Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Make BOLD Move, Trading Heart of Their Team for PROSPECTS and Draft DREAMS!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The trade of Brennan Donovan, as painful as it was, has not only given the Cardinals three shiny new prospects, but it's also given the team more firepower for this upcoming draft. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Haver, a former national radio sports anchor, born and raised in St. Louis and a lifetime Cardinals fan. and welcome to another episode of Locktown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Thank you to all of you for getting us there. Thank you to the everydayers for always being here for you new people. Awesome to have you here. Welcome aboard. Please like, subscribe and be a part of the action all season long here in 2026. This is a show that serves Cardinal Nation. It gives you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today's show we're going to take a look at all of the goodies.

Starting point is 00:00:59 We're going to the goody room. We're going to wear the new things. They, Hymn Bloom and the Cardinals were able to get in return for Brendan Donovan reside, the prospects, the picks, how it's going to impact the Cardinals moving forward. You know, fans are still processing this trade that sent one of the most popular Cardinals in recent history to the Seattle Mariners and what ended up being a three-team trade that also involved the Tampa Bay raise. Heim Blum did his Zoom call with the media on Tuesday to discuss the deal, among other things, because he was asked different questions as well. But, you know, he mentioned the upside of the players that he was able to get in return, as well as the importance of these draft picks that they got as well, going as far to say that the deal would not have gotten done if they weren't included,

Starting point is 00:01:44 talking about the draft picks. Like he was like, that's, we weren't going to pull the trigger on this if that didn't happen. Bloom reiterated how difficult it was to trade Donnie for all the same reasons that you and I and the rest of the fan base love this guy because he's awesome. You know, we love them as a member of the Cardinals. His talent on the field, his character off the field was second to none. And I thought it was really cool because Heim made sure to open up the call with giving Donnie lots of praise and admiration, which I found to be very, very classy.

Starting point is 00:02:17 Far too often we see these moves made. And we sometimes fail to recognize that they aren't just properties. I know we treat them that way. And sometimes you got to be a little bit cold about making moves. but at the same time, these are people, you know, with families and their whole world is going to change now. And to recognize their time with the team and what he meant to the community and the fans, I thought that was top notch. As for the hall, in return for Donnie, you got five different things.

Starting point is 00:02:46 You got a top 100 prospect, a 22-year-old pitcher, Gerangelo St. Joe, 20-year-old outfielder, type Pete, and 24-year-old outfielder, Colton Ledbetter, plus. the two compi picks, which are number 68 and number 72. Now, let's start with what Sanger brings to the table because he was the Mariners number seven prospect. And number 91 overall, and according to the MLB pipeline, he's going to slide into that number four spot behind J.J. Weatherholt and the Cardinals rankings. So he's right behind J.J. Liam, Rinal Rodriguez, and in front of Leonardo Bernal. So you got your top three. Sanger goes into number four.

Starting point is 00:03:29 Then it goes to Leonardo Bernal, who scoches back one little spot. Known for being a switch pitcher, ambidextrous, however you want to call it. That's great, Nolp, and a unique ability. But the consensus from everything that I've read and listened to is that he is a much better pitcher from the right side than the left side. Now, he's not trash from the left side. Don't get it misconstrued. But he is definitely a better pitcher as a right-hand. hit-in-pitcher. And just before the deal, you know, it had been announced that the Mariners were going to have him focus on pitching right-handed while still dabbling in the left-handed stuff in some bullpen sessions. They weren't asking for him to give up on this altogether, but they wanted them to focus on throwing right-handed in games. So the question was, what were the Cardo's going to do here? Are the Cardo's going to follow suit and, you know, follow that path and have, you know, Sanja doing the same thing?

Starting point is 00:04:25 where he focuses on the right-hand side and very little on the left. And here's what Heinbloom had to say about that particular question. I got to load it up. Broadly speaking, we see, you know, his strengths and his upside, I think, similarly to Seattle. This was something that actually came up over the course of conversations, really over the course of not just weeks, but months even, you know, talking to Seattle about how they saw me. such a unique player. I don't want to get too specific just because I think we owe it to ourselves

Starting point is 00:05:00 and to him to get to know him a little bit first. But, you know, when you look at the stuff, the command, the upside, like the right, it's not, it's not a shock that they were prioritizing the right side. They still, and Gerangelo also I know is passionate about continuing to keep up the left side. And I think for any number of reasons, including the fact that he's gotten to this point with a routine that's specific to him, that you don't want to do. disrupt too much without good reason. You know, they still had planned to keep the left side going, at least in a practice setting, at least in the bullpen.

Starting point is 00:05:32 That makes sense to me from a distance, but I don't want to get too specific because I think we need to have this guy with us and learn him. We have a little bit of a running start. Obviously, Matt Pierpont has some history with the player from 2024. But first and foremost, we'll get to know him, understand him, see what's on his mind, make sure he's using his voice in his own development, because he is unique and knows himself best.

