Cardinals Now Have 2 Of Baseball's Hottest Prospects

The St. Louis Cardinals' future is very bright and there are prospects down in Triple-A knocking on the big league door.

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joshua Baez (22) takes batting practice during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have been dealing with their first real taste of adversity over the last few weeks, but there are still plenty of reasons for optimism for the fanbase.

Obviously, guys like Jordan Walker and rookie JJ Wetherholt are exciting. Beyond the big league roster, there are pieces down in the minors on the doorstep to the majors making their case for a promotion. On Monday, Baseball America shared a column ranking the 10 hottest prospects in baseball right now. St. Louis, like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates, landed two guys on the list: outfielder Joshua Báez (No. 2) and infielder Blaze Jordan (No. 8).

"The Scoop: Báez opened the week on a power surge, hitting two home runs in each of the first two games at Iowa," Baseball America's Geoff Pontes wrote. "He homered again on Thursday and then hit his second triple of the week on Friday. Báez had hits in five of six games and began the week with seven extra-base hits over his first three games. Báez had a little bit of a swoon early in the season but has put together an excellent May, hitting .284/.354/.657. ...

Cardinals Fans Must Be Excited

Mar 7, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Joshua Baez (22) rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the second inning against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

"The Scoop: Because he hit monstrous home runs in power showcases in high school, there remains a public perception that Jordan is a slugger," Baseball America's J.J. Cooper wrote. " In reality, he’s a contact-oriented hitter who is nearly impossible to strike out. While he doesn’t clear the fence all that often, he’s been a doubles machine recently, with seven in his past nine games. And he’s striking out just 10.9 percent of the time, as it remains nearly impossible to sneak a fastball past him."

Over the course of the 2026 season so far, these are two guys we have talked about a lot here because of both of their massive upsides. Báez simply won't stop hitting homers. He has played in 51 games for the Cardinals so far this season down in Triple-A and is slashing .262/.342/.573 with a .915 OPS, 16 homers, 42 RBIs, 10 doubles and 11 stolen bases. Báez is making it very difficult for the Cardinals to keep him down in the minors. Sure, there are things he can improve, but he already looks like he would be among the team's best overall hitters from Day 1 if he were to be promoted. The Cardinals recently promoted Nelson Velázquez to help out in the outfield. It was a good call, but Báez's time should come soon.

Lars Nootbaar and Nathan Church are both inching towards a return for the club. But Báez arguably has a higher upside than both at just 22 years old. Keep an eye on him.

When it comes to Jordan, he has been tearing the cover off the ball all season to this point. He's slashing .325/.380/.552 with a .932 OPS, nine homers, 31 RBIs, 15 walks, and 17 doubles in 50 games played. If Nolan Gorman doesn't turn things around in the near future, soon enough we're going to have to have a conversation about replacing Gorman with Jordan.