Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Cardinals 19-Year-Old Phenom Caught Chaim Bloom's Attention

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Mar 19, 2026 9:14 PM ET

There is some significant talent down in the minors right now for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Back in February, Baseball America dropped its rankings of the top farm systems in baseball and St. Louis jumped all the way up to No. 2. In comparison, the Cardinals were at No. 18 in 2025. That's a testament to the Cardinals' work throughout the offseason of trading veterans away for prospects. Also, it shows clear growth in the system, like with No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt. This is why the Cardinals' future is so bright and there's a lot to like about St. Louis' farm system, even outside of Wetherholt.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was asked by The Athletic's Tyler Kepner if anyone has stood out to him in camp. Bloom noted that he didn't want to name specific names so people didn't read too much between the lines. While this is the case, Bloom did mention names at various stages for the club, ranging from Masyn Winn in the majors, to someone like No. 3 prospect Rainiel Rodriguez. As mentioned above, there are prospects to watch outside of Wetherholt. Rodriguez is one.

The Cardinals have some firepower down in the minors

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"If I start naming people, there’s going to be too much reading between the lines, so I don’t want to get into that trap too much," Bloom said. "I will say this, there’s a lot of really, really interesting talent in this organization. A lot of that I inherited, and some of it’s on our big league roster. You look at guys up the middle: We’ve got a ton of catching talent that was already in this organization when I got here.

"Whether we’re talking about someone like Iván Herrera in the big leagues, all the way down to, and even below, Rainiel Rodriguez, but he’s someone who obviously caught our eyes last year going through short-season and two A-ball levels. Obviously, in Masyn Wynn, we’ve got someone who’s up there with any defensive shortstop in the game. We’ve got some really interesting arms in this organization."

Rodriguez, the No. 35 overall prospect in baseball per Baseball America, got into the action in big league camp with St. Louis and ripped a 106 miles per hour double right away.

This kid is just 19 years old and he already is somone tabbed as an elite overall prospect in this game. In 2025, he slashed .276/.399/.555 with a .954 OPS, 20 homers, 63 RBIs, 22 doubles and 59 runs scored in 84 games in his second professional season at just 18 years old. Imagine what he's going to look like over the next few years? The Cardinals have a potential monster prospect on their hands.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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