Cardinals minor league affiliate in the middle of something special

The St. Louis Cardinals are refusing to quit and inserted themselves back into the playoff race, even if it is exceedingly unlikely to see them playing in October. While the major league squad has struggled for most of the season, their minor league affiliates have had plenty of success this year.

The Double-A Springfield Cardinals are one of the best teams in all of the minor leagues

Entering the last week of the minor league season, the Double-A Springfield Cardinals are looking to finish their year with a ring for the first time since 2012. The baby Cardinals have 84 wins on the season, which is the second-most wins by any minor league organization this year and is tops in all of Double-A. The win total is also the most in franchise history and the team reached that mark after an incredible 11-game winning streak that saw them win three straight games via walk-off. That amazing stretch of games caused outfield prospect Chase Davis to call the 2025 team the "most special team I've ever played on".

In the minors, the season is broken down into two halves with the first half winner taking on the second half winner in the playoffs. Springfield won the first half and are currently sitting in first for the latter half of the year, but minor league rules state they will take on the team in their league with the next best record, which currently belongs to the Tulsa Drillers, affiliate of the Dodgers. This year's playoffs will be the third consecutive season in which the Cardinals reach the postseason.

The Double-A squad is filled with plenty of talent that should excite Cardinals fans as they look to the future. In terms of top prospects, Springfield has #6 overall prospect JJ Wetherholt and catcher Leonardo Bernal, who slots in as MLB Pipeline's number 70 prospect. Beyond those two, the team has six more of the organization's healthy top-30 prospects, and that number grows when taking injured players Tink Hence and Cooper Hjerpe into account. The pitching has been spectacular thanks to Ixan Henderson and Brycen Mautz putting together great seasons, and the team's automatic bid into the playoffs means they can set up their rotation as they please while the season winds down.

The Texas League playoffs consist of two rounds of best-of-three series with the better record hosting the final two games of the series. Because Springfield won the first half and has a greater winning percentage, they will be on the road for the start of the playoffs of September 16 before hosting the next two games at Hammons Field on the 18th and 19th of the month. The final round is another three-game series with the North Division hosting game one before traveling for the rest of the series. Springfield has playoff ticket packs available on their website and will be giving away rally towels during the first round. Additional playoff gear can be found on the Springfield Cardinals team page.