The St. Louis Cardinals have been steadily heading toward a full-scale rebuild over the past several months. While they made a handful of moves at last season’s trade deadline, the true reset began this offseason.
So far, the Cardinals have dealt four established veterans. Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras were sent to the Boston Red Sox, bringing back promising prospects along with significant payroll flexibility. They accomplished a similar return by moving Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The organization’s most impactful move came earlier this week, when Brendan Donovan was traded to the Seattle Mariners as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Tampa Bay Rays. That transaction added even more prospect depth. Although the Cardinals appear to be on the right track, additional changes are still expected.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently put together a mock draft of the 2026 MLB Draft. With their first-round pick, Reuter predicted the Cardinals would select TCU slugger Sawyer Strosnider.
Cardinals to land a star in the 2026 MLB Draft
“A loud .350/.420/.650 line with 13 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home runs, 51 RBI and 10 steals made Strosnider one of the top freshmen in the nation last season, and a 60-power, 60-speed profile is generally a ticket to hearing your name called early in the draft,” Reuter wrote. “He underwent shoulder surgery last summer, but sat in the low 90s with his fastball as a prep pitcher and should profile well in right field at the next level.”
Strosnider is coming off a surgery, which is why he might fall to the Cardinals in the draft. If he can bounce back in a big way, the Cardinals likely won’t have a chance to draft him.
He’s an excellent athlete with the ability to leave the yard at any time. His speed and power make him one of the best prospects in the entire draft class. If he can put all the pieces together, he could be a 30-home run, 30-stolen base big leaguer in the next five to eight years.
