5 Cardinals prospects not named JJ Wetherholt to keep an eye on

The year of development for the St. Louis Cardinals is primarily there for the major league team. Young players currently in St. Louis are being given ample runway to prove their value and make the necessary adjustments to be around for the future.

Players like Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, and Matthew Liberatore are being given lots of playing time to show that they can either contend at the highest level of baseball or make necessary changes to be viable regulars in the majors.

However, the minor league players shouldn't be neglected or forgotten about either.

Over the last two years, future president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has analyzed and vetted the Cardinals' minor league system to identify flaws and areas of improvement. He was quite busy this offseason filling out his front office to best support the pipeline. Bloom hired Matt Pierpont, a former minor league pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners, as the club's new Director of Pitching. Rob Cerfolio, the Cleveland Guardians' former director of player development, is the Cardinals' new assistant general manager, player development and performance.

These two hires, along with other influxes of external coaches and a change in development as a whole, should assist the Cardinals' minor league system when it comes to producing viable regulars.

The underlying development of prospects is equally important as the development of the major leaguers for the long-term health of the St. Louis Cardinals. If they can keep a consistent pipeline of MLB-ready players, the organization will find the consistent success it had throughout the 2000s and early 2010s.

Therefore, it's important for fans to be familiar with the club's rising prospects. Have no fear; I have you covered.

We all know about JJ Wetherholt, Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, and Chase Davis. Those are four prospects the club is very high on right now. Should the develop at normal paces, we'll see each of those four players contributing to the major-league roster within the next two years. However, there are several other lower-level prospects who are having strong years.

Their positive growth coupled with a "reset" year bodes well for both the organization and the players themselves.

These 5 Cardinals prospects are players to watch for the rest of the 2025 season.

LHP Ixan Henderson

The Cardinals drafted Henderson in the eighth round of the 2023 draft out of Fresno State. Henderson was the Bulldogs' Friday starter as a junior, and he posted a 3.74 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 89 innings.

As a prospect, Henderson has worked primarily as a starter, and he finished 2024 with a 2.34 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 104 innings with Low-A Palm Beach and High-A Peoria.

Ixan started the 2025 season with Double-A Springfield, and he's made the most of his opportunity so far. He's thrown 36 innings in seven starts, and he has a 3-1 record with a 2.25 ERA. Henderson has already struck out 45 batters. Opposing batters are hitting just .228 against him, and his 1.11 WHIP is strong.

Henderson experienced a velocity bump last year with his fastball, and his slider — which is trending to be more like a sweeper — has fantastic run on it.

Henderson was announced as the St. Louis Cardinals' Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April. He's certainly a prospect to keep an eye on as the Cardinals search for viable starting pitching depth.

RHP Tekoah Roby

Tekoah Roby is a name Cardinals fans should be familiar with. Roby is a former top-100 prospect in all of baseball, and the club acquired him via trade with the Texas Rangers back at the 2023 trade deadline.

The story of Roby's career thus far has been one riddled with injuries and underperformance. He has a career 4.57 ERA as a prospect, and his 6.57 ERA in 2024 with Palm Beach and Springfield didn't give many fans reason for excitement. Roby was bumped down in MLB Pipeline's rankings for the Cardinals' system to the #11 spot.

He must have taken that personally.

Through seven starts (29 innings), Roby has a 3.10 ERA with 35 strikeouts and only nine walks. He's allowed only two home runs so far, a much better line than his 2024 showing with Springfield (6.75 ERA in seven starts and 33.1 innings with 10 home runs allowed). Hitters are batting just .210 against him, and Roby has a 1.07 WHIP this year.

In his last start, Roby went 5.2 innings with a season-high 11 strikeouts. Roby allowed only two runs.

After struggling to stay healthy and be effective these last two seasons with the Cardinals, Roby appears to be finding his stride this year. That bodes well for the former third-round pick.

C Rainiel Rodriguez

Rainiel Rodriguez's stock rose dramatically this offseason. The only issue was that he had only played Rookie ball in the Dominican Summer League up to that point, so underlying data wasn't available for the teenager.

Rodriguez's name began popping up on various prospect rankings for the St. Louis Cardinals as a top-10 prospect, and this leap up boards was taken with some skepticism by various people. Rodriguez has proven those rankings correct so far.

After posting a 1.145 OPS in 41 games in Rookie ball last year, Rodriguez has only improved. The right-handed catcher boasts massive power numbers, and he's already slugged six home runs in only 12 games this year. He had a stretch recently where he hit a home run in four straight games, and he was named the Florida Complex League Player of the Week on May 19th for his efforts.

Rodriguez is slashing .389/.531/.944 this year, and he's walked (9) as many times as he's struck out.

Rainiel is the same age as a high school senior, so time is on his side. He has below-average arm strength behind the plate, but his bat alone would be enough to make him a first-round pick in this year's draft. The Cardinals have a plethora of catching prospects, and Rodriguez may quickly rise in the system if he keeps hitting the way he has so far.

LHP Drew Rom

Drew Rom is the only player on this list to have made his MLB debut. He is, however, still a prospect in my eyes due to his limited time in the majors in 2023.

The Cardinals acquired Rom via trade at the 2023 trade deadline, and he threw 33.2 innings across eight starts with a 8.02 ERA. Rom was seen as starting pitching depth heading into the 2024 season, but he suffered a left shoulder biceps tendinitis injury in Spring Training, which took him out of the entire season.

Rom entered this year with a clean bill of health, and he's been strong so far in limited time. He started off the 2025 season in Low-A Palm Beach. Rom pitched nine innings there across three starts, and he allowed only one run. In his most recent start with the Memphis Redbirds, Rom threw four shutout innings of one-hit ball. He struck out four batters and walked only two. This is reassuring for Rom, who hadn't thrown a professional pitch in over a year up to that point.

Drew Rom likely isn't going to be blowing MLB batters away, but he is a solid depth piece for a farm system that has been depleted due to injuries this year.

OF Joshua Baez

The Cardinals drafted Joshua Baez in 2021 with the 54th overall pick. It has felt like Baez has been in the system for a long time, and that is quite true. Baez is in his fifth season with the Cardinals this year after being drafted as a teenager.

Up to this point, Baez has failed to produce to the levels that people thought he would upon being drafted. He always posted plus offensive numbers according to wRC+, but his strikeout rates hovered in the mid-30% range throughout the minors.

Something has clicked this year for Baez. He is slashing .314/.399/.446 through 32 games at High-A Peoria so far, and he's dramatically lowered his strikeout rate to just 21.4% so far. Baez's walk rate remaings above average at 10.7%.

Baez has hit only two home runs so far this year, but he's also logged 18 stolen bases this year. His plus speed is a key factor for him on both sides of the ball. Most of his time in the outfield has been spent in right field, and he has yet to commit an error there in 200 innings so far.

Joshua Baez may finally be living up to his billing as a former top-10 organizational prospect. If he can continue to hit well, steal bags, and limit his strikeouts, expect to see the 22-year-old outfielder rise up the system quickly.