STLSportsPage.com<\/a> to begin a new year with a look ahead, identifying 10 Cardinals who will be the most interesting to watch over the next season.<\/p>\nWhile this list is always published in alphabetical order, if the list for 2026 was being presented in order of who actually is the most important person in the organization, the first name on the list would be the same.<\/p>\n
As the Cardinals rebuild moves into full motion, it is fitting that seven of the 10 people are new to this list from the 10 we selected a year ago.<\/p>\n
Here is the list for 2026:<\/p>\n
Chaim Bloom<\/strong> \u2013 After taking over for John Mozeliak as the president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom already has swung two major trades \u2013 sending Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to Boston in separate deals. The question is how many more trades will he make before the start of spring training, and how those potential moves will reshape the roster. It also will be interesting to see the kind of moves Bloom makes during the season, how patient he will be if some of the young players continue to struggle, and how aggressive he will be in promoting young players from the minor leagues.<\/p>\nAlec Burleson<\/strong> \u2013 One of Bloom\u2019s trades has given Burleson the chance for more consistent playing time at a regular spot in the lineup, replacing Contreras at first base. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2025 as a utility player, and the Cardinals are counting on that success to continue, or even improve, with Burleson becoming one of the anchors in the middle of the batting order. The immediate hope is that he matches or surpasses Contreras\u2019 20 homers and 80 RBIs from last season.<\/p>\nLiam Doyle<\/strong> \u2013 The Cardinals\u2019 first-round pick in last year\u2019s amateur draft, Doyle instantly became the best pitching prospect in the organization. What will be interesting to watch is how aggressive the organization will be with Doyle, who likely will begin the season at Double A Springfield. The Cardinals are not counting on him reaching the majors this season, but he could alter those plans depending on how well he pitches and what openings might develop within the rotation.<\/p>\nIvan Herrera<\/strong> \u2013 There is one major question the Cardinals have to answer about Herrera, and that should start to become clear right from the beginning of spring training \u2013 can he catch? The answer last year was no, which is why Herrera spent most of his time as a designated hitter. The Cardinals hope part of Herrera\u2019s defensive struggles have been corrected with off-season elbow surgery but until he actually logs some time behind the plate and faces opposing runners trying to steal, that question can\u2019t be answered. If Herrera struggles again, he likely will be limited again to DH duties.<\/p>\nKyle Leahy<\/strong> \u2013 When the 2025 season ended, early previews of 2026 included the suggestion that Leahy would be given a chance to move into the rotation after becoming one of the Cardinals\u2019 most effective relievers. Has the acquisition of three projected starters in recent weeks changed those plans? If Leahy doesn\u2019t start, could he move into the closer\u2019s role? Determining what role Leahy will occupy should be a primary topic during the spring.<\/p>\nMatthew Liberatore<\/strong> \u2013 A year ago Liberatore was getting set to report to spring training not knowing if he would be a starter or a reliever. Now, he is one of the most experienced starters the Cardinals have after only one year in the rotation. Liberatore did have some stretches of inconsistency as a rookie starter, which was to be expected, but he needs to smooth out those patches to continue his growth and development.<\/p>\nQuinn Mathews<\/strong> \u2013 The 2025 season was disappointing for Mathews, who began the year as Baseball America\u2019s reigning Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He struggled mostly with his control while pitching at Memphis and needs a bounce-back season to earn a shot at pitching in the majors. One of the reasons the Cardinals have added three projected starters through trades and free agency is so they don\u2019t have to rush pitchers like Mathews and can give him more time to develop \u2013 but he still projects to be a starter in the majors sooner rather than later.<\/p>\nDustin May<\/strong> \u2013 Signed as a free agent, May became the Cardinals\u2019 most experienced starter heading into 2026 with his 57 career starts for the Dodgers and Red Sox. The 28-year-old righthander was signed to be a bridge to some of the Cardinals\u2019 younger starters and he will have the chance to either secure a longer role in the organization or perhaps become a candidate to be traded at the deadline if he is pitching well.<\/p>\nJordan Walker<\/strong> \u2013 Back on this list again from a year ago, Walker enters 2026 with many of the same questions that he was dealing with 12 months ago. A star prospect who has yet to live up to his potential, Walker and the Cardinals are hoping this will be the season when that happens. Walker is still young \u2013 he will turn 24 in May \u2013 but he might be running out of chances at least with the Cardinals if his performance and consistency does not improve this season.<\/p>\nJJ Wetherholt<\/strong> \u2013 The top prospect in the organization and one of the best in baseball, Wetherholt is expected to join the major-league team this season but the question is where he will play. He spent time at both second and third last year in Memphis, but his final spot in the majors likely will be determined by what happens with some of the players the Cardinals could trade between now and opening day \u2013 Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado or Nolan Gorman. Wherever he plays, the Cardinals are counting on Wetherholt to be a big part of the team\u2019s re-build.<\/p>\nFollow Rob Rains on X @RobRains<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Cardinals rebuild moves into full motion, it is fitting that seven of the 10 people are…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":485483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-485482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115821686720873845","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}