HERE IS MY DIRTY 50!!!!
THIS IS THE FIRST OF TWO PARTS!!
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Mang oh Mang, did I really mail this in.
I have to tell you, this is not very well thought out, nor is it researched particularly well. As you’ll see in the formatting and presentation, I put about a 5th of the effort into this as I used to. Hey, so goes life.
As you'll hopefully remember, I do not include players that have already made a Major League debut on my list even if they do have ROY eligibility. So, no Graceffo, McGreevy, Saggese etc.
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The first thing that you’ll notice is that I tier this like one of those awful Prospect1500 articles or whatever. While I hate myself for doing this, it is absolutely essential in order to understand the current standing of the prospects in the organization. Without tiers, I don’t think that I can appropriately quantify the disparity of talent within the organization. I’d encourage you to READ THE PRIMER that I wrote prior to this by following this link within these words.
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I've thrown some very generic notes into this post, but I’d recommend that you go to Brian Walton's terrific THE CARDINAL NATION and subscribe to the only place following what's going on at the backfields in spring. It's more than worth the cost of subscription.
I would also like to direct you towards our good friend Kareem’s new beautiful site, CARDINALSPROSPECTS.COM. He’s giving way more in-depth information than I ever could, and in details that I’m not remotely smart enough to understand.
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If you’d like additional links to the Cardinals Top Prospects list, you can follow these links:
I’ll link to The Athletic, but that’s definitely more of a waste of time as compared to the others.
Here’s prospects1500, whatever the hell this is. As you'll notice, I obviously admire how little work goes into this.
I had to break this post into two separate posts because I broke the server. We are starting the back part with Tier Seven.
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HERE ARE MY TOP PROSPECTS, SLUTS.
 TIER SEVEN
32. LHP – Pete Hansen – Age 24 – A+
Can I be honest with you? I have no idea why I have Pete Hansen as my 32nd best prospect. I guess I'm hoping to see a velocity spike. I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing here.
33. C – Ryan Campos – Age 22 – A, BIG 12
Campos is all leadership and intangibles, and I'm already tired of hearing about it. Joking aside, Campos makes a ton of contact with impact, but it's exhaustingly on the ground. It's something that the Cardinals have already worked with him on, and we've already seen some gains in that area. Campos is also best described as a "true" catcher, with almost no doubt that he'll stick behind the plate and be very good in the process. There isn't much that is particularly exciting about Campos, other than that he'll certainly find a way to make a Major League debut at some point.
34. OF – Ian Petrutz – Age 22 – A, SEC
What are you supposed to do with an extremely talented contact hitter who makes really great swing decision but who has limited athleticism and limited power potential? Petrutz had a world class introduction to pro ball after being drafted last year, and if he can get to his power then he'll fly up the list. It does look like Petrutz has reworked his swing a weeeee bit, so I'm anxious to see if the power comes. Regardless, this is a talented and relatively pure hitter with limited fielding capabilities.
35. RHP – Jacob Odle – Age 21 – 2023 CPX
Odle was hurt all of last year, and that obviously set his development back. He is still rehabbing, but all signs point to a healthy season ahead of him. Odle has put on some good weight while rehabbing his arm injury, and he had some big strikeout stuff to go with some real command issues prior to being drafted. More than likely this high-to-mid-90's tosser has a relief profile because of the command that he's demonstrated in the past, but his cutter and curve were just interesting enough back in 2023 that I would obviously love to see him stretched out.
36. LHP – Michael Watson – Age 22 – A, Southland Conference
In this house, we root for the undrafted free agents. Watson doesn't have a lot of velocity, but he does have A LOT of funk, and we LOVE the funk. The Sam Houston alum has a unique release point/approach angle/mechanics, and all of his stuff just straight overmatched those poor kids in A-ball after signing with the Cardinals. He's shown 92-ish mph velocity, and any consistency with this or gains would benefit him greatly. Well see if he gets a chance to start moving forward, and there is no good reason to not give him that opportunity..
37. OF – Jose Suarez – Age 20 – CPX, A
Suarez has oodles of power potential within his stout frame and swing, and that'll be his calling card as he moves through the system. If you wanted to look for a deep sleeper that could make a loud impact at Palm Beach, Suarez is your guy. I was really encouraged to see him hold his own in limited Florida State League exposure last year. It doesn't take this kid a lot of motion to launch the baseball at high velocities and far distances.
38. RHRP – Matt Svanson – Age 26 – AA
I think that it is awesome for Svanson that he was added to the Cardinals 40-man roster. I think it was really damn cool that he didn't blow a save last year at all, too. However, and this might sound crazy, that really doesn't matter at all to me. What I see is a relief pitching prospect that only struck out 21-ish% of the hitters he faced in 2024 while seeing his groundball rate decrease by about 10% from 2023. All of this as a 25-year-old in AA. Maybe his sinker/slider combo is enough moving forward, but I worry that it's just good enough to get elite AA-level bats out and not much more.
