Redbird Rants
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Re-ranking the 10 most valuable young players in Cardinals' organization

There have been a lot of changes to the list!
ByJosh Jacobs|
Aug 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) celebrates with designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) after hitting a three run home run against the New York Yankees during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Aug 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) celebrates with designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) after hitting a three run home run against the New York Yankees during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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#5 - Brendan Donovan (Previous ranking: #3)

If you look at Brendan Donovan's numbers on the season, they look pretty much in line with how he's played throughout his young career. But I do think they do a poor job of capturing just how great Donovan was this year, outside of when he was playing through a crippling toe injury.

If the season ended today, Donovan slashed .283/.351/.410 with 10 home runs and a 115 wRC+ in 501 plate appearances, but prior to the toe injury he suffered on June 11th, he was a 132 wRC+ bat with a .310/.379/.440 slash line during those 64 games. During the two months that Donovan played through his toe injury rather than going on the injured list, he slashed .234/.305/.349, which amounted to a terrible 84 wRC+ in 46 games.

Guess what? Now that Donovan has been back from the injured list, he's been excellent, posting a .348/.400/.565 slash line in that small sample size. Donovan was an All-Star for a reason this year, and it's a shame that playing through a significant injury dropped his numbers as much as it did. Had he gone on the injured list earlier, I have no doubt his numbers today look far better than they do now.

With two years of club control remaining, Donovan is the leader in the Cardinals clubhouse, ranks 72nd out of 297 qualified hitters since the beginning of 2022 in wRC+, and has incredible defensive versatility to go with his bat. The Cardinals need to try to extend him this offseason, or else it probably does make sense to shop him on the trade market to maximize his trade value.

Donovan has all of the makings of a future Cardinals' red jacket member and is the perfect personality to lead the club into the future. With young talent on the way, Donovan can help lead this next generation of Cardinals in the rebuilding years and then still be a contributor for the team when they are finally ready to contend again. Donovan is an excellent player to have on your team, and the Cardinals better make that happen before it's too late.

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