I implied in my last post that I was going to combine outfielders and pitchers, because I figured outfielders alone would not be enough for a post. I was wrong. There are a lot of outfielders in the system. And perhaps more importantly, there are way too many pitchers. That would deserve its own post. I have divided outfield into two different sections: centerfielders and corner outfielders. I don’t feel like it’s any use to separate left fielders and right fielders. They’re pretty interchangeable. I know that’s not universally true for every player, but it’s as close to true as a position switch could possibly be.
Once again, the ages listed are their ages for the 2026 season. In some cases, it’s the same exact age they are right now, and in other cases, they have not yet turned that age. In case you were at all confused and paid close attention to player ages.
Center Field
MLB
Victor Scott (Service Time: 1.083, 25-years-old)
Arbitration Eligible: 2028
Eligible for free agency: 2031
I’ll repeat my summary from last time. The date listed for arbitration, in this case 2028, is the first year the player will be making millions and not league minimum. The year listed for free agency is not their last year as a Cardinal, but in fact the first year they won’t be a Cardinal without signing an extension. If they last that long obviously. Both of these dates are pretty static, because Scott would have to spend over half a year in the minors for the Cardinals to get an extra year of team control, at which point I assume Scott isn’t a part of the future plans.
Nathan Church (Service Time: 0.043, 25-years-old)
Arbitration Eligible: 2029
Eligible for free agency: 2032
Unlike Scott, I think Church’s numbers are subject to change. It’s a lot more plausible he spends more time in the minors. With only 53 games at AAA and a 60 wRC+ through his first 50 PAs and being a very similar player to Scott, I personally would start him in AAA next season. He does have about three weeks and a spring training to change that, which is exactly what Scott did. But I will, at least for now, not be preaching that Church has overtaken Scott.
And just to address questions, Michael Siani and Mike Antico are probably not in the organization next year, and even if they were, they’re fifth outfielder types. Not really what this type of post is about.
Minors
Chase Davis (24)
ETA: 2027
I wanted to separate center fielders from corner outfielders, because corner outfielders are kind of a dime a dozen, and true centerfielders are not. But I realize after I got through Church and Scott that there’s really no way to know who the “true CFers” are. I’ll have to go by playing time to a certain extent and some scouting. The actions of the Cardinals have Davis as a CF prospect. Also Davis is Rule 5 eligible at the end of next season, so there’s a good chance he debuts in the majors next season, but he doesn’t really feel like someone who’s going to be ready in 2026.
Ryan Mitchell (19)
ETA: 2030
The 2nd round draft pick from the most recent draft was drafted with the intention of moving to the outfield and at least in the short term, I’m sure he’ll get a lot of chances out in center field. He has not played yet, so the ETA was rather difficult, but I imagine the version of him who pans out doesn’t quite need a level a year.
Other Prospects of Note
Matthew Miura (22)
Estimated level at start of 2026: Low A (76 wRC+ in Low A)
Kenly Hunter (18)
Estimated level: Complex (136 wRC+ in DSL)
Corner Outfield
Lars Nootbaar (4.076 service time, 28)
Estimated Arbitration: $5 million
Eligible for free agency: 2028
Nootbaar got $2.95 million in his first year of arbitration and I suppose from the Cardinals’ perspective, one benefit of a disappointing season is that the arbitration price won’t really escalate that much. A really good September could make a big difference though because his numbers aren’t in the tank or anything and it would take a good September make no mistake, but he’s not that far from his career numbers.
Jordan Walker (2.044 service time, 24)
Arbitration eligible: 2027
Eligible for free agency: 2030
I honestly cannot believe this dude is still just 24-years-old next season. You know those players who debut really young and years later for some reason you’re on their stat page and you see their age and you’re like… how? Justin Upton is 38-years-old, Nomar Mazara is 30, you get the idea. Anyway, ideally in this writer’s opinion, he spends most of next season in AAA, and thus push both of those dates back a year.
Alec Burleson (Service Time: 3.029, 27)
Estimated arbitration: $3 million
Eligible for free agency: 2029
Yes, I know. The Cardinals treat him as corner outfield depth so he is here. Not putting him in this section would be ignoring how he’s used.
