The 2026 St. Louis Cardinals season is off and rolling! So far, they have displayed a gritty never-say-die attitude and style of play that Cardinals fans have historically appreciated. Rookie top prospect JJ Wetherholt is leading off (almost) every game and doesn’t look out of place doing it. Alec Burleson is doing Burly things, playing a solid defensive 1B and providing steady, consistent, offensive production. Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Victor Scott have each displayed varying levels of steps forward in their performances thus far! Obvious caveat that it’s still early, and we have much larger previous sample sizes to suggest that Cardinals fans should be rightfully skeptical, but also optimistic, that these improvements can be sustainable.

Ivan Herrera is really starting to lock in offensively. After a 1-13 (.077/.071/.154) -45 wRC+ to start the season in the Tampa Bay Rays series. Since then, Herrera seems to be locking in as that offensive threat once more, going 5-15 (.333/.545/.467) 189 wRC+. Small sample sizes abound! (sorry, Morty)

The other prominent Catcher on the team has once again drawn the ire of Cardinal nation as Pedro Pages is off to a relatively rough start offensively, going 3-16 (.188/.278/.375) 94 wRC+. Which isn’t THAT big of a deal if it weren’t for another young catcher putting up an early-season performance that seems to have Cardinals fans really revved up for a changing of the guard.

Jimmy Crooks is 8-18 (.444/.545/1.000) 285 wRC+ against AAA pitching in a 5-game sample size.

Crooks is off to a really good start, and when he makes contact with the baseball its really exciting. The defensive acumen is big league caliber, and Crooks clearly has a big league future. What still needs work is the quality of the at-bats. As you can see here from Prospect Savant, the swing decisions and the chase rate would only get worse, not better, as he faced the next level of pitching. Which we watched play out at the big level in his cup of coffee at the end of the 2025 season.

As we’ve seen with the likes of Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. All of these players have exciting traits when they impact the baseball, but controlling the strike zone, getting their pitch to hit, and covering areas of the zone that big league pitchers will pick apart are elements that prevent them from displaying their talents to their fullest potential.

Rebuilds are hard for fans. Especially a fan base that hasn’t experienced one in over 30 years. Patience is important for fans who hope to return to being a perennial force in the National League. I liken Cardinals prospects to a casserole. The likes many of you probably experienced this past Easter Sunday. Cardinals prospects like Jordan Walker once again, for example, have been elevated before they were “fully baked” at the minor league level. As an organization, you don’t want to “pick around the raw parts.” Chances are you’ll be left disappointed with your experience. Cardinals prospects should be viewed in a similar light. Despite your “hunger,” exercising caution and allowing players to fully develop at the minor league level will ultimately pay off long term.

The Cardinals took what I consider to be the right decision in demoting players like Josh Baez, Blaze Jordan, Jimmy Crooks, and Richard Fitts before the season. I also thought Nathan Church was someone who could benefit from more AAA seasoning, and after an electrifying performance on Opening Day, Church’s numbers early aren’t all that great. 3-22 (.136/.174/.136) -7 wRC+ I seem to have been correct (early) about that observation.

As all listed players above display exciting potential but aren’t quite ready to impact the major league level, and while the allure of something new and exciting at the AAA level will be tempting, as a majority of Cardinals fans watch a sub standard product that they’re not accustomed to, the Cardinals front office will exercise discipline and patience to ensure that players are fully ready to make the transition to the major leagues. Which means, barring injury, a lot of what you see is what you get early in 2026!