Cardinals’ Future Is Bright as 3 Prospects Land in Keith Law’s Top 50

The St. Louis Cardinals have a very bright future, to say the least.

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The 2026 Major League Baseball season has been a fun one so far for the St. Louis Cardinals and it just the beginning of what this club can be.

St. Louis has the youngest roster in baseball with an average age of 26.9 years old. The Cardinals have given fans a lot of excitement throughout the campaign so far and are 29-25 on the season through 54 games. This club is just scratching the surface of what it can be. The young guys on the big league roster are going to just keep getting better with more experience.

On top of this, there's some serious talent down in the minors that will be in St. Louis before you know it. On Thursday, The Athletic's Keith Law shared his updated list of the top 50 overall prospects in the game. The Cardinals were well-represented with three players popping up on the list: Liam Doyle (No. 20), Tanner Franklin (No. 25), and Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 29).

Of the guys on Law's list, Franklin was the highest riser in the Cardinals' farm system. He was unranked before the season, and how is just five spots the club's top prospect in Doyle.

The Cardinals Have A Bright Future

Tennessee's Tanner Franklin (50) pitches against Wake Forest at the NCAA college baseball Knoxville Regional final on June 2, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Preseason Rank: NR," Law wrote. "Franklin is 95-100 with a plus slider working as a starter in High A, which is remarkable given that he had a 4.89 ERA for Tennessee last spring as a reliever, throwing 38 1/3 innings with just one start in 27 appearances. He was mostly fastball/cutter for the Volunteers, while the Cardinals have him throwing his true slider more, and harder, along with a sweeper, curveball and what might be a 55 changeup that he just hasn’t needed much. He’s stronger and repeating the delivery well without any real changes to it since college. There’s No. 2 starter upside here, which is incredible given where he was a year ago."

Doyle moved up from No. 26 to No. 20. Rodriguez stayed at No. 29.

St. Louis was tied with the San Francisco Giants and the Seattle Mariners for the second-most prospects popping up on the top 50 list with three apiece. The Los Angeles Dodgers came in at No. 1 with an eye-popping six prospects on Law's list.

When it comes to Franklin, he was selected in the second round of the 2025 MLB Draft by St. Louis and has been explosive down with High-A Peoria. He has made nine starts so far and has a 3.31 ERA in 32 2/3 innings pitched to go along with a 43-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's allowed more than two runs just twice this season. It also can't be forgotten that the 22-year-old was a reliever in college last year. Now, he's in High-A and having success as a starter. The upside is there, to say the least.