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bigron: How many players did the Cards acquire the rights to in the recent draft. Also what have the players been doing since being drafted, are they at Jupiter or have some of them been playing in the minor leagues?

Guerrero: The Cardinals signed all 21 of their picks from this year’s draft. After they signed and reported to the Cardinals complex after the draft, some were added to minor league rosters, including Class Low-A Palm Beach’s and the FCL Cardinals’ roster in the complex league. (The rookie-level complex league season has ended already.) Some, including first-round pick Liam Doyle and 72nd overall pick Tanner Franklin, have already received promotions up the system.

KJS17: Has Liam Doyle been promoted to Springfield for the AA playoffs?

Guerrero: Yes, Doyle has. He was moved up from Single A Palm Beach today, allowing him to join Springfield for the final week of the regular season and a week ahead of the start of the Texas League playoffs.

Bornin64: hey Daniel, with all the injuries the Cardinals minor league pitchers have experienced this year, does it seem odd that they would throw Doyle in the mix for some minor league games this late in the year ?

Guerrero: No, not really. I don’t see Doyle’s debut in pro ball and promotion to Springfield to pitch in Double-A as odd or out of the ordinary because of the injuries that have hurt the Cardinals farm system. They’re obviously going to be mindful of the lefty’s workload. His debut made sense to get him innings in pro ball, and the promotion allows him to continue pitching and get experience in a higher-stakes environment since Springfield will be appearing in the postseason. 

Ken: Hi Daniel thanks for the chat. I’m recovering from surgery I appreciate it. What do you make of the catcher situation? We currently ( Contreras is back today ) have 5 in the dugout and several coming up. Who gets moved ?

Guerrero: Hi Ken, hope the recovery is going well. On the catching situation, we have to remind ourselves that Willson Contreras is no longer a catcher. Yes, he signed with the Cardinals as a catcher and caught throughout his pro career, but he is a first baseman now. Early in the year, we would have seen him at catcher only if there was an absolute emergency, but he was never in the actual catching mix. With that being said, the Cardinals still do have a deep catching core in the majors and in the minors. We’ve seen top catching prospect Jimmy Crooks make his debut and give us a glimpse of what’s coming up through the system. Ivan Herrera has been clear that he hopes to remain a catcher even though injuries have kept him at the DH spot and led him to get some time in left field this year. Down the system, Leonardo Bernal is still in Double-A and Rainiel Rodriguez joined Class High-A Peoria before their season wrapped up. The catching system is deep, but it’s hard to predict how the Cardinals could handle that position moving forward, especially with a new front office set to take over at the end of this season. There is plenty of upside in Herrera’s bat that the Cardinals like, and Pedro Pages’ game-calling and rapport with the pitching staff give him some strong qualities. Bernal is 21 years old, and Rodriguez, who made his stateside debut this year, is only 18 years old. They both still have some time to develop and are seen as Top 100 prospects across baseball. 

DCG: Daniel: I know that I have been caught up at times with the frustration of the Cardinals' not fully committing to "long runways" for some of their young players once they realized they were stuck with Contreras and Arenado.. However, ultimately, isn't the story of the season the fact that the young guys still had plenty of chances and mostly failed? Burly continued what he had already been doing, as did Herrera. But Walker, Gorman, Scott, Saggese--none of them made enough strides to earn earn the club's commitment moving forward. I'm guessing next year will be a lot like this one, so they should get another run, overall, the Cardinals have to be both disappointed and worried about what they've seen this season.

Guerrero: For Walker, Gorman, and Scott, I think the runway/opportunities have been there, even if it’s not exactly what we thought they were going to receive heading into the year. I wouldn’t put Saggese in this bucket only because the bulk of his playing time has come when injuries opened up lanes for him. As of today, Walker has taken over 340 plate appearances. Gorman has had over 350 plate appearances. Both missed some time with injury and, when healthy, had inconsistent gaps in playing time as others were given their own runway. I think there are areas of growth the Cardinals liked from some of the young position players. Not inducing the production they’ve seen from the likes of Herrera and Burleson, the improved walk rate (about a 5% increase) and decrease in strikeout rate (just under 6%) from Gorman are areas of improvement from Gorman. There are strides with Scott’s defense and base stealing that have helped him to a strong showing in both those aspects, while he continues to produce consistent results at the plate. I think you’re right that the strides don’t exactly leap off the page, but I don’t think they give the Cardinals an even clearer sense of what they have on their hands.

rabidmonkeyfish99: in your opinion, what is keeping Chase Davis from realizing his potential? I have read he hits too many grounders, but are there any major improvements he needs to make to resume his prospect status?

Guerrero: Davis made some notable strides last year offensively, but has seen his strikeout rate jump by nearly 6% and groundball rate rise to just above 48%, per FanGraphs. He’s still managed to get on base pretty regularly (.361 OBP), but has seen some decline in his ability to slug. The rising strikeout rate adds to the inconsistent power and is really a product of some of the areas in his swing path that make him susceptible to pitches low and in and high and away. It feels like cutting down on the whiff and getting the ball elevated more often are areas he’ll need to improve on to take the next step with his development. 

rabidmonkeyfish99: Thanks for the chats.....Is there any chance Rainiel is called up to AA for playoffs? I saw Doyle was, so wondered if anyone else would be.