39. RHP – Tyler Bradt – Age 24 – A+
I gotta tell you, I don't care about Tyler Bradt at all. He is almost certainly organizational depth even with his positive 2024 season, but I've been told that he's been impressive so I'll bite. It's the 39th prospect on the list, it doesn't matter that much. There is some repertoire tweaking going on here with the sweeper intro, and we'll see how that plays. There is certainly big sleeper energy here with Bradt.
40. LHP – Brycen Mautz – Age 23 – A+
Brycen Mautz is the exact prospect that impresses at spring training, never really realizes his potential, then somehow makes a Major League debut out of the bullpen. Mautz really turned it on at the end of the 2024 season throwing with more conviction and command, and there is a chance that a velocity increase across the board might just be enough to get all of his stuff to a level worthy of debut. I've always been more critical of Mautz then most, so I'll leave it right there.
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TIER EIGHT
41. C – Sammy Hernandez – Age 20 – A, A+
I'm undecided when it comes to Sammy Hernandez behind the plate, and if I felt more comfortable with my evaluation or confident in his ability to continue to grow behind the plate then I would probably have him higher on the list. He is where he is because his bat and his approach are both a lot of fun. I like the way he loads at the plate and strikes through the ball, and there's a ton of line drive power and consistency there. You can also imagine a world in which he starts to get to more power because of where his swing is, even if the chances of it happening are small.
42. OF – Zach Levenson – Age 23 – A+
There is some real power in Levenson's game that he just hasn't gotten to in-game except for a small spurt during the season. The operation at the plate is simple and easy, and I would really like to see him air it out a little bit to get to that power potential. Levenson is also a pretty talented corner outfielder with an arm that can flash above average.
43. RHRP – Andrew Marrero – Age 24 – AA
I love Marrero's slider and that's good enough for me. He'll probably never be more than what he is, but that slider rocks.
44. RHP – Leonel Sequera – Age 19 – CPX, A
Sequera had a really great first stateside season, and he has a lot in his arsenal worth exploring and being interested in. He's predominantly Heater/Sinker/Slider, but he also has screwed with a couple of other pitches, and if his 2nd to last statcast start is to be believed then that also includes a changeup, cutter, and curveball. His mid-90's fastball and the rest of his velocity across the board is all good, as are the specs of his entire arsenal. This is a really exciting teenaged arm that probably isn't getting the attention or love that he deserves. There's also some good size and body control with balance in his motion. There are some command issue with finding too much of the plate, and I'm anxious to see how he adjusts.
45. RHP – Nelfy Ynfante – Age 20 – CPX, A
Another one of the intriguing arms at Palm Beach during the 2024 season, Nelfy is here solely because his name kicks ass. I guess his pitchability is also why he's on the list, but that's less fun. Projectablitiy is really the word that sticks here, because it's easy to imagine that 6'3" frame filling out and him adding an additional couple of miles per hour to his low 90's fastball. As compared to many of his Caribbean contemporaries in his age group, Ynfante appears to demonstrate command for his secondary offerings in a slider and a changeup that have both flashed above average because of how he commands them. He's flashed some other pitches, but we'll see how they develop. Ynfante is surprisingly polished for a pitcher of his age, and I'll be anxious to see if he can maintain that if he's able to add velocity.
46. 1B – Josh Kross – Age 22 – BIG 12, A
I'm anxious to see how Kross' profile changes with what is hopefully a near complete move away from the catcher position. Maybe he ends up being who you all wanted William Sullivan to be? Either way, I'm anxious to see if the Cardinals or Kross have augmented that Jim Edmonds-like front foot pivot in his swing. Hopefully, because it doesn't do him any favors. Still, this is an interesting bat, and at the 46th spot on the list I felt like it was an appropriate spot for him. In reality, 30 other guys could fit into this spot.
47. OF – Nathan Church – Age 24 – AA
Nathan Church has a real chance to make a Major League debut because of his defense and I love that for him.
48. SS – Jeremy Rivas – Age 22 – AA
Jeremy Rivas has a real chance to make a Major League debut because of his defense and I love that for him (see what I'm doing here).
49. OF – Joshua Baez – Age 21 – It was WILD
It was a wild season for Baez, and it's been a wild career for Baez. There were times during the 2024 season in which Baez appeared to figure it out. There were also times between those times when Baez appeared to be lost. A late season reassignment to the complex for "development" or whatever seemed ominous, but he came back with a mechanical change and it appeared to set him on the right path to end the season on a high note. If he makes it through minor league spring training then I'd suspect an aggressive promotion for this still very young man. He's still kind of clunky in the outfield corner, but that arm still rocks. I guess there's still time to turn him into a pitcher if they wanted to. I just want to see Baez rock the ball.
50. RHRP – Randel Clemente – Age 23 – CPX, A
Clemente's command is absolute dogshit, but I loooooooooooooove his stuff. I'm tired of typing! Let's just have some fun at 50!
Thanks to FANGRAPHSÂ for the world class stats that are graphics in this post.
Thanks to Cardinalsgifs for being the absolute best.
Thanks for reading!!