Cardinals' farm system takes massive step forward in updated rankings

The top of Chaim Bloom's priority list prior to taking over as president of baseball operations has been overhauling the St. Louis Cardinals' player development department and program. While that is a multi-year process that will continue in the coming seasons, it's fair to say that there are already positive developments due to Bloom's influence.

Prior to the 2025 season, the Cardinals' farm system was considered mediocre at best. Most scouting outlets had their system ranked between 15th and 19th in all of baseball, with real question marks around the state of their pitching and how deep their bats went beyond JJ Wetherholt.

If you've been paying attention to the minor leagues this year, there have been a ton of exciting revelations for the Cardinals this year. From major steps forward from internal prospects, trading for new talent at the deadline, and a very intriguing draft class, the Cardinals' farm system looks much stronger today than it did prior to the season.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel agrees.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranked the Cardinals' farm system 9th in all of baseball

In McDaniel's midseason update of the top farm systems in all of baseball, he ranked the Cardinals' system ninth in the sport, all the way up from 19th prior to the season. This is a really impressive feat considering the horrible luck the Cardinals have had with injuries to their top pitching prospects this year.

Even with Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence missing significant chunks of the season and arms like Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, and Brian Holliday suffering season-ending injuries, there have still been a ton of positive signs among their stable of arms. Lefties Ixan Henderson, Braden Davis, and Brycen Mautz have all had outstanding seasons, and names like Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Cade Crossland, and Nate Dohm have been added to the system.

Obviously, JJ Wetherholt has been incredible this year and is viewed as a top-five prospect in the game, but Rainiel Rodriguez and Joshua Baez have taken massive steps forward as well. Rodriguez appears on most top 100 prospect lists now, and some are aggressively ranking him in their top 50 or top 20 prospects in the game, while Baez went from falling off the club's top 30 prospects to a borderline top 100 guy this year.

I could get going on about other names like Leonardo Bernal, Jimmy Crooks, Jesus Baez, Nathan Church, Ryan Mitchell, Yairo Padilla, and others who have intriguing upside for the Cardinals, and it's this growing list of names that has led to the step forward their farm system seems to have taken this year. Yes, the Cardinals have targeted some really intriguing talent, but they are also now developing them in new ways that are leading to better results when they get into the system.