Here are the Cardinals' 2025 Top 30 prospects

The Cardinals have discussed setting themselves up for a transitional year in 2025, and even if much of the roster remains in place for now, we know which names will try to bang down the door to St. Louis in the coming months.

Thirteen of St. Louis¡¯ Top 30 prospects have 2025 ETAs, including five of the top six in left-hander Quinn Mathews (No. 2), right-hander Tink Hence (No. 3), catcher Jimmy Crooks (No. 4), infielder Thomas Saggese (No. 5) and left-hander Cooper Hjerpe (No. 6). The top talent in the farm system -- 2024 seventh overall pick JJ Wetherholt -- headlines those with 2026 ETAs, and he could even see the Majors by this summer if he carries his special hit tool into his first full season.

But the department that could be most helped is the rotation. No. 11 prospect Michael McGreevy has already proven he can pitch in the Majors with a 1.96 ERA in four appearances (three starts) last year, while MLB Pipeline¡¯s reigning Pitching Prospect of the Year Mathews has little left to prove in the Minors after fanning 202 over 143? innings across all four full-season levels. Healthy years from Hjerpe and Tekoah Roby (No. 12) could only add to that depth, while Sem Robberse (No. 14) and Gordon Graceffo (No. 16) may factor into that starting pitching conversation too.

The MLB-ready types won¡¯t be the only ones worth watching this season, however.

At the other end of the developmental spectrum, catcher Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 8) and shortstop Yairo Padilla (No. 9) look like potential faces of the farm as they head stateside for the first time after promising seasons in the Dominican Summer League. Rodriguez brings extreme raw power for his age at 18, while Padilla is a plus-plus running switch-hitter at a premium position.

St. Louis clubs have long prided themselves on their homegrown nature, and with Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan -- among many others -- up with the big club now, there is still that farm-fresh feeling in the current group. But the Cards¡¯ direction, both this year and beyond, could be determined by which prospects break through in 2025 and which set themselves up to be pieces of the club¡¯s long-term plans in the Chaim Bloom Era set to begin in 2025.

Here¡¯s a look at the Cardinals¡¯ top prospects:

1. JJ Wetherholt, SS (MLB No. 23)
2. Quinn Mathews, LHP (MLB No. 45)
3. Tink Hence, RHP (MLB No. 76)
4. Jimmy Crooks, C
5. Thomas Saggese, INF
   Complete Top 30 list ?

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2024 preseason list to the 2025 preseason list:

Jump: Quinn Mathews, LHP (2024: 22 | 2025: 2)
Drafted in the fourth round in 2023, Mathews was famous for his 156-pitch performance in that year¡¯s Super Regionals for Stanford. He added fastball velocity to sit 93-96 mph in his first full season in the pros and took off from there, complementing the heat with an above-average slider and plus changeup. His low release makes that four-seamer play up too, and it was clear his 2024 results (which also included a 2.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .179 average-against) were no mistake. That combination of stuff and results sent him soaring up the Top 30 and even comfortably into the top half of the overall Top 100 entering his second full campaign.

Fall: Won-Bin Cho, OF (2024: 10 | 2025: NR)
A $500,000 signee out of South Korea in January 2022, Cho had promising power as an amateur and showed flashes of it with Single-A Palm Beach in 2023. He struggled in most offensive facets in 2024, however, with a .227/.307/.305 line, two homers and a 31.3 percent strikeout rate in 107 games for High-A Peoria. The left-handed slugger is still only entering his age-21 season, but he¡¯ll have to find a way to create more consistent hard contact to push his way back into the Top 30, especially since he¡¯s most likely going to end up in a corner defensively.

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Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools ¨C 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 65 ¨C JJ Wetherholt
Power: 60 ¨C Rainiel Rodriguez
Run: 70 ¨C Nathan Church
Arm: 60 ¨C Jimmy Crooks (Nathan Church, Chase Davis, Yairo Padilla)
Defense: 60 ¨C Nathan Church
Fastball: 65 ¨C Zack Showalter
Curveball: 60 ¨C Tekoah Roby
Slider: 55 ¨C Cooper Hjerpe (Ian Bedell, Branneli Franco, Tink Hence, Brian Holiday, Quinn Mathews, Sem Robberse)
Changeup: 70 ¨C Tink Hence
Control: 60 ¨C Michael McGreevy

How they were built
Draft: 15 | International: 8 | Trade: 6 | NDFA: 1

Breakdown by ETA
2025: 13 | 2026: 9 | 2027: 4 | 2029: 3 | 2030: 1

Breakdown by position
C: 4 | 1B: 0 | 2B: 0 | 3B: 1 | SS: 3 | OF: 7 | RHP: 13 | LHP: 2