The Single Biggest Reason to Believe in Cardinals Turnaround

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-USA TODAY Sports USA TODAY Sports

The Single Biggest Reason to Believe in Cardinals Turnaround

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 12, 2026 3:59 PM ET

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If you're a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, you should be very excited about the future.

The Cardinals are 60-60 on the season right now, which is better than many expected them to be at this point in the season. St. Louis entered the season with very low expectations after trading Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras away. The young guys have stepped up. Despite the fact that all of that veteran talent was traded away, the Cardinals are just one game behind last year's pace. The Cardinals were 61-59 through 120 games.

While this is the case, the Cardinals are in a significantly better long-term position than they were in. With Arenado, Contreras, Donovan and Gray traded this past offseason and then Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Lars Nootbaar dealt ahead of the trade deadline, the Cardinals have completely rebuilt the farm system in a short time. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the Cardinals have had a few high draft picks over the last few years.

Most recently, the Cardinals selected Trevor Condon with the No. 13 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft.

The Future Is Bright

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The future is very bright. On Wednesday, Baseball America shared an updated ranking of farm systems around baseball and had the Cardinals at No. 2.

"The Skinny: The Cardinals began the season ranked No. 2 in our farm system rankings," The unnamed Baseball America staff member wrote. "They dropped after graduating Wetherholt, Crooks and others, but they are right back at No. 2 thanks to exceptional second-tier depth. While their number of Top 100 Prospects is solid, their collection of prospects who would rank among the top 250-300 in the game is exceptional."

The Cardinals are even ranked above the National League Central rival Milwaukee Brewers (No. 3), despite the fact that they actually have the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball in infielder Jesús Made.

That shows just how highly the Cardinals' farm system is viewed right now. Young catcher Rainiel Rodriguez is leading the way right now. Beyond him, the Cardinals are loaded with electric starting pitchers, including Liam Doyle, Brandon Clarke and Jurrangelo Cijntje. Plus, two high-end outfielders towards the top in Joshua Báez and Alexander Frias.

The young Cardinals have already been better than expected this season. Imagine what this club is going to look like when these young guys start to make the jump to the majors? The Cardinals are building a team that can win, and be sustainable in the long run.

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

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