Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2025 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. SS JJ Wetherholt | 22 | A | 2026
The seventh overall pick out of West Virginia, Wetherholt was in the running to be the number one pick but lost time to a hamstring injury and may have slipped a little due to the relative weakness of the Big 12 Conference. A left-handed hitter at 5’10” 190 lbs, he features double-plus contact skills along with plus power and speed. The Cubs fan in me was disappointed to see Wetherholt land in St. Louis because I think he was a steal at the seven spot. Sure, the conference creates a question or two, but Wetherholt has been good in other settings: Team USA, the Cape Cod League and pro ball now after slashing .295/.405/.400 in 29 Low-A games.
2. RHP Tink Hence | 22 | AA | 2025
Hence recorded 109 strikeouts along with a 2.71 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 79.2 Double-A innings. Outcomes aren’t always the most important thing, but it was nice to see him succeed after struggling through a 1.51 WHIP and 5.47 ERA in 54.1 innings at the level last season. On the mound, Hence employs excellent balance in a 6’1” 195 lb frame that allows him to maximize the deception on his double-plus changeup. He also throws a plus fastball and solid slider. Should open the season in Triple-A with a chance for an early promotion. Might even break camp with the team in a perfect-storm scenario.
3. LHP Quinn Mathews | 24 | AAA | 2025
A fourth-round pick in 2023, Mathews’ journey in 2024 covered four stops, from 30.2 innings with a 1.47 ERA in Low-A to a 2.68 in High-A to a 2.41 in Double-A and then finally a stumble in four Triple-A starts to close the season, leaving him with a 6.48 ERA in 16.2 innings on the doorstep to the majors. At 6’5” 188 lbs, Mathews deploys a plus changeup he can spot all over the zone to set up his solid trio of fastball, curveball, and slider. The biggest determinant of his future will probably be the stickiness of the velocity bump he enjoyed in 2024, when he pushed his low-90s heater up to 97 at times. There’s pretty big upside here if he can keep adding mph, which seems probable given the room remaining on his frame.
4. 1B Luken Baker | 28 | MLB | 2023
By the cut-offs I use (not Daisy Dukes, I’m sorry to say), Baker remains four at bats shy of graduation at 126. A hulking 6’4” 285 lbs, Baker calls Luke Voit to mind in his plus patience and power. This ranking depends upon him finally getting a full-time look this season, and maybe that will make a fool of me by spring training, but the Voit-like, short-burst upside is all here. Baker hit 32 homers in 108 Triple-A games this year and 33 in just 84 Triple-A games last year. Let’s install him at DH and see what happens, no?
5. 2B Thomas Saggese | 22 | MLB | 2024
Just today I saw a blurb that the Cardinals told 3B Nolan Arenado they’ll try to trade him this winter, which could create some daylight for Saggese on a crowded roster. I imagine the team would install Nolan Gorman at the third to build the daisy chain of men named Nolan. This would leave second base open for Brendan Donovan and maybe Cesar Prieto or Saggese, considering that Donovan can play outfield. Saggese is a 5’11” 185 lb right-handed hitter who’s not particularly jaw-dropping in any phase of the game but puts in quality at bats and makes a lot of hard contact.
6. C Rainiel Rodriguez | 18 | DSL | 2029
In 41 Dominican Summer League games, Rodriguez slashed .345/.462/.683 with ten home runs and a steal. He also struck out just 25 times (13.6%) against 30 walks (16.3%). At 5’10” 197 lbs, he’s more physically developed than his competitors at that level, but I’m not dinging him too bad for that here. You can only play against the guys you’re playing against.
7. LHP Cooper Hjerpe | 24 | AA | 2025
A sequence of Type-1 elbow injuries have slowed Hjerpe’s spread through the minors, but he’s been good whenever he’s pitched. A change-up/slider type with plus command and deception, he could settle into a long career as a reliever if the fastball and command doesn’t develop into that of a six-inning guy. At 6’3” 200 lbs with a delivery he repeats well, he’s got a good chance to add command and/or velocity if his health cooperates long enough, but he might have to trade some deception to do so.
8. C Jimmy Crooks | 23 | AAA | 2025
A thick lefty bat at 6’0” 230 lbs, Crooks has plus power and solid plate skills. In 90 games with Double-A Springfield, he slashed .321/.420/.498 with 11 homers and four stolen bases. Behind the plate, he’s looking like an easy plus who can frame, block and throw like a big leaguer, which should earn him a long career.
9. RHP Tekoah Roby | 23 | AA | 2025
Roby came over (along with Saggese) from Texas in the Jordan Montgomery trade and immediately got to work winning over his new organization, posting a 0.75 WHIP with 19 strikeouts in 12 innings for St. Louis after carrying a 1.32 WHIP for 46.1 innings with Texas. At 6’1” 210 lbs, Roby generates intriguing spin on his plus fastball and double-plus curveball and demonstrates an aptitude for mixing speeds with a solid changeup and slider. The results were not on his side in 2024 as he battled shoulder issues.
10. 2B Cesar Prieto | 25 | AAA | 2025
There’s a little bit of Luis Arraez in Prieto’s game, which is partly why the team wanted him from Baltimore in the Jack Flaherty trade of 2023. Unlike Arraez, Prieto is merely human, and he tends to swing pretty much every time, all the time, 100 percent of the time, which complicates the true value of his plus contact skills. In 129 games with Triple-A Memphis last season, he slashed .279/.318/.445 with 14 home runs and five steals. He’d be a more valuable fantasy player than a real-life player, I think, considering how he’d cushion the batting average with at bats and add some RBI due to the lack of walks.
Thanks for reading!
