Keith Law's farm system rankings pumps the brakes a bit on Cardinals hype train

Right on the heels of third-party outlets like Baseball America and MLB Pipeline's top 100 lists, Keith Law of The Athletic put out his own top 100 and now is the first to officially rank farm systems ahead of the 2026 season.

The St. Louis Cardinals' farm system has been viewed as a fast riser in the industry, consistently complimented for the strides they took in player development and performance under Chaim Bloom's new regime. While Law did have praise for the work they've done, he did have pause compared to the hype we've seen from outlets like Baseball America.

Law ranked all 30 farm systems in order and into eight different tiers, and placed the Cardinals as the 11th best farm system in the game and rounding out the third tier.

Keith Law ranked the Cardinals farm systrem as the third best in all of baeball

As I said before, Law was high on the Cardinals' system. While he had JJ Wetherholt lower than Baseball America and MLB Pipeline at seventh overall, he had both Liam Doyle (#26) and Rainiel Rodriguez (#29) ranked higher than those outlets did. He did not have any other Cardinals prospects in his top 100.

Law was quick to point out how a number of Cardinals took steps forward last year and that the Cardinals' player development group was showing a ton of positive signs for fans to be excited about. I interviewed the Cardinals' farm director, Larry Day, on the Dealin' the Cards podcast this week, and he provided a ton of insight into the shifts the Cardinals have made.

Law was encouraged by the progress of both Baez and Tekoah Roby, and prior to Roby's season-ending injury, he was considering having Roby as a top 60 prospect in the game. The number of injuries that top Cardinals arms experienced in 2025 seems to have knocked St. Louis down a bit in his mind.

Overall, while I think Law is a bit lower on the Cardinals' farm system than I am or national outlets seem to be, his ranking is fair in my mind, and his concerns are valid. Rankings like this are always going to be subject to opinion, and placing the margin between systems likely isn't as much as you may think.

It will also be interesting to see what happens in year two of this new player development group. While I have confidence that they are going to build upon the work they did in 2025, I don't blame anyone for wanting to see the steps forward happen more than just one year. Many of the farm systems ranked above them by Law have a recent track record of pumping out young talent, and while this new regime has done that for other organizations, it is still very early in their tenure with St. Louis.