Cardinals Roll Dice on 23-Year-Old Alabama Catcher

The 23-year-old is a unique prospect. He's listed at 6'3'' and 230 pounds and is from Brisbane, Australia. He has some big-time pop, despite going undrafted. In 2025, he played for the Southern Illinois Salukis and crushed 19 homers and drove in 56 runs while slashing .272/.443/.661 in 55 games played. He transferred to the University of Alabama and slashed .253/.389/.464 with an .853 OPS, 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 34 walks in 58 games played.

The Cardinals Are Adding Another Catching Prospect

One thing that has been true about the Cardinals is that they have been very good at developing catching talent in recent years. Jimmy Crooks technically graduated from prospect status, but he was a top-10 prospect for the team coming into the 2026 season. Now, he's on the big league roster. He wasn't even the team's top-ranked catcher prospect, though.

Right now, 19-year-old catcher prospect Rainiel Rodriguez is the team's No. 1 overall prospect. Fellow catcher Leo Bernal is the Cardinals' No. 5 prospect and is closer to the big leagues than Rodriguez. Bernal is in Triple-A right now, whereas Rodriguez is in Double-A.

Now, the Cardinals have another catcher prospect coming to town. He's not even the only catcher coming to town. The Cardinals also drafted Jayden Lobliner out of the University of San Diego in the ninth round of the 2026 MLB Draft. He clubbed 10 homers this past season and drove in 40 runs in 51 games played.

When it comes to Lemm, this is the type of move that is a no-lose situation for St. Louis. He has good size and showed throughout college that he can crush in one of the most difficult conferences out there in the SEC. The Cardinals have a new-and-improved development system down in the minors led by president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.

If they can turn Lemm into an option to help the club out eventually, great. If not, it doesn't cost St. Louis pretty much anything at all. Again, a no-lose situation and it likely won't be the last time we see a move like this. There are plenty of prospects who didn't get drafted. Some, like Lemm, will find homes in professional baseball before all is said and done.

St. Louis had an elite draft and arguably has done a good job from a prospect point of view, even with the draft over.