Who Will Be the Cardinals’ Next Top 100 Prospect?
Credit: MLB
This week I wanted to do more of a fun article and rank the top 10 players who are most likely to next appear on a major Top 100 list for Cardinals in the near future. Currently, Rainiel Rodriguez, Liam Doyle, Joshua Baez, Alexander Frias, and Jurrangelo Cijntje all appear on one or multiple of MLB Pipeline, Fangraphs, and Baseball America’s top 100 lists. In today’s article, I am going to rank who I believe to be the next 10 most likely prospects to join them in the near future.
#1 - OF Trevor Condon
This one shouldn’t be a shock to most people, as Trevor Condon had some serious prospect helium entering the draft, and that didn’t leave after the draft, with Kiley McDaniel of ESPN calling him the potential steal of the draft. Condon has one of the more intriguing skill sets in the Cardinals system, with a run tool that rivals anyone in minor league baseball. Condon showed solid bat-to-ball skills and emerging power this spring; if that power starts to show up a bit more in games, to go along with his four other plus tools, he will find himself on top-100 prospect lists soon. His pro career, though very early, is off to a great start, as through 14 at-bats Condon is slashing .385/.429/.462 with a double. It might take a bit for the power to emerge truly, but Condon has the age and skill set to turn heads quickly.
#2 - SS Jesus Baez
Hard to put a shortstop prospect who is 3 years younger than the average AA age and is about to put up a 35+ homer and 100+ RBI season any lower than number one on this list. I’m honestly a bit shocked that Jesus Baez isn’t on at least one of the aforementioned Top 100 lists, though I believe he will be soon. Baez's breakout season comes as he ranks second in the Cardinals’ entire system in homers, just behind Joshua Baez, who has 38 homers between AAA and the majors. While he numbers at the plate should get Jesus on a top 100 list by themselves, his defense from my time watching him is greatly improved, he not only has more range this season to play SS (something he lacked in 2025), but also has shown the ability to throw from different arm angles with quick transfers and improved footwork, he’s matured tremendously as a player this year, there are still some chase and overall batted ball questions, but players on top 100 lists have similar questions.
#3 - INF Sebastian Dos Santos
With one of the cleanest swings from the left side of the plate you’ll ever see, Sebastian Dos Santos has had a steady rise through the Cardinals farm system so far dominating the DSL level in 2025, starting 2026 in the FCL he lasted just 27 games at level where he posted a 1.015 OPS, before his promotion to Palm Beach where he started slow, but has got hot as of late allowing him to currently slash .239/.389/.390 for a .779 OPS which comes out to a 117 WRC+ at the FSL level. Dos Santos has shown a great blend of discipline and damage, which makes me very bullish on his future production at the plate. He doesn’t have the best contact rates right now, but he is still only 18 years old, and with an elite approach for his age, that isn’t too much of a concern. While he has played a very solid SS for Palm Beach, I’ve been most impressed with his play at the hot corner, where he has shown the range, arm, and reaction time to play the position. A steady performer from a young age, Dos Santos’ path so far has been somewhat similar to Rainiel Rodriguez's path, with a bit less offense.
#4 - RHP Tanner Franklin
This one also shouldn’t be much of a surprise, as Tanner Franklin has established himself as the next best pitching prospect after Liam Doyle. Franklin has transitioned to starting fairly smoothly, posting a 4.16 ERA across 93 High-A and Double-A innings while striking out 29% of batters and walking 10%. He hit a little bit of a skid in the middle part of the season, but has come out of that well, posting a 3.27 ERA since July 1st. Some people are already taking notice and putting him on the back end of top 100 lists, and with how much he’s already risen in the rankings this season, it wouldn’t shock me at all to see him on the back end of some lists at the start of the 2027 season. He’s seen improved command this season as the year has gone on, as he has posted just a 7% walk rate since July 1st. Since getting to the AA level, lefties have been doing more damage against him, so that will be something to monitor for the future.
#5 - OF Josiah Ragsdale
Similar to Franklin, Ragsdale has also made massive jumps in rankings this season, seeing a power surge help him become a much more complete prospect. Acquired in the Dustin May and JoJo Romero trade, Ragsdale has been excellent this season, posting a .305/.424/.560 slash line with 22 homers and 34 stolen bases across the High-A and Double-A levels. Ragsdale also has enough speed to cover CF and should be able to play the position at an at least average level. The big questions with Ragsdale come down to whether he can hit enough against lefties (.679 OPS this year vs LHP) and if he can limit the swing and miss enough to truly reach his potential. He took a massive step between 2025 and 2026 under the Brewers’ elite development system; now the question becomes: can he take another step under the Cardinals’ development system to become a top 100 prospect?
