Cardinals New-Look Farm System Receives Massive Praise From ESPN Writer

The Cardinals may be taking steps forward despite a down season.

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 St. Louis Cardinals are having a down season. They are in the first year of a rebuild and fell to 65-69 on the year with Wednesday night's 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are 18 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central and are 7 1/2 games out in the Wild Card race. For the third straight year, the Cardinals will miss the postseason.

However, they have taken strides in other areas. Incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has been working behind the scenes to bolster the team's minor league system and replenish their supply of prospects. They were sellers at John Mozeliak's final trade deadline, sending Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz to contending ballclubs.

In ESPN's latest farm system rankings, Kiley McDaniel had St. Louis ranked at No. 9 and praised Bloom for his handling of rebuilding the farm.

ESPN Writer Praises Cardinals For Strengthening Farm System

Aug 18, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom (left) and Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington (right) talk before the Pirates host the Red Sox at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

"As Chaim Bloom takes the reins from John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations after this season, the Cards' system is in the best shape it has been in years (they ranked 10th after the 2022 season)," McDaniel wrote.

"JJ Wetherholt and Liam Doyle are the most recent first-round picks and are also potentially impactful rookies for the 2026 club. There are more questions regarding the other top prospects. Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence had up-and-down seasons, Cooper Hjerpe and Tekoah Roby had/have serious arm injuries, and Rainiel Rodriguez and Joshua Baez came out of nowhere.

Overall, there is solid depth in the system and with the young talent in the big leagues, so I'm intrigued to see how Bloom handles the team-building challenge."

The time had come for St. Louis to invest in the minor leagues rather than focus solely on the Major League roster. Bloom needed to have a clean slate as he prepares to take over for Mozeliak at the end of the regular season.

The Cardinals have drafted high the last two years and have added some truly dynamic players to their system that could rise through the ranks very quickly. While the immediate outlook is bleak for St. Louis at the Major League level, there are at least reasons to be excited about the future for a change. There wasn't much to look forward to entering the 2025 season.

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