3 Cardinals sophomores have a lot to live up to after phenomenal debut seasons

The 2026 MLB season officially wrapped up with the NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers winning their first World Series title, so now the focus goes to the 2027 campaign. Looking beyond the potential disastrous winter ahead, the St. Louis Cardinals are hoping their young roster is ready to take a step forward in their development next season.

Hopefully the start of next year goes off without a hitch, and if that is the case, the Cardinals may be in a better position than some teams coming off a missed postseason. Other rebuilding teams may have to work through roster decisions and personnel changes, but St. Louis is fortunate enough to have some consistency in their organization. Despite missing the playoffs again, the Cardinals roster is young but experienced enough to see a big second-year jump from the entire roster.

JJ Wetherholt, Leo Bernal, and Joshua Baez set high floors for their expected performance next season

The Cardinals are not likely to be high bidders for any of the top free agents on the market this offseason thanks to the CBA negotiations but also because of their current roster construction. Most teams who miss out on October are expected to be active in free agency or in the trade market, but Chaim Bloom has set up the roster in such a way where a lot of action may not be needed in order to compete in 2027.

When Bloom took the POBO job, fans understood that he was not going to build a World Series contender from day one, but they may also be pleasantly surprised at the progress the team has made since his promotion. A step from fourth place in the division to instant postseason contenders is probably not in the cards, but Bloom's focus on young talent that can make an immediate impact gave the Cardinals a great starting point for their return to October baseball. From the stellar rookie season from JJ Wetherholt to exciting flashes from Leo Bernal and Joshua Baez, the 2027 season could set up the Cardinals for an extended run of success.

Starting with JJ Wetherholt, the second baseman looked to be a lock for the Rookie of the Year award early in the season but a tough second half and a surge from other first year players make it seem like Wetherholt will miss out on the honors. Even without the trophy on his mantle, his first year in the majors had to be seen as a success as his late-season disappointment could be attributed to playing through minor injuries. Wetherholt was able to put up an above-average season with the bat and added massive value with his glove which should make fans optimistic that the Cardinals have a superstar in the making.

Fans and the front office will want to see Wetherholt take a step forward in year two, but his baseline is high enough that any progress would put him in the next tier of players. Currently, Wetherholt looks like a promising youngster, but improvements with the bat would put him into the budding superstar tier. Wetherholt has always had a knack for putting bat to ball, so as long as he stays healthy, we should see a jump across the board for his offensive stats.

While Wetherholt is known for contact and showed some solid power in his first year, Joshua Baez is the inverse of the infielder. Of course, Baez made headlines with his three-homer debut and continued to hit the ball hard after his record-setting first game. The outfielder saw regular playing time until an oblique injury ended his season early and kept his rookie eligibility intact. At the end of his cup of coffee, Baez hit seven homers in 29 games but demonstrated his all-or-nothing offense with a 31% strikeout rate and just four walks. Next season, Baez is the expected left fielder and Rookie of the Year contender, but he will have to get back to his 2025 minor league plate discipline to avoid month-long cold spells at the big league level.

Finally, the future behind the plate in St. Louis looks to finally be settled on, as Leo Bernal made a lasting impact during his month-long tryout. Even with Rainiel Rodriguez doing incredible things for any player, let alone as a 19-year-old prospect, the switch-hitting Bernal has received plenty of praise from industry experts. Most recently, Geoff Pontes from Baseball America labeled Bernal as the heir apparent to Yadier Molina, so Bloom and co. have to be feeling good about their catching future.

Even after standing out in the month of September, Bernal will still need to take a step forward to fend off Rodriguez, Jimmy Crooks, or any of the other exciting catching prospects in the Cardinals system. Bernal rarely looked overmatched with the bat in his hands but would do well to get back to his plate discipline he showed in the minors. While he did not strike out a bunch, his walk rate was cut in half after his debut, which is understandable for a young guy looking to make his mark. Defensively, Bernal had won two minor league awards for his work behind the plate, but he had six errors in minimal time thanks to multiple catcher interference infractions.

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a good spot to make their mark on the 2027 season as their lineup appears mostly set outside of third base and center field. Even with these guys penciled into the lineup, they are not guaranteed to repeat their debut success, so the Cardinals will need to continue developing these players not just for 2027, but for extensive major league careers.

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