#6 - LHP Brandon Clarke
A pitcher who throws 100+ mph with the ability to touch 103 mph from the left side can’t be much further down the list than this spot. Even then his sinker is likely his second best pitch as his high 80s-low 90s sweeper with 12 inches of horizontal break produced a 75% whiff rate at the Low-A level when Clarke was making a few rehab starts at the level, since getting the promotion to Peoria Clarke has been excellent posting a 3.07 ERA across four starts striking out 35.6% of batters while walking only 13.6% of batters, which is much better than his rehab starts in Palm Beach (25% BB rate). Clarke was starting to get some legit Top 100 interest at the end of last year, with Baseball America even putting him on their list, but blisters on his fingers, and then a surgery over the offseason to address those blisters caused him to fall off lists, even then the potential that was seen 12 months ago is still there, and if he can prove to stay healthy into next year he could be a top 100 prospect once again.
#7 - INF Miguel Hernandez
Another one of the young international prospects on this list, Miguel Hernandez, just turned 18 years old in the month of June, making him one of the youngest players in all of the FSL; even with that, Hernandez has made the transition relatively smoothly, posting a .246/.432/.393 slash line through his first 20 games at the level. This comes after a very successful FCL campaign that saw Hernandez hit the most homers in FCL Cardinals history at 9 and put up a 137 WRC+, being named to the Post-Season All-Star team for the shortstop position. A solid defender, Hernandez still has some work to do with his arm accuracy, though he has plenty of arm strength and his range up the middle is very solid; he still has more growing into his body; to do so will see if that slows him down any, but right now he has the looks of a potential 20/20 threat down the road, and the age is defenitly on his side when it comes to potentially making top 100 lists.
#8 - SS Yairo Padilla
If Yairo Padilla had been on the field consistently over the past year and a half, he may very well have been in the top 3 on this list, but multiple different injuries have caused Padilla to only play 73 games over the past two seasons, with the majority of his injuries taking place in the upper body around the shoulder and elbow areas. Still, Padilla makes this list because of how he produced when on the field this year at the Palm Beach slashing .281/.354/.474 for a .828 OPS and a 119 WRC+. The underlying stats are even more impressive for a 19-year-old with a 105.2 90th percentile EV (90th percentile) and a 45.9% hard-hit rate (90th percentile), being well above average power for his age. You also combine that with an 84.9% zone contact rate, and you have a well-rounded base for being a good hitter; he hits the ball on the ground a bit too much right now, but that isn’t uncommon for lower-level teenage prospects. He is also a little rough around the edges defensively but clearly has the speed and athleticism to play SS, to go along with a really strong arm. He’s still a teenager and quickly earned a Peoria promotion, so he can find his way up Top 30 lists and maybe even onto top 100 lists if he stays on the field.
#9 - OF Emanuel Luna
Another injury-riddled season at the backend of this list, but the 9 games that Emanuel Luna played in the DSL this season were more than enough to get him on a list like this. In those 9 games, Luna slashed .417/.576/.875 with 3 homers and 5 XBH, driving in nine runs, and walking more than he struck out. Even with the injury this season, I would be surprised if Luna doesn’t come stateside in 2027, where he will instantly become one of the most must-watch prospects down on the complex; his power is well beyond most players his age, being able to hit homers north of 110+ mph. Luna is the type of player who, if he shows a real power surge in the complex to start next season and earns a quick promotion to Palm Beach, a lot of outlets will have a hard time keeping him off their lists.
#10 - SS Rocco Maniscalco
I could look stupid a year from now for putting Rocco Maniscalco this low on this list, but he has a lot more question marks with his hitting than any of the hitters in front of him on this list. Even with those questions he is the youngest player on this list at just over 17 years old, and already has shown impressive raw power for age in batting practice sessions at the MLB Draft Combine hitting balls north of 108 mph from the left side. Even then the bat likely won’t be Rocco’s carrying tool as his defense and arm are considered his clearest strengths currently with smooth actions at the shortstop position and one of the best arms in the entire 2026 draft class, he looks like a player that will clearly stick at the position, if the Cardinals hitting development can help the bat develop like they have with other young players, he could make this ranking look rather foolish, he’s the most uncertain of list, but if you said he had the highest upside it would be hard to argue.
