Spring Training is here, and the season’s real storylines are about to take center stage. The Cardinals’ off-season has been unusually eventful, with Chaim Bloom aiming to keep fans engaged by pulling off a big move each month—from Sonny Gray in November to the Brendan Donovan trade in February. Even with all that chatter and fresh prospect rankings, there’s only so much satisfaction you can squeeze from hypothetical trades and rumor mill chatter. As pitchers and catchers report and spring games approach, we’ll finally have tangible results to analyze. The main spotlight this spring belongs to top prospect JJ Wetherholt, but there are plenty of other narratives to watch closely. Here are nine storylines I’ll be tracking with more attention than most, reading into every hint and development during spring training.
Joshua Baez’s Playing Time
Baez could be one of the most important players for the near and long term. The Cardinals’ outfield has struggled in recent years. After finishing third in outfield WAR in 2021, the team’s ranking has slipped to 8th, 20th, 26th, and 26th in the following seasons. In the last two years, they’ve led the league in homers allowed by the outfield at a concerning low. Enter Joshua Baez, who already showcases some of the highest exit velocities and advanced hitting metrics in the minors. Watching how much spring playing time he earns will hint at when the organization expects his major league debut. Will he get a handful of at-bats or a heavier workload of 40–60 plate appearances? Obviously, performance will influence his spring opportunity, but the distribution of at-bats will also signal the front office’s view on his timeline. After Victor Scott and Jordan Walker debuted early, fans worry about rushing prospects; my sense is the front office won’t rush Baez at the expense of development.Velocity Gains
Every spring brings reports of pitchers adding velocity, and this year should be no different. It often feels like a measurable signal compared to some off-season tweaks. Consider Quinn Mathews, who arrived at camp with a fastball in the mid-90s after touching the low-90s at Stanford. Last year, Brycen Mautz and Cooper Hjerpe carried faster fastballs into camp. Hjerpe missed the season due to Tommy John, while Mautz leveraged his velocity to a strong Double-A campaign, earning the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year award. The Cardinals appear to believe Blake Aita from the Red Sox acquisition has more velocity to gain. It’s possible that Branelli Franco or Reinier Lopez could also turn heads this spring. In the 2025 draft class, Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin drew attention, but Cade Crossland and Ethan Young also signed big bonuses and are gearing up for their pro debuts. The Cardinals are running a broad velocity-development program, and with abundant promising arms, a few big velocity jumps should surface this spring.Infielders in the Outfield
Bloom has signaled continued interest in adding an outfield bat, but how seriously will Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin be considered for outfield duty this spring? If Wetherholt makes the Opening Day roster, infield opportunities could become tighter. Both players could gain a major advantage if they can show versatility. For the Cardinals, adding a right-handed hitting internal option to cover for a struggling Walker or a slow-recovering Nootbaar could lift the team’s floor. Saggese has no outfield experience in his pro career, and Fermin has only a handful of games there, but both are athletic enough to envision a smooth transition. Saggese, in particular, sits in the 78th percentile for sprint speed.Aggressive Minor League Promotions
Which prospects will advance more aggressively than expected? Last year, Ixan Henderson first stood out when he skipped High-A and opened Double-A camp after only six High-A starts. Although Bloom isn’t known for rapid promotions, there will still be players pushed into tougher assignments, offering a window into how the organization assesses progress. Minor league spring training coverage is sparser than the big-league side, but expect plenty of tidbits from backfields to gauge momentum.Starting Pitching
The Cardinals have a defined top seven in mind—Liberatore, May, Leahy, Pallante, McGreevy, Dobbins, and Fitts—and the spring battle for the rotation will be intriguing. How will the team use depth not in the rotation? A six-man start could be an early option to manage workloads, with one of the seven serving as a swingman/spot starter, similar to Steven Matz last year. If a depth arm is sent to Triple-A, that would widen the minor-league rotation picture. Predicting spring minor-league rotations is a fool’s errand, but here’s a snapshot of potential competition across levels:AAA: Mathews, Hence, Mautz, Henderson, Hansen, Rajcic, Bedell
AA: Doyle, Cijntje, Lin, Rincon, Davila, Saladin
A+: Clarke, Franklin, Davis, Dohm, Elissalt, Sequera, Molina, Aita
A: Fajardo, Crossland, Young, Dutkanych, Odle, Van Dyke
This lineup doesn’t even include pitchers like Savacool and Thompson who could contend for spots, and the picture could get even more crowded if Hjerpe, Holiday, Graham, Thompson, and Robberse return on schedule. There’s certainly no shortage of pitching depth, even if the major-league rotation isn’t a standout projection this year; watching how the pieces fit together will be fascinating.
Use It or Lose It
There are four fringe roster players who must make the Opening Day roster to retain the Cardinals’ rights: Justin Bruihl, George Soriano, and Bryan Ramos, who are all out of minor league options, plus Matt Pushard, the Rule 5 pickup from December who must stay on the active roster all year or be offered back to Miami. If they perform well, they’ll have an edge over players with minor-league flexibility like Gordon Graceffo, Nick Raquet, Ryan Fernandez, and Bryan Torres.Mountaineers Going Opposite Field
Former West Virginia Mountaineers Victor Scott II and JJ Wetherholt have discussed expanding their opposite-field power in 2026. I previously wrote about Scott, and Wetherholt shared similar thoughts at Winter Warmup. He believes the development staff focused too much on adding pull power, risking his strongest attribute—opposite-field power. It’ll be interesting to see if spring training brings noticeable changes in approach for either player.Catcher Conundrum
Ivan Herrera’s progress behind the plate will be a major spring storyline. Manager Oli Marmol has already indicated that spring training alone won’t be enough for Herrera to prove he can handle the catching duties, so expect the evaluation to extend into the regular season. With Herrera still learning the position, two of Pedro Pages, Jimmy Crooks, and Yohel Pozo will likely earn openings on the Opening Day roster. Depth is valuable, but this feels like a potential misallocation of resources. Crooks is a legitimate prospect with starter upside who deserves regular big-league exposure, while Pages and Pozo have shown they can be viable major-league catchers. One of the three will probably start the season in Triple-A. Is Bloom still open to trading one of these catchers in spring training? He’s shown a knack for creative trades, so a move before Opening Day isn’t out of the question.Sleepers on the Horizon
Spring often hides a few roster surprises, and Opening Day frequently features players who weren’t obvious picks. Injuries or unexpected performance could open doors for others. The Cardinals are light on right-handed bats and first-base types, so could Blaze Jordan seize a rare big-league opportunity? Could Quinn Mathews arrive in camp throwing strikes and sitting around mid-90s, pushing for a prominent role? Might Ixan Henderson or Brycen Mautz emerge as bullpen options? Individually the odds are slim for any one sleeper, but a single standout performance from an under-the-radar player could reshuffle the roster in dramatic fashion.
Bottom line: spring is a microscope for the Cardinals’ plans. Expect a blend of measured development and bold experimentation as they test what works at the highest levels of the farm system. And as always, the real results will come into focus once the games begin. Do you think the front office should prioritize a patient development path for Baez, or push for an accelerated timeline to the majors? Which sleeper is your dark horse to surprise everyone this spring?
