2026 St. Louis Cardinals are finally fulfilling former prospect accolades

The 2026 St. Louis Cardinals are certainly a pleasant surprise. After trading away all of its proven veterans and opting instead to rely on young and homegrown players, many were skeptical the Cardinals would have a winning record, much less contend for a National League Central title. Those exact young players are finally fulfilling their former prospect rankings.

The Cardinals' current 26-man roster has nine former top-100 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. Of those ten, six were top-50 prospects at one point in their careers. While it may be surprising given these players' production up to this point, a quick glance at their prospect pedigrees should have led all fans, media members, and pundits to believe more in this group of ragtag Cardinals.

While what a player has done in his career should carry fan expectations, the entire profile of a player should be analyzed.

Player development is rarely linear, and it certainly doesn't stop at the major-league level. Time and the right development team are often the medicines that can cure a stagnant farm system or organization. Chaim Bloom's remake of the organization top to bottom along with the former leadership team's ability to identify and draft talented players, has made for a wonderful and exciting start to the 2026 season.

The success of the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals shouldn't actually be surprising.

Ivan Herrera (ranked #99 by MLB Pipeline in 2022), Alec Burleson (#91 in 2023), and Gordon Graceffo (#79 in 2023) were all top-100 prospects at various points. Herrera is a top designated hitter in the National League, Burleson has played an excellent all-around first base while winning a Silver Slugger last year, and Graceffo has done well as a late-game, multi-inning reliever.

Masyn Winn (#43 in 2024), Matthew Liberatore (#37 in 2021), Nolan Gorman (#33 in 2022), Dustin May (#23 in 2020), JJ Wetherholt (#5 in 2026 preseason), and Jordan Walker (#4 in 2023) were all top-50 prospects at various points in their careers. That's ample high-level prospects to bolster a team.

Winn is a Gold Glove defender, Liberatore has grown into a fine if not solid starting pitching, and while Nolan Gorman hasn't quite lived up to his billing, he's still on pace for 21 home runs this year. Dustin May, though he didn't develop with the Cardinals, is still helping the team tremendously this year. JJ Wetherholt is a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate, and Jordan Walker has finally broken out in his fourth professional season.

Thus far, the "rebuild" is going swimmingly. The Cardinals are proving that a rebuild doesn't have to be a multi-year thing. The plethora of former top talent and their abilities to finally produce to their pedigrees are major contributing factors to this success.

The Cardinals have plenty of former top prospects in baseball on their roster. While they haven't lived up to their billing up to this point in their careers, they're certainly making up for it this year. It shouldn't be surprising that the Cardinals are doing this well. In fact, this is who they were supposed to be all along.

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