Cardinals Prospect Report: Liam Doyle, Rainiel Rodriguez, Joshua Báez Updates

It's been a fun run to kick off the 2026 Major League Baseball season for the St. Louis Cardinals. There's been plenty of firepower — starting with Jordan Walker and JJ Wetherholt — and the club has outperformed expectations so far.

Cardinals fans should be excited because this young roster has shown some guts to kick off the season. The whole point of the 2026 season is the development of these young guys and seeing who the club needs to build around. The faster those questions are answered, the shorter the reset period will be. If the Cardinals keep playing like they have to begin the season, it won't be long at all. And what should make the fanbase even more excited is the fact that the farm system is stacked right now and there's more talent on the way.

With the Cardinals set to have a day off at the big league level on Thursday, let's take a look ahead at the future of the organization instead with three of the team's top prospects, not including Wetherholt, who technically is still the team's No. 1 prospect.

No. 2 Prospect: Liam Doyle — Left-Handed Pitcher

St. Louis Cardinals prospect Liam Doyle — Tennessee's Liam Doyle (12) throws the ball during a NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional game between Tennessee and Miami Ohio on May 30, 2025. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Doyle has one start under his belt so far this season down with Double-A Springfield. It wasn't great. Doyle took the mound on Wednesday for Springfield and went three innings and allowed four earned runs and six runs total. On the bright side, Doyle flashed his blistering fastball and struck out three batters, but allowed a homer and it took him 65 pitches to get through the three innings of work. It wasn't his best showing, but no need for concern.

No. 3 Prospect: Rainiel Rodriguez — Catcher

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

Rodriguez very well may be the best offensive prospect in the Cardinals' system right now. Last year, he clubbed 20 homers and drove in 63 runs at 18 years old. He's 19 years old now and is in High-A. So far this season, he's slashing .250/.318/.400 with one homer and four RBIs in five games. He also has gotten a bit of action at first base, which could be the club's way of increasing his positional flexibility.

No. 4 Prospect: Joshua Báez — Outfielder

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

Of these three prospects, Báez is the most likely to make his big league debut in the not-so-distant future. Báez made the case for himself to make the club out of camp in left field as a much-needed right-handed power bat. The Cardinals rolled with Thomas Saggese, Nathan Church and José Fermín and none of the three has run away with the spot. Báez is down in Triple-A and has slashed .222/.317/.306 with five RBIs in nine games. If he can turn things around and play like he did in Spring Training, Cardinals fans should see him in 2026.