Guerrero: I suppose you can’t rule anything out, but Leonardo Bernal is the primary catcher for Springfield and will get starts in the playoffs. I wouldn’t expect Rodriguez to be added if there won’t be playing time for him.

Moon: Obviously the Cardinals think Liam Doyle will turn in to a top starter. But, with just one year of success, and having 2 pitches, even though he has a 70-80 fastball, do you think he will become an elite closer instead? Thanks!

Guerrero: I think Doyle will ultimately end up a starter in the majors. His fastball, the velocity on it, and the life it has make it a plus pitch. His fastball was one of the best fastballs in the 2025 draft class. His splitter seems to be his most advanced secondary pitch and has above-average potential, per Baseball America. He will need to continue developing his secondary pitches to remain a big-league starter. But what Doyle already possesses, his makeup, a background as one of the SEC's top pitchers this season, all provide a strong foundation for developing into the front-line starter the Cardinals are hoping for. Being a reliever should only be seen as a fallback if he doesn’t stick as a starter.

Craftyrighthander: Is Tanner Franklin going to be given a chance to start in the minors?

Guerrero: My P-D teammate, Derrick Goold, wrote back in August that the Cardinals see Franklin as a potential starter in his first full season, so it appears he may have a chance to fully do so come 2026. Each of Franklin’s first three starts to begin his pro career this year have all come in a starting role, but he’s reached a maximum of two innings and thrown a high of 46 pitches in the three starts. He appears to be building on that track, but with the minor league season winding down, I imagine how he comes prepared to spring training next year will reveal the track the right-hander is on.

Scotty: Daniel, which guys that the team traded for at the deadline will see time with the big league club next season.?

Guerrero: Blaze Jordan, the right-handed hitting infielder the Cardinals acquired from Boston in the Steven Matz trade, is on track to be the first of the prospects acquired at this year’s deadline to reach the majors. Jordan came over to the Cardinals system amid a strong season with Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. He’s had a sluggish transition into the Cardinals system, but he is the closest to reaching the majors of that bunch.

rabidmonkeyfish99: No disrespect to Paul Dejong, but getting Matt Svanson for him is trending to be one of the Cards best trades in the last 20 years. He doesnt seem to miss many bats, but no one is squaring him up. Is this who he was in the minors or has he changed something upon arriving in majors?

Guerrero: What we’re seeing from Svanson this year is a bit of a different version of what we saw from him down in the majors. Let’s take what he did in 2024, his first full season in the Cardinals system, as an example. Svanson had a consistent role as a closer in Class AA, where he was 27 for 27 on save attempts. He heavily kept opposing hitters on the ground by getting a 52.7% groundball rate. While in the majors, that figure has sat at 38.5%. His whiff rate is just below league average, but his strikeout rate is at 28.1% heading into tonight’s game in Seattle. Last year, his cutter and sinker were key pitches for him and helped make up for a lack of feel for his slider/sweeper. But after he got to work on his slider last year in the fall league, where he struck out 33% of the batters he faced, that pitch has kept hitters to a .094 batting average, marking the lowest batting average on any of his four pitches. That sweeper/slider also has the lowest exit velocity allowed (87.1 mph) of the four pitches he throws. Refining the slider and continuing to mix that with the rest of his arsenal have helped Svanson take the next step in his development, and it's showing as he’s maintained a 1.97 ERA and kept opposing hitters to a 33.1% hard-hit rate, which ranks in the 93rd percentile of qualified major leaguers.

David J: Hey Daniel: Excited to see Wetherholt in StL next year. The Birds have several players in the infield who can hit: Donovan, Contreras, Winn, Gorman (probably) and Arenado (hopefully). Plus they have some capable back-ups. The outfield is thin. Walker may well wash out. Only Burleson and Nootbar (when healthy) can play. Scott is proving he cannot hit much - he only had one year in the minors where his OPS was > .700. Herrera is a defensive liability in the OF and at C - he looks like a DH to me. Church is still unproven. I say move Wetherholt to CF. Think of him like a Mookie Betts, with a bit less power, but more base stealing. He could move between the outfield and infield as needed. This move would allow the Birds to lengthen the line up and have one less almost automatic out.

Guerrero: I wouldn’t count on Wetherhot moving from the infield to playing center field. Yes, there are some overlaps on the infield and inconsistencies from the outfield, but moving the top prospect to play center and having him bounce between there and the infield doesn’t appear to be something the Cardinals are planning on, especially if the outfield spot you argue Wetherhot should play is center. While Scott hasn’t hit consistently, he provides strong defense and base running when he is on. He still managed to make an impact on the field, and moving Wetherholt into center over Scott takes away a key piece on defense. I also just don’t see the Cardinals moving Wetherholt to center field when he’s primarily played shortstop while coming up the system. Where Wetherholt lands defensively is still to be seen, but it will be on the infield dirt, not the outfield grass.

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