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The Cardinals have 99 problems, but star prospect Rainiel Rodriguez isn't one

Rainiel Rodriguez continues to draw rave reviews from baseball's best talent evaluators.
ByJosh Jacobs|
Nov 13, 2019; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom speaks with members of the media during general managers meetings at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Nov 13, 2019; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom speaks with members of the media during general managers meetings at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

For all of the faults the St. Louis Cardinals have had this year, there do remain a fair bit of bright spots and reasons to be optimistic about the future.

Rainiel Rodriguez is certainly more than just a bright spot. He feels like a supernova that has entered the Cardinals' solar system.

Credit to site contributor Thomas Gauvain for the fun headline idea, as Rodriguez seems to make headlines every single week with another booming home run, rave review from a talent evaluator, or new prospect list that has aggressively moved Rodriguez up in their rankings. While MLB Pipeline has had Rodriguez on its top 100 list for a bit now, and other prospect gurus are even moving Rodriguez into their top 20 or top 10 prospects, Baseball America has finally joined the hype train as well.

In their most recent update to their top 100 prospects list, Baseball America officially has Rodriguez as their 99th-ranked prospect in all of baseball, and I would be shocked if he doesn't soar up that list prior to the beginning of the 2026 season.

Rainiel Rodriguez continues to soar up prospect rankings and the Cardinals' minor league system.

For anyone unfamiliar with Rodriguez, the 18-year-old catching prospect has slashed .276/.399/.555 with 20 home runs and 63 RBI in 301 at-bats this season across the FCL, Low-A Palm Beach, and now High-A Peoria. For someone who won't even turn 19 until January, the production we are seeing from Rodriguez is truly in rarified air. When you compare Rodriguez to other 18-year-old prospects from the last two decades, only names like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Jackson Chourio, Fernando Tatis Jr., Freddie Freeman, Giancarlo Stanton, Wander Franco, and Samuel Basallo can rival him. That's an incredible list!

This, along with a near flawless profile at the plate from what we have seen so far, has caused some prospect gurus to go ahead and launch Rodriguez into the stratosphere of prospects that the names I listed above found themselves in. When a player is this young, has this elite of production, and the offensive profile seems sustainable, well, it's hard to find more exciting prospects than that.

As Chaim Bloom takes over for John Mozeliak, having prospects like Rodriguez, JJ Wetherholt, Liam Doyle, and others to highlight their farm system is a pretty great way to start his regime. While things have fallen apart in the latter years of Mozeliak's leadership, Bloom will look to use this young core to vault them back into contention long term.

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