How will the Cardinals most recent call-ups fit into the roster?

Under the leadership of Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals are back to producing elite, young talent. Recently, St. Louis decided to hedge their bets on a few ascending prospects. 

On May 29th, the Cardinals pulled the trigger on spring standout Nelson Velázquez and catching prospect Jimmy Crooks. In a corresponding move, catcher Yohel Pozo and infielder Cesar Prieto were optioned to Memphis. 

The Cardinals are cashing in on young talent

Velázquez has been solid through 40 minor league games. His .764 OPS doesn’t give any indication that he’ll be a game changer, but he’s come to show that there is real power potential in his bat. 

Crooks, 24, is the Cardinals’ seventh-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. While Velázquez has been steady at Triple-A, Crooks has been dominant. The Triple-A rendition of 2025 Cal Raleigh, if you will, albeit in a very small sample size. 

In his 39 games, the backstop has a .980 OPS and has already swatted 13 home runs. That kind of production could only be ignored for so long, and after a sour series against the Brew Crew, the Redbirds are flipping the script. 

The Cardinals/Cubs rivalry has already sparked movement in 2026, and they haven’t even played a game yet. 

How will Crooks and Velázquez fit into the Cardinals' plans? 

St. Louis is finally dipping it's toes into the catching pipeline that has MLB analysts raving. 

Baseball America even made a post addressing the Redbird catching depth. 

“The Cardinals have three catchers with a 30 or higher adjusted grade, and they’re the only organization in baseball that can say that,” they stated. “Obviously headlined by Raniel Rodriguez, number one prospect in their system. He’s well within our top 30. He’s off to a really good start in Double-A, with really high power potential.”

They continued, “What makes the Cardinals so unique is that they complement [Rodriguez] with a pair of guys who are even higher in the minors, both in Triple-A, who, in the worst case, look like backup catchers. And maybe, especially with someone like Jimmy Crooks, there might even be fringe regular upside. But yeah, Jimmy Crooks and Leo Bernal are the sixth and seventh prospects in the system. There’s not a lot of systems where you’re gonna have three catchers who could probably be in the big leagues in the next year or two.” 

The ‘fringe regular upside’ may be an understatement in Crooks’ regard. With how aggressive St. Louis was in his promotion, one thing is clear: they’re buying Crooks’ stock. 

He’ll likely start against right-handed pitching as an offensive antidote to the Pedro Pages virus. Pozo had seen minimal playing time, and although he can be electric in a tight window, his consistency across a season remains in question. Crooks not only provides a better offensive option, but was given a 60 grade by MLB Pipeline for his arm and fielding. 

Velázquez, on the other hand, was a ‘now or never’ situation. With the imminent return of everyday outfielder Lars Nootbaar, if he didn’t get a shot now, there wouldn’t be room for one. 

Nathan Church, who has emerged as a solid option in left field, is currently shelved. What that means is the Cardinals have a totally open lane for a new option. Lots of fans thought Velázquez would be in The Lou on opening day after his massive spring, and he's finally getting his shot. 

The right-hander had an OPS well north of 1.000 and had home runs raining down like spring showers. The decision to start him in the minors was an interesting one, but as soon as St. Louis got the chance, they righted their wrongs. Not to mention, Church may not have blossomed if Velázquez had been given the job. The powerful right-hander will get starts against left-handed pitching and serve as a great pinch-hit option for manager Oli Marmol. 

If one word comes to mind that rhymes with this situation, it’s this: urgency. The Cardinals, for too long, operated like every player’s success was only a matter of time, rather than depending on skill set or environment. Thomas Saggese, Pozo, Prieto, Victor Scott II, and Pages have all stalled. That doesn’t mean it’s time to panic and trade for big-time bats; it simply means you shuffle the Cards. Literally and figuratively speaking. 

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