Ranking the Cardinals' 10 most important young players for their future

Honorable Mentions

There were so many players who I wished I could have included on this list, so I'll include them here in the honorable mentions.

Zack Thompson

Already a key member of the Cardinals bullpen, Thompson could end up becoming a valuable starter for St. Louis in the near future. Even if he does not end up landing in their rotation, he represents a very important piece for the future of their late-inning group.

Michael McGreevy

While he may not have the kind of ceiling that some other pitching prospects in the organization have, McGreevy could be a cost-controlled rotation piece for St. Louis as soon as this year. In 24.2 innings this year, McGreevy has a 2.19 ERA and was called up to Memphis recently because of that.

Jonathan Mejia

Not a name many Cardinals fans know already, but at just age 18, Mejia has the potential to jump up the Cardinals' prospect ranking in a hurry if his development continues as it has. Last year, in the Dominican Summer League, Mejia's 145 wRC+ ranked in the 90th percentile amongst 17-year-olds at that level. Mejia is a shortstop with raw power and could be a legit slugging threat with good defense in the future. I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a trade piece this year either.

Juan Yepez

Yepez can hit, and whether it's with St. Louis or another club, his bat needs to be in a Major League lineup sooner rather than later. He posted a 110 OPS+ last season in 76 games with St. Louis, and so far in Memphis this season has a .917 OPS. The tricky part is finding a position for him, but the bat plays.

Alec Burleson

Burleson had a very quick rise through the Cardinals' system and made his MLB debut toward the end of the 2022 season. The Cardinals are very high on his ability to hit, and his left-handed bat landed him a spot on their Opening Day roster. Early on this season, Burleson has seen significant playing time against right-handed pitchers, and represents a very valuable bat long-term.

#10 - Matthew Liberatore

Matthew Liberatore falling at number ten on this list, as well as the kinds of names that were left off of it should be an indicator of just how deep the Cardinals' young talent pool is.

After a disappointing 2022 season, many were pretty down on Libeatore coming into this season. After an impressive Spring Training, Liberatore has followed that up with a 3-1 record and 2.14 ERA with 45 SO in 33.2 innings of work. As Henry Fitzgerald noted yesterday, a ton of his underlying numbers suggest that this hot start is for real and that Liberatore has truly bounced back as a prospect.

There is a very real possibility that Liberatore joins the Cardinals' rotation in May, and represents a very important arm for the club this season and in future years. Part of the reason that the Cardinals have not been able to invest in an "ace" over the last few offseasons has been their lack of ability to fill rotatoin spots with cost-controlled starters. While I disagree with them deciding it's better to spend money on middle of the rotation arms if you do not trust your young guys, it's a real concern that they have had.

If Liberatore can be penciled in for a rotation spot next year, the Cardinals will already have two spots filled with him and Miles Mikolas, and possibly three if Steven Matz bounced back. This leaves room for the club to invest heavily in 1-2 other starters. While some may argue Liberatore is a "worse" prospect than guys who did not make this list, his ability to help stabilize the Cardinals' rotation is invaluable.

#9 - Cooper Hjepre

Drafted in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Cooper Hjerpe may be flying under the radar for most Cardinals' fans, but many who follow the team closely are very high on the 22-year-old.

One of the best Cardinals' prospect gurus out there is Kyle Reis, who in his preseason top 50 Cardinals prospects rankings, had Hjerpe ranked as his "2A" prospect, with Masyn Winn, Tink Hence, and Gordon Graceffo just a hair behind him. Another great prospect ranking, which is worth a read for how data-driven it is, by @CardinalsReek and @KareemSSN had Hjerpe as the Cardinals' #5 prospect this year.

Hjerpe was the the top college arm in the 2022 draft class, and he's got that fastball-slider combo that works so well in today's game. When I watch him throw, I get a lot of Chris Sale vibes. In 103.1 innings during his final year at Oregon State, he had 161 strikeouts and allowed just 23 walks while posting a 2.53 ERA.

Hjerpe is someone that, if all goes according to plan, will be in St. Louis as soon as next year, and has the ceiling of a top end guy. To say he could be a ace in the vein of a top 10 pitcher in baseball is probably a stretch, but to say he has the ceiling of a low-end number one starter or high-end number two seems real. This doesn't mean he'll be that, but he's got what it takes.

Hjerpe ranks lower for me on this list since he's barely got any professional innings under his belt. If he takes off as the season goes on, he will rise up this list quickly.

#8 - Dylan Carlson

Dylan Carlson is still so young and has so much potential in his game. It's far too early to look at a guy like him and count him out from being a very productive big leaguer, but the holes in his game are glaring and caused him to fall down this list.

Carlson is just awful against right-handed pitching, and considering that's about 70% of the guys pitching in this league, that's a big deal. He crushes lefties for the most part and plays great outfield defense, but he's really got to figure out why he can't hit righties if he wants to be more than a nice complementary piece.

The Cardinals have a lot of talent in their corner outfield right now, but Carlson represents someone who can be a true center fielder for them, one of the three most important positions on the field. He also represents someone who could be a valuable trade chip, so maintaining his value could be dividends in pursuit of bigger pieces later on.

#7 - Brendan Donovan

The breakout player of 2022 was easily Brendan Donovan. After being a relatively unknown prospect, he finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, won the utility Gold Glove, and became a player that the Cardinals were unwilling to part with this offseason.

Every team needs a utilityman, but finding one as good as Donovan is rare. Donovan can play almost every position on the field, and do so really well. He's a great on base guy and has flashed some new found power, although that has tapered off some recently.