Starting point is 00:05:57 But broadly speaking, we do think that the course that they were going to take is a good one. Now, the scouting report at MLB pipeline says that he can crank the fastball up to 98 miles per hour with carry up in the zone, complementing it with an effective mid-80 slider that touches 9091 with depth and a firm fading change up. As a lefty, they had him as more relieverish, using a lower slot to get outs with a sweeping low 80s breaker and a low 90s fastball. Baseball America says that St. just sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and was up to 98 from both sides. That was average lefty fastball velocity was one to two miles per hour slower.

Starting point is 00:06:35 His best secondary pitch is a firm mid to upper 80 slider that has a bit more sweep from the right side and is adept at locating his fastball to his glove side as a righty to set up the slider. He'll also infrequently mix in a low 80s curveball and an upper 80s change up mostly as a situational pitch against lefties, much like his arsenal. Strike throwing was much better from the right side. So, you know, clearly there's a lot to be excited about when it comes to this particular prospect.

Starting point is 00:07:06 He was taking 15th overall for a reason in the 2024 draft ahead of, you know, last year's postseason darling Trey Yassavich from Toronto. He's not a big guy listed at just 511, which is why he gets comparisons to, you know, pitchers like Marcus Stroman, but he is a strong guy, 200 pounds. Like he's not 511, 165. You know, he is 200 pounds. He is built well. Got to double A last year, and I would suspect he starts at that level again in

Starting point is 00:07:36 26, not because he's not ready for AAA, but simply because the Memphis squad that the Cardinals have at AAA, there's already a lot of arms that are up there that need work and need to be looked at, guys like Quinn Matthews and Bryson Mott's and Ishaun Henderson. I would assume that both Mawts and Henderson make the jump to AAA. Max Ratchik is there. You've got some veterans that you're still that are still right now with the team. If they make it through spring training, we'll see. But guys like Bruce Zimmerman, Zach Thompson, Jared Schuster, you know, there's a lot of people there. And so kind of a full boat at Memphis at the moment. So you're not doing any damage by having them start at double A with,

Starting point is 00:08:16 you know, in his cardinals career. So that's where I would expect him to start. But, you know, it's a lot of good stuff. And we heard his name throughout this process of Donovan going to Seattle, you know, so we're pretty familiar with what Sanger brings to the table. And I'm excited about it. And I think most fans should be too. He's not a guy that's ready to impact the MLB roster just yet. Most of the guys that the Cardinals have acquired this offseason aren't ready to do that.

Starting point is 00:08:47 Most of them, some of them are right there. but it's part of this rebuild, man. And this is how it's going to work. So McCartle's also acquired a couple of very athletic outfielders. So we're going to talk about those guys coming up next year on Locked on Cardinals. Tax season doesn't have to take over your life. This year, TurboTax is making it easier than ever to just kind of hand things off and move on with your day. Like a quarterback handing it off to the running back.

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Starting point is 00:10:29 you for making lockdown the number one sports podcast network you already live your team every day take it up a level go add free join our everyday air club today get locked on cardinals with no interruption plus you get to be a part of that member's only discord which gives you access to chit chat with all the rest of the locked on cardinals fans myself included it's for just five bucks a month five bucks a month and 50 bucks a year go to locked on shtl cardinals that supercasts dot com or check the link in the show notes to learn more all right let's talk about the other pieces of the puzzle that the Cardinals were able to get in return for Brennan Donovan. Two outfielders, one from Seattle, one from Tampa Bay.

Starting point is 00:11:07 Let's start with Ty Pete. Now, Tai Pete, kind of a cool dude. Watching his videos online, it's, he's a guy that I immediately am attracted to as a player because of just the energy and, I don't know, he just exudes happiness and confidence. Like, he's got a personality. I think that's fantastic. I love it when a team's got some colorful players that have a personality and aren't boring and dull. Like, I want somebody to be boisterous and excited about playing the game of baseball.

Starting point is 00:11:40 And he seems to be that guy. Former number 30 overall pick in 20, 23 out of high school was their number 11 prospect, according to MLB pipeline. Now slots in at number 15 for the Cardinals in their top 30, which is still the 2025 list. They haven't updated those yet. Those are coming eventually. but he's just behind Joshua Baez, who is a top 100 guy now. And he's in front of former top 100 guy in pitcher team Kent.

Starting point is 00:12:06 So when asked about Taipede and his combination of power and speed, but also his propensity to swing and miss, Heim Blume had this to say about Tai Pi is an elite athlete. The upside is not hard to dream on. He was drafted as an infielder, moved out to the outfield, and has been really good out there. And like you said, he can impact the baseball. He can run.