Brendan Donovan (Service Time: 4.000, 29)
Estimated Arbitration: $5 million
Eligible for free agency: 2028
We’re going through a series of players who were in the last post, but this is a new post and I think their information should still be shared. Also some of you are reading this post without having read the previous one and would find it strange I’m not listing players who are clearly being used as outfield depth. Some of you have beef with Donovan playing outfield. I am not one of those people though.
Ivan Herrera (Service time: 2.034, 26)
Arbitration Eligible: 2027
Eligible for Free Agency: 2030
Little presumptuous? Yes. And I don’t know that the Cardinals have given up on him catching. But they have heavily telegraphed where they will play him if he does move off catcher. In a very, very limited sample, he has not embarrassed himself, which doesn’t mean he’ll be a good fielder, but we should avoid a Jordan Walker in 2023 situation at least.
Minors
Joshua Baez (23)
ETA: 2026
Baez will already be on the 40 man next year, which is a lot of why I list his ETA as 2026. He has done enough to start next season in AAA. Short of just getting overwhelmed by AAA pitching – a distinct possibility – I think he’ll make his debut next season. Whether it’s a late season call-up after a mediocre season or with the intention of a more prominent role will be determined by how quickly he can hit AAA pitching.
Zach Levenson (24)
ETA: 2027
Levenson has gotten off to a fantastic start in AA, but at the end of the day, he has currently only been 21 games and it’ll be maybe 30 games by the end of the season. Good chance he repeats AA to begin the year. He’ll be in AAA soon enough, but I would be kind of surprised if he’s in the majors next season.
Won-Bin Cho (22)
ETA: 2028
Since August 1st, he’s hit 5 of his 6 homers on the season and has a 139 wRC+ with a .198 ISO. He’ll spend his age 22 season in AA most likely and he’s a prospect again. That said, I don’t think he’s a CF prospect. His starts at CF were cut down and there’s no Michael Siani in High A. Levenson got 20 starts in CF. Who has proceeded to not play CF in AA.
Ian Petrutz (23)
ETA: 2028
He’s one of those no power, great approach prospects. I’ll start ignoring him if he continues having no power in Springfield, but I’ll give him a pass for not having power at Palm Beach or Peoria.
Travis Honeyman (24)
ETA: 2027
I don’t think he was marketed as this kind of prospect, but Honeyman has also been a great approach, no power guy. He has the additional excuse of barely playing baseball at all in 2023 or 2024. I am concerned he has a .055 ISO in High A though.
Other prospects of note
Jose Cordoba (23)
Estimated level at start of 2026 season: High A (100 wRC+ in High A)
Other prospects of note:
Yaxson Lucena (18)
Estimated level at start of 2026 season: Complex (146 wRC+ in DSL)
Royelny Strop (18)
Estimated level: DSL (94 wRC+ in DSL)
Long-term, I’m actually pretty happy with the outfield depth. My personal approach next season would have Church and Walker both starting the season in AAA with Church being the next man up. It would really help if Baez immediately hit in AAA, because I really want Walker in AAA for a good few months ideally. If he just destroys AAA in April and someone gets hurt, okay yeah call him up. If he does what he has done in AAA the past three seasons, well let him work out his problems there first.
So if the 2026 immediate help depth is kind of weak, the next wave is reasonably strong. Nobody seems to believe in Chase Davis and I get why, but this is clearly a case of him being a 1st round pick working against him. I genuinely believe if he was an 8th rounder, more people would believe in him. Nathan Church spent his entire age 23 season in AA and was a 95 wRC+ hitter. Now he’s in the big leagues. Would not be crazy at all if Davis had a similar 2026. (In fact, uh Nathan Church prior to 2025 showed absolutely zero signs of being a future MLBer in a way that is slightly concerning to me.)
2026 was a really good step forward for the outfield depth in the system. There’s Church, kind of coming out of nowhere. Baez definitely coming out of nowhere to become a real prospect again. Zach Levenson looks worth monitoring again. Travis Honeyman had a healthy season with an above average hitting line finally. It looked bad forever, but Cho finally seemed to make genuine progress. They added Ryan Mitchell. Davis is really the only one who didn’t progress as hoped, and even he has an average hitting line. Hopefully his last few weeks are strong.