If the Cardinals truly want to contend for a World Series in the next few years, having someone like Donovan gives them a huge edge. On any given day, they can plug him in wherever they need and expect a very good performance from him. It's had to overstate how valuable Donovan can be to this club.

#6 - Gordon Graceffo

Gordon Graceffo rose up prospect lists all year in 2022 after honing himself in and looking like a potential impact arm for years to come.

Graceffo is now in Triple-A Memphis and could find his way onto the Cardinals roster by the end of the summer. Like Hjepre, Graceffo doesn't have true number-one upside, but he could be a very good number-two starter in this league.

It's no secret the Cardinals have struggled to develop arms in recent years, and they badly need some pitchers to transform their staff this season, and answer many of the question marks surrounding the staff moving forward.

Graceffo is on the verge of making an impact this season and could be a long-term stabilizer for the team. The fate of the Cardinals young arms will dictate a lot of what happens to this team.

#5 - Nolan Gorman

Talk about a player who has flipped the script among most fans in such a short time.

Last year, Nolan Gorman went from a prized prospect to almost everyone's favorite asset to package in trades. His rookie season wasn't ideal, but it wasn't bad either. He flashed the power in a real way and looked like he had a ton of potential as a big bat in this league.

While Gorman was only 5% above league average at the plate last year, even with a little slump as of late, Gorman is 41% above league average in 2023. He's getting on base 50 points higher than last year and raised his slugging percentage 100 points as well.

Even Gorman's defense has improved this year. He's by no means a great defender, but he has become competent and should continue to grow in that.

Gorman could end up being the best player on this list, but the combination of ceilings and positional need for other guys put them above Gorman. While Gorman has an incredible ceiling, his streakiness could hold him back from being truly one of the best lefty bats in the game. But even this season, Gorman looks like an All-Star and should be one for many seasons to come.

#4 - Lars Nootbaar

Yes, Lars Nootbaar, an international superstar, has become one of the most important pieces of the Cardinals' young core for many reasons.

You could argue that Nootbaar has the highest floor as a player while still having a high ceiling. Each of the guys above him on this list, outside of the number one guy, have lower floors than Nootbaar.

At his best, the 25-year-old is a very good defensive outfielder who provides great slugging and on-base skills from the left side. This is a very valuable player in today's game, obvious by the amount of interest other teams had in Nootbaar this offseason.

Nootbaar also has incredible charisma to him, making him a great player to have in your clubhouse and to try and produce a winning culture.

Nootbaar has earned the respect of guys like Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, which tells me a lot about the kind of guy Nootbaar is.

#3 - Tink Hence

Easily the highest ceiling of all Cardinals pitchers in their system, Tink Hence has all the tools to be a true front-line starter in today's game.

In 68 inning Minor League innings in his career Hence has a 2.12 ERA with 103 SO. Even this spring, while pitching against big-league talent, Hence looked like a guy with the stuff to have his way with major leaguers.

At just 20 years old, Hence has so much time to develop, and that should only benefit him. The Cardinals will be patient with Hence, but by the time he makes it to St. Louis, he may be ready to step into the top of the rotatoin expectations like many of the young flame throwers around the league.

If Hence can fill that ace void the Cardinals have had for so long, he'll completely change the narrative surrounding Caridnals' pitching and provide St. Louis with a guy who could overcome their biggest weakness.

#2 - Masyn Winn

Coming into Spring Training, I, like many others, thought it would be fun to see Masyn Winn play, but did not expect much from him other than some flashes. By the end of Spring Training though, it was clear that Winn is way more advanced of a player than anyone though.

While the Cardinals did not have a clear role for him on their Major League club, Winn probably ends up making the majority of MLB rosters out of camp this year and surely should factor his way onto the roster at some point this season. Winn has started off a bit slow in Triple-A at the plate, but he showed extreme promise throughout Spring.

What really dazzles everyone is Winn's ability to make plays with his arm at shortstop. His arm is easily the best in all of baseball at the position, making him a human highlight reel defensively. He also brings elite speed to the position, so will steal a lot of bases for the Cardinals along the way.

Winn has superstar potential and could be one of the game's best shortstops in due time. If his bat is for real, Winn has an argument to be in the same class as Jordan Walker as a prospect. Even if he regresses back a bit to what people thought of him offensively, he still has a bright future in this game.

#1 - Jordan Walker

Could it be anyone else? At just age 20, Jordan Walker made the Cardinals' Opening Day roster and slashed .274/.321/.397 with 2 HR and 11 RBI during his first 78 Major League at-bats. Walker looked unafraid at the plate and has the shoulder to bear the expectations placed upon him.

Like any 20-year-old, Walker still had parts of his game to work on, leading to a demotion recently that should not last long. He was hitting ground balls at an above-league-average rate, something that the Cardinals' brass wants him to fix as it takes when from his slugging potential.

Walker also struggled a lot defensively in the outfield, something that will improve with time as he is still transitioning out there.

But overall, Walker has continued to impress the Cardinals' front office, coaching staff, players, and National media, showing all the tools and personality of someone who could be the face of the Cardinals for a very long time. His ability to hit for both contact and power, run with the fastest players in baseball, and play the game with the wisdom of someone well beyond his years is just special.

Walker is clearly untouchable and will be a major part of the Cardinals' core moving forward. The Cardinals are deep with young pieces for their emerging core, and Walker is clearly the crown jewel of this organization moving forward.