ST. LOUIS - MLB Pipeline has released it's updated midseason farm system rankings and where the St. Louis Cardinals rank might shock fans a bit.
MLB Pipeline, which released it's updated rankings Wednesday, ranked the Cardinals 22nd overall, only the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Los Angeles Angels have worst farm systems than the Cardinals
The Cardinals were previously ranked in the top 10 when MLB Pipeline released it farm system rankings before the season began, with the club having five players in the Top 100 rankings. In its updated rankings, the Cardinals only have two: SS Masyn Winn, and RHP Tink Hence.
On one hand, it isn't quite that surprising to see the Cardinals drop a bit in the updated rankings. With the graduation of hitters like OF Jordan Walker and OF Alec Burleson, a drop in the rankings for the Cardinals wasn't out of the question.
However, a drop to the bottom third of the league speaks to how tough of a season some players in the system have been going through.
While Winn and Hence have more than justified their Top 100 rankings, especially Winn, and the system have seen some breakout performances from the likes of OF Victor Scott and RHP Ian Bedell, some players have been a bit more unlucky.
RHP Gordon Graceffo battled shoulder inflammation at the start of May that took him out of action for nearly two months and the injury has given the Villanova product his first real troubling season in his minor league career, as he has posted a 4.75 ERA in 61 innings in Triple-A Memphis this season.
LHP Cooper Hjerpe has also dealt with injuries too, as the team 2022 first rounder has been out of action since being place on the 7-day minor league IL in May.
Cardinals 2021 first-rounder Michael McGreevy has had a mix bag since being promoted to Triple-A Memphis in April. While McGreevy's seasonal numbers aren't awful, posting a 3.91 ERA in 116 innings, his time in Triple-A has been a bit more of a struggle, posting a 4.38 ERA in 98.2 innings in Triple-A.
However, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo say that the Cardinals were able to address the system's depth getting the likes of getting players like Tekoah Roby, Sem Robberse and Thomas Saggese at the deadline and both think team's 2023 first rounder Chase Davis and his Carlos Gonzalez-like swing can eventually reach top-end talent heights.