Starting point is 00:12:30 He could steal bases. He has swung and miss quite a bit. And obviously that's part of the reason a player like that is available in the context he was is, you know, one of five pieces in a deal like this. You know, we do have some optimism that there's some things we're going to be able to do on the training and programming side that can help them. But, you know, we should also recognize that the other 29 clubs are smart and they try to do things. as well. So by no means do we think this is a turnkey fix, so to speak, but just something that we do of optimism that we can help him with and want to get to know him and obviously see what he's been doing and what he's comfortable with and not take his eye off of his strengths because

Starting point is 00:13:11 he's got the ability to impact the game in a lot of different ways. Thank you. And again, I want to reiterate here. Tipeed is 20 years old, guys, turned 20 back in August. So he hasn't not been a teenager all that long. You know, we're creeping on six months now since he's been a teenager. So very, very young. So you got to keep that in mind when you see his strikeout numbers, which we're clearly an issue. It's not nobody's trying to hide from that and say he's something that he's not. Baseball America had this to say about Pete that his left-handed swing.

Starting point is 00:13:45 It's built for power. He showed it by hitting 19 home runs, 12 more than his previous high as he grew into his frame. However, swing and miss concerns remain a barrier. He struck out 162 times in consecutive seasons. In 2025, that total included a 32% overall miss rate, including 25.3% in zone and a 27% chase rate. Breaking balls give him the most trouble, though he handles velocity well, reducing his whiff rate will be key to Pete unlocking his upside. If he refines his approach, he could see his stock rise to 2026, likely starting in high A to polish his game before advancing to double A. They also gave Tai Pete some props on his transition to an outfielder.

Starting point is 00:14:29 Remember when he got drafted, he was at shortstop and was playing shortstop in 2024. He was still putting most of his time in there. This past year was the first year where he was just an outfielder. And they gave him props about how good he made that transition. They give him credit for his strong arm, which he's always had since high school, always had a big grade on that. You know, it kind of reminds me of another guy who was young, struck out a bunch when he came out of high school.

Starting point is 00:15:01 And his name is Joshua Baez. And last year at age 21, for most of the season, he blossomed into a top 100 guy and is one of the more exciting prospects, not only in the Cardinals system, but in baseball now, now he's a top 100 guy. So sometimes you just got to give him some time to get used to. things, let their body kind of grow into what it's going to be, let them mature as a person. Let's let this kid cook a little bit before shredding him because he strikes out too much at the ages of 18 and 19 in the minor leagues in his first couple pro seasons.

Starting point is 00:15:37 Okay, can we do that? The other outfield that they got was Colton Ledbetter from the Tampa Bay raise. Number 24 prospect for Tampa Bay does not crack the Cardinals top 30 for ML. be initially. Doesn't mean he won't be out of the gate when they, when they update the 2026 rankings. Doesn't mean he won't be in there then. But as far as like sliding him into what they have coming from 2025, he did not make the top 30. Doesn't mean he's garbage. But it also shows you how talented the Cardinals system is, where a system like the Tampa Bay raise, who most people think always have a very good farm system, he's in their top 30, but not in the Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:16:21 He's a former second round pick in 2023, also out of Mississippi State where he played with Sanja. So that's kind of cool that they have that connection. He went one pick ahead of Brandon Sprote, who was part of the big trade with the Mets and the Brewers for Freddie Peralta this offseason. And he went two picks ahead of Ben Williamson, who was in the steel, went from the Mariners to the raise as part of this three-way trade for Brennan Donovan. Baseball America's scouting report on lead better says his production so far, has not matched his analytical data. He hits the ball reasonably hard, posting a 104 mile per hour 90th percentile exit velocity and 114 miles per hour max exit velocity in 2025. But he also hit just seven home runs with a 113 isolated power mark in the Southern League. After striking

Starting point is 00:17:09 out 28% of the time in 2024, he posted a much more sustainable 24% in 2025, but at the expense of power production. While Ledbetter is primarily a right fielder, an organization, organization with fewer defense demands could move him back to center more regularly. Ledbetter is a well-rounded, excuse me, well-rounded multiple multi-positioned outfielder who draws walks, but he's going to need time to tap into more power production to project as a big league outfielder. And I hear all of that. And it just, it kind of reminds me of Lars New Bar in a way.

Starting point is 00:17:45 Just kind of similar. good bat to ball skills, although, you know, he hits the ball hard when he does hit it. The data says that he should be a lot better than his numbers say. One thing that does stand out to me when I'm looking at the stats, 24 when he was in high A hit 16 home runs, which you like to see, but he also stole 34 bases. Then last year, the power, as they mentioned in the scouted report, that also dropped, but he was very active on the base paths again with 37 stolen bases.

Starting point is 00:18:15 And I know fans want power. Chicks dig the long ball. I understand that. Cardles could really, really use some power hitters, but you got to have some other guys too. You got to have some guys who can do some other things. They can be very helpful as well. So two athletic outfielders with some upside, Tai Pete's upside seems to be a lot higher than what Ledbetter offers at this point. But certainly a guy to keep an eye on, right? Now the final piece is to this trade where the draft picks. And boy, oh boy, do the