Cardinals' painful trades already paying dividends in latest prospect rankings

Despite the current rebuild status of the St. Louis Cardinals, there are still some positive vibes surrounding Chaim Bloom and the organization. After dealing away two expensive veterans to the Boston Red Sox, the players that Bloom was able to pry away from his former employer all rated among the Cardinals' top prospects according to Baseball America.

All three pitchers received from Boston rank among the Cardinals' top 30 prospects

In a subscription-required article, Baseball America released their first look at the top 30 prospects for each major league team. The top of the Cardinals' list was no surprise with JJ Wetherholt checking in at number one, but fans had to be excited when they saw that all of the pitchers St. Louis received in return for Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras cracked the countdown. While each of the trades to the Red Sox meant the Cardinals were headed the wrong direction in the standings, it appears that Bloom received a decent foundation for the rebuild.

In exchange for Gray, the Cardinals received major league arm Richard Fitts and Single-A lefty Brandon Clarke in return. Dobbins will be competing for a spot in the Opening Day rotation, while the 22-year-old Clarke hopes to prove his health in 2026. Clarke, a former fifth-round draft pick, is the highest-rated newcomer on Baseball America's list, checking in at the Cardinals' sixth-best prospect. Injury concerns caused the lefty to slide in the draft, but when he is feeling good, he shows a power fastball that can touch 100 mph with three above-average breaking balls. His main goal will to make it through the grind of a full professional season while demonstrating his electric potential on the mound.

Checking in behind Clarke in the 11th slot is pitcher Yhoiker Fajardo, a 19-year-old righty who the Cardinals received in the Willson Contreras trade. The teenager has already shown advanced feel on the mound albeit without being armed with one pitch that stands out more than the others. With a mid-90s fastball and decent, yet unspectacular secondary pitches, Fajardo has the makings of a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher who could progress quickly thanks to his command. Fajardo threw a total of 72 innings last season, topping out at Single-A, as to be expected for a teen. He looks to expand upon that career-high workload and progress to the next level in 2026.

Rounding out the list is righty Blake Aita, also a part of the return for Contreras alongside Fajardo and Hunter Dobbins. Aita was selected by Boston in the fifth round of the 2024 draft but did not throw a professional inning until last season. He was not a highly regarded draft prospect out of Kennesaw State, but Aita put together a solid 23 games for Boston's two A-ball affiliates, finishing with a 3.98 ERA in 115.1 innings. Aita is not much of a strikeout pitcher, punching out just 21.4% of hitters, but he was able to limit the damage with solid command and great spin on his breaking balls. According to BA, Aita's 3,200+ RPM spin rate is a mark that only 50 major league pitchers reached in 2025.

While it may be a few years before we know how the Gray and Contreras deals impacted the St. Louis Cardinals rebuild, it looks like Chaim Bloom at least has things moving in the right direction.