photo: Rainiel Rodriguez (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The first monthly update of The Cardinal Nation’s St. Louis Cardinals Top 50 Prospect List is now available. With the graduation of J.J. Wetherholt, there is a new no. 1, as well as many changes from the off-season. Free article!
For 2026, The Cardinal Nation’s monthly in-season St. Louis Cardinals Top 50 Prospect List process has changed slightly from prior years, but only for the better.
- The first difference is that just like with our annual offseason rankings, Kyle Reis is participating with Brian Walton.
- Another difference is that our blended player Top 50 rankings are being made available to everyone each month.
However, details including our individual votes and written commentary will continue to be exclusive content for subscribers to The Cardinal Nation. So, please consider joining today!
We will also discuss our rankings on our regular “Wednesday With Walton and Reis” podcast.
Here is the process we follow:
- Independently, Kyle and Brian prepare our top prospect lists
- All players among the top 65 on both lists are considered
- The two scores for each player are totaled with the lowest our new no. 1 prospect
- Ties are broken in favor of the player with the single lowest individual ranking
- Best of the Rest/Honorable Mentions are those who fell short of the Top 50
Here are the rankings, prior and new. Catcher Rainiel Rodriguez has moved to the top, leaping over remaining no. 2, pitcher Liam Doyle.
| Prospect | Tm | Pos | Prior | May rank |
| Rainiel Rodriguez | Peo | C | 3 | 1 |
| Liam Doyle | Spr | LHS | 2 | 2 |
| Joshua Baez | Mem | OF | 8 | 3 |
| Jimmy Crooks | Mem | C | 7 | 4 |
| Quinn Mathews | Mem | LHS | 4 | 5 |
| Tanner Franklin | Peo | RHS | 13 | 6 |
| Leonardo Bernal | Mem | C | 5 | 7 |
| Jurrangelo Cijntje | Spr | SHS | 5a | 8 |
| Brandon Clarke | Peo IL | LHS | 6 | 9 |
| Tekoah Roby | Mem IL | RHS | 11 | 10 |
| Cooper Hjerpe | Spr IL | LHS | 9 | 11 |
| Ixan Henderson | Mem IL | LHS | 12 | 12 |
| Tai Peete | Peo | OF | 19a | 13 |
| Yhoiker Fajardo | Peo | RHS | 20a | 14 |
| Brycen Mautz | Mem | LHS | 18 | 15 |
| Deniel Ortiz | Spr IL | 1B/3B | 15 | 16 |
| Chen Wei-Lin | Spr | RHS | 17 | 17 |
| Mason Molina | Spr | RHS | 45 | 18 |
| Blaze Jordan | Mem | 1B/3B | 30 | 19 |
| Braden Davis | Peo | LHS | 16 | 20 |
| Jesus Baez | Peo | SS/3B | 14 | 21 |
| Jack Gurevitch | PB | 1B | 38 | 22 |
| Luis Gastelum | Mem | RHR | 21 | 23 |
| Hancel Rincon | Mem | RHR | 23 | 24 |
| Ryan Mitchell | PB | OF | 19 | 25 |
| Chase Davis | Spr | OF | 26 | 26 |
| Emanuel Luna | DSL | OF | NA | 27 |
| Cade Winquest | Mem IL | RHR | NA | 28 |
| Tink Hence | Mem | RHR | 10 | 29 |
| Jacob Odle | PB | RHS | NR | 30 |
| Ty Van Dyke | PB | RHS | 43 | 31 |
| Nate Dohm | Peo | RHS | 24 | 32 |
| Pete Hansen | Mem | LHS | 32 | 33 |
| Frank Elissalt | Peo IL | RHS | 31 | 34 |
| Cade Crossland | PB | LHS | 22 | 35 |
| Yairo Padilla | PB IL | SS | 29 | 36 |
| Ethan Young | PB | RHS | 27 | 37 |
| Cesar Prieto | Mem | IF | 39 | 38 |
| Sebastian Dos Santos | FCL | MIF | 40 | 39 |
| Travis Honeyman | Spr | OF | 28 | 40 |
| Zach Levenson | Spr | OF | 25 | 41 |
| Bryan Torres | Mem | 2B/OF | NR | 42 |
| Miguel Hernandez | FCL | SS | 42 | 43 |
| Jalin Flores | Peo | SS/3B | BOR | 44 |
| Michael Watson | Spr | LHR | 36 | 45 |
| Max Rajcic | Mem | RHR | 44 | 46 |
| Nolan Sparks | Peo | RHP | BOR | 47 |
| Blake Aita | Peo | RHS | 24a | 48 |
| Ryan Campos | Spr | C | 48 | 49 |
| Ramon Mendoza | Mem | IF | BOR | 50 |
| Best of the Rest | Tm | Pos | Prior | May rank |
| Josh Kross | Peo | 1B/C | 37 | BOR |
| Brian Holiday | FCL IL | RHS | 34 | BOR |
| Payton Graham | FCL | RHP | BOR | BOR |
| Jose Suarez | Peo | OF | NR | BOR |
| Andrew Dutkanych | PB IL | RHS | 33 | BOR |
| Leonel Sequera | Peo | RHS | 46 | BOR |
| Jack Martinez | PB | RHS | NA | BOR |
| Kenly Hunter | FCL | OF | BOR | BOR |
| Juan Rujano | FCL | C | NR | BOR |
| Cameron Nickens | PB | OF | NR | BOR |
| Cristofer Lebron | FCL | OF | NR | BOR |
| Jake Shelagowski | PB | RHR | NR | BOR |
For much more information
Please check out the following article. It details all players coming onto the Top 50, the ones leaving, Kyle’s and Brian’s individual votes and much more! It is exclusive for members of The Cardinal Nation.
Now available – 2026 Cardinals Prospect Guide
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