On April 6, 2026, St. Louis dealt 30-year-old lefty Nick Raquet, who had been designated for assignment, to the Baltimore Orioles for High-A corner outfielder/second baseman Smith.
Smith, 22, had been selected by the O’s in the 13th round of the 2025 draft after one season with Oklahoma State. Prior to that, he played for Iowa Western Community College.
As a professional in limited action at Low-A in 2025 and one game at High-A in 2026, the left-handed hitter was 11-for-58 (.190) with 19 strikeouts and 13 walks.
Interestingly, rather than keep Smith at High-A, the Cardinals assigned him to Low-A Palm Beach.
That may have been a good plan, as at the end of May, Smith was sitting right on the Mendoza Line, batting .200 (28-for-140). Just seven of those hits went for extra bases.
Then came June and the tremendous breakout detailed above by Smith, including Florida State League Player of the Week honors for the period of June 23-29.
By the time the 2026 draft class reports later this month and many position players are activated at Palm Beach, Smith seems a good candidate to move up to Peoria.
How did May’s winners do in June?
Then-Peoria outfielder Won-Bin Cho was the May Player of the Month according both The Cardinal Nation and the Cardinals organization. On June 23, the 22-year-old was promoted to Double-A Springfield.
In the Texas League, Cho quickly discovered his power translated to the higher level, with four home runs and 10 RBI in his first seven games. He also has two singles and three walks for an early Double-A line of .240/.321/.720/1.041.
Related article
The Cardinal Nation’s June 2026 Pitcher of the Month – Luis Gastelum
What is next?
The Cardinals organization should name their own selections of May Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
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