5 young Cardinals who have answered the call so far and 3 who haven't

The 2025 season for the St. Louis Cardinals is one where they will be figuring out which young players will be cornerstones for the next generation of successful Cardinal teams. While winning would be ideal and a byproduct of growth, it was taking a backseat to player development at the major-league level.

All offseason, we heard John Mozeliak and others say that Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Alec Burleson would receive ample playing time. They wouldn't be demoted to the minors to make adjustments. Rather, they would make these improvements on the fly in the majors against the highest level of competition.

In a perfect world, every young player from Walker to Burleson to even Ryan Fernandez, to an extent, would make the necessary improvements to be everyday major leaguers.

For most of the young players, it's been clear if they've cut it at the majors this year or if they have struggled more than desired. For one player, however, the jury is still out.

Alec Burleson is stuck in the middle in terms of future development.

After an ice-cold start to the year, Burleson has begun heating up offensively. The left-handed hitter had a .259/.308/.294 slash line in March and April with a .035 ISO and a 71 wRC+. He was striking out 16.5% of the time and walking only 6.6% of the time.

Burleson wasn't tapping into his usual power, and the club needed a power bat in the middle of the lineup.

Since the calendar flipped to May, Burleson has turned it up quite a bit. He's slashed .269/.321/.538 with a .269 ISO for a 139 wRC+. He's found the power that he was missing early in the season, and his three extra-base hits are evidence of this. If Burly can continue to hit at this rate, he will be a reliable designated hitter for the future who could also spell a corner outfielder from time to time.

The 5 young St. Louis Cardinals have made the most of their opportunities this year, but these 3 young players have left a lot to be desired.

Ryan Fernandez's early season struggles put his future role in question.

While Kyle Leahy has established himself as a reliever of the future, Ryan Fernandez has fallen down the depth chart heavily.

Fernandez, a Rule 5 Draft pick last year, was strong as a second-tier reliever in 2024. He sat behind Ryan Helsley, JoJo Romero, and Andrew Kittredge, but he was excellent at what he was asked to do. Fernandez finished 2024 with a 3.51 ERA in 66.2 innings across 62 appearances. He had a 24.9% strikeout rate, and batters hit only .231 against him.

Fernandez got off to a rough start this year, and he was demoted due to his poor showing so far. Fernandez walked a quarter of the batters he faced in the majors, and his 11.42 ERA through only 8.2 innings was awful. To make matters worse, Fernandez isn't pitching much better in the minors. He has a 10.13 ERA through only 5.1 innings in Memphis.

Ryan Fernandez isn't doing much to bolster his case and lock in a role for the future.