3 exciting Cardinals ranked among the top 50 prospects in June update

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to build momentum into the season's second half, and we may see some new faces leading the charge. In the June update of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects, the Cardinals had three players ranked in the top half.

In the May version, St. Louis had four players sitting in the top 100, but the update has switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje on the outside. The remaining names are the same that littered last month's list with Rainiel Rodriguez, Liam Doyle, and Joshua Baez holding strong.

Joshua Baez is becoming a prospect the Cardinals can no longer ignore

The biggest mover on the list was outfielder Joshua Baez, who jumped up 13 spots to 50th on the latest update. Baez leaping into the top half of the rankings is not much of a surprise to those who follow prospect development. During June, Baez hit .300 and socked 10 homers for the second consecutive month. The former second-round pick also stole two more bases to bring his total to 12 on the year.

One of the final boxes Baez will have to check is lowering his strikeout rate. Even if he cannot, the power is too big of a tool to keep down in Memphis much longer. The other issue is out of Baez's control, as there is not currently an everyday spot open in St. Louis for him. His promotion to the majors could be directly tied to the future of Lars Nootbaar and the trade deadline.

Moving up the list but down the organizational ladder, pitcher Liam Doyle checks in at number 23. His ranking has been an interesting follow, as his season has been a rollercoaster of results while still flashing his first-round arm talent. Overall, the southpaw is 1-5 with a 5.82 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.

Those numbers are hardly deserving of the ranking themselves, but Doyle has struck out 71 batters in his 51 innings pitched in Double-A. The ERA is inflated a bit by a high homer rate, and the Cardinals have been clear that Doyle is spending his time tinkering with things in game situations. As he spends more time in Springfield, Doyle has gotten more consistent on the mound.

Finally, the Cardinals' top prospect in the organization is catcher Rainiel Rodriguez. Moving up to number 13 overall, the teenager has hardly skipped a beat since being promoted to Double-A Springfield. The power-hitting backstop has nine homers on the season with four of them coming in June. After a slow start in May, Rodriguez has caught fire over the past four weeks.

The catcher has an OPS of .991 to go along with his .338 monthly batting average. The power has remained all year but the 19-year-old has not been overmatched by the uptick in competition. After struggling with strikeouts in May, Rodriguez trimmed his K rate while also walking more than he had previously. Adding onto the fun, the stout backstop has also stolen four bases in June to bring his season total up to nine.

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