Cardinals Appear Thrice In Baseball America's Latest Top 100 Prospects List

The St. Louis Cardinals don't have a robust farm system and are rebuilding, which has fans worried about the franchise's future direction.

Unfortunately, St. Louis has several former top prospects who have failed to meet expectations. It's concerning for a youth-laden organization, such as the Cardinals, to enter a season with few veterans and a lackluster farm system.

Although 2025 could be a down year for St. Louis, at least the Cardinals have three intriguing top prospects making their way through the minors who could soon be impactful.

"Led by infielder JJ Wetherholt’s No. 25 ranking, the Cardinals had three prospects included on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect rankings for 2025," St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold wrote Wednesday. "Joining Wetherholt on the Top 100 ranking, which was released Wednesday, are left-hander Quinn Mathews (No. 41) and right-hander Tink Hence (No. 68)."

Wetherholt holds high expectations after being labeled the best pure hitter in the 2024 draft class. The Cardinals selected him 7th overall after recognizing his dominant career with the University of West Virginia Wolverines, where he won the 2023 Division I batting title.

The 22-year-old batted .331 with 16 extra-base hits including eight home runs, 30 RBIs and a 1.061 OPS in 36 games played for the WV Mountaineers in 2023 -- his final college season before declaring for the draft.

Matthews is an exciting southpaw who has quickly climbed his way to the top of the Cardinals' farm system -- starting at Single-A Palm Beach last year and finishing with Triple-A Memphis.

The 24-year-old logged an 8-5 record with a 2.76 ERA, 202-to-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .179 batting average against and a 0.98 WHIP in 143 1/3 innings pitched for St. Louis affiliates in 2024.

Hence has been in the Cardinals' farm system since he was 18 years old. Although his frail frame puts him at a disadvantage, the Arkansas native has held his own in the minors and should debut in 2025.

The 22-year-old has posted an 8-11 record with a 3.28 ERA, 303-to-78 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .225 batting average against and a 1.16 ERA during four years pitching for the Cardinals affiliates.

Many Cardinals fans see an ominous future but hopefully, Wetherholt, Matthews and Hence will successfully help the 11-time World Series champions return to being perennial contenders.

More MLB: Why Ex-Cardinals All-Star Signed With AL East Contender Instead Of St. Louis