Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold: Jesús Báez, Rainiel Rodriguez and Quinn Mathews

The Cardinal Chronicle
Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold: Jesús Báez, Rainiel Rodriguez and Quinn Mathews Headline This Week’s Prospect Watch
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Friday brings another look around the Cardinals’ minor league system, and this week’s Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold report has several ranked prospects right in the middle of the conversation.

That matters.

This weekly report is not meant to rewrite the prospect board every Friday. A hot week does not turn a player into a finished product, and a cold week does not erase the tools that put a player on the map. But performance still gets a vote, and over time, these seven-day snapshots help show who is building momentum, who is holding steady and who needs to make an adjustment.

This week’s report includes four Cardinal Chronicle Top 30 prospects among the featured hot names, including Rainiel Rodriguez, Joshua Báez, Quinn Mathews and Jesús Báez.

Here are three hitters and three pitchers trending up, followed by three hitters and three pitchers looking to turn the page.

Who’s Hot — Hitters

Jesús Báez, SS, Peoria Chiefs
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: No. 19

Jesús Báez takes the top spot among hitters this week, and it was not hard to make the case.

In five games for High-A Peoria, Báez went 7-for-19 with four runs, two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and one walk. He hit .368 with a 1.189 OPS.

The power remains the carrying tool, and this week it showed up again. Two doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs in five games is real damage. For a player ranked No. 19 on the Cardinal Chronicle board, this is exactly the kind of week you want to see. The batting average and overall offensive polish still matter, but when Báez gets the barrel out front, the impact is obvious.

Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Springfield Cardinals
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: No. 1

The top prospect in the system had himself a strong week at Double-A.

Rodriguez went 5-for-16 with three runs, two doubles, two home runs, four RBIs and two walks in four games for Springfield. He hit .313 with a 1.201 OPS.

That is the kind of production that backs up the ranking. Rodriguez is not No. 1 because of one good week, but weeks like this are why he sits at the top of the board. He is producing at a premium position, against advanced competition, and the power continues to show signs of growing into the profile.

For a young catcher, offensive weeks like this carry extra weight. Catching is hard enough. Producing while carrying that defensive workload is what separates a good prospect from a serious one.

Joshua Báez, CF, Memphis Redbirds
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: No. 3

Joshua Báez did not have the loudest line on the board, but he keeps producing at Triple-A, and that matters.

In five games for Memphis, Báez went 7-for-23 with three runs, two doubles, one home run, four RBIs and one stolen base. He hit .304 with an .826 OPS.

The eight strikeouts are still part of the conversation, and they should be. But so is the production. Báez continues to hit for impact near the major league level, and as long as the power keeps showing up, he remains one of the most important bats in the system.

A No. 3-ranked prospect doing steady damage at Triple-A is never just background noise. He is part of the roster conversation, whether the club is ready to have it publicly or not.

Also worth noting: José Suárez had the top overall offensive value this week after hitting .429 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and four stolen bases at High-A. Cade McGee also hit three home runs in four games, while Josh Kross added two homers and a 1.034 OPS for Peoria.

Who’s Hot — Pitchers

Jacob Odle, LHP, Peoria Chiefs
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: Not Ranked

Odle gets the top pitching spot this week after another strong High-A performance.

In 5.2 scoreless innings for Peoria, he allowed two hits, walked two and struck out eight. He finished the week with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP.

That is a clean line. The strikeouts were there, the damage was not, and he kept traffic under control. Odle has been one of the better pitching stories in the system this season, and even though he is not currently on the Cardinal Chronicle Top 30, outings like this keep pushing his name closer to that conversation.

At some point, production earns a longer look.

Quinn Mathews, LHP, Memphis Redbirds
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: No. 10

Mathews gave Memphis exactly what the organization needed to see.

In six scoreless innings at Triple-A, he allowed three hits, walked one and struck out six. He posted a 0.00 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP.

For Mathews, the one walk may be the most encouraging number in the line. The strikeout ability has never been the issue. The question has been command, consistency and whether he can get through Triple-A lineups without giving away free traffic.

This week, he did that.

Mathews remains one of the more important arms in the system because of his left-handed profile, previous track record and proximity to St. Louis. When he throws strikes and controls the inning, he looks a lot more like the pitcher the Cardinals still believe can help them.

Blake Aita, RHP, Peoria Chiefs
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: Not Ranked

Aita earns the third spot after six scoreless innings for Peoria.

He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out four, finishing the week with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP.

It was not the flashiest strikeout line on the board, but it was one of the cleaner performances. Six shutout innings with one walk plays at any level. Aita controlled the game, stayed away from big innings and gave Peoria a strong start.

That kind of outing may not always grab the biggest headline, but managers love it. Scouts notice it, too.

Also worth noting: Cade Crossland, ranked No. 16, threw five no-hit innings with four strikeouts, though four walks kept him just outside the top three. Mason Molina, ranked No. 18, struck out nine in six innings for Springfield, but the two home runs and three earned runs kept him from landing higher this week. Brycen Mautz also gave Memphis five innings without an earned run.

Who’s Cold — Hitters

Heriberto Caraballo, C, Palm Beach Cardinals
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: Not Ranked

Caraballo had the toughest offensive week on the board.

In three games for Palm Beach, he went 1-for-10 with no runs, no extra-base hits, no walks and no RBIs. He hit .100 with a .200 OPS.

There is no need to make more of it than it is. That was a quiet week. The lack of walks and extra-base impact made it hard to create any offensive value. For a catcher, the defensive workload always matters, but at the plate, this was a week to flush and move forward.

Zach Levenson, LF, Springfield Cardinals
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: Not Ranked

Levenson did leave the yard, but the rest of the week was a grind.

In four games at Double-A, he went 1-for-13 with two runs, one home run, one RBI, no walks and two strikeouts. He hit .077 with a .385 OPS.

The home run kept the line from being completely empty, but one hit in 13 at-bats is still one hit in 13 at-bats. At Double-A, pitchers will test whether a hitter can adjust from one series to the next. This week, Levenson did not get enough going.

Michael Dattalo, 1B, Palm Beach Cardinals
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: Not Ranked

Dattalo lands on the cold list after a low-impact week at Low-A.

In five games, he went 2-for-18 with one run, one double, one RBI and four walks. He hit .111 with a .439 OPS.

The four walks are worth noting. That shows he was not just chasing his way through the week. But the hits did not come, and there was not enough damage when he did put the ball in play. It was not a hopeless week, but it was a cold one.

Also worth noting: Jack Gurevitch, ranked No. 15 on the Cardinal Chronicle board, went 2-for-13 with four walks and a .507 OPS at High-A. The walks softened the week, but the production was still light.

Who’s Cold — Pitchers

Tanner Franklin, RHP, Peoria Chiefs
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: No. 5

Franklin’s week was a reminder that even rising arms hit potholes.

In three innings at High-A, he allowed five hits, five earned runs, two walks and one home run while striking out two. He finished with a 15.00 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP.

Franklin remains one of the top pitching prospects in the system, and one rough outing does not change that. But the line still matters. A No. 5-ranked prospect is held to a higher standard because the expectations are higher.

The key now is response. Good arms have bad days. The better ones do not let those bad days stack up.

Liam Doyle, LHP, Springfield Cardinals
Cardinal Chronicle Ranking: No. 2

Doyle’s week was not without positives, but the damage was enough to land him here.

In four innings for Double-A Springfield, he allowed eight hits, four earned runs, two walks and two home runs while striking out six. He finished with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP.

The six strikeouts show the stuff is still there. That has not been the problem. The issue is traffic and damage. Eight hits and two home runs in four innings is a hard line to work around, even with the swing-and-miss.

Doyle remains one of the premier arms in the organization, but he is still being asked the same question: can the command and consistency catch up to the raw stuff?

Also worth noting: Yhoiker Fajardo, ranked No. 9, allowed four earned runs and two home runs in four innings, while Braden Davis, ranked No. 26, allowed three earned runs and walked four over four innings at Double-A. Pete Hansen struck out eight in three innings for Memphis, but two earned runs in a short outing kept him on the cold side of the data.

Old School Take

This was a good week for the top of the system.

Rainiel Rodriguez continues to look like a No. 1 prospect. Jesús Báez is showing the kind of power that keeps him relevant even when the offensive profile still needs polish. Joshua Báez keeps producing at Triple-A, and that puts him close enough to St. Louis that every good week carries a little extra meaning.

On the mound, Mathews gave the Cardinals a clean Triple-A outing with command, and that may be the biggest pitching takeaway of the week. Odle continues to make a performance case for more attention, while Aita gave Peoria six strong innings.

The cold side had some important names, too. Tanner Franklin and Liam Doyle both had rough weeks, but that is part of development. Top prospects are not top prospects because they never get hit. They are top prospects because they have the tools to answer back.

That is the rhythm of a minor league season. Some players are climbing, some are correcting, and some are reminding everyone that prospect rankings are living documents.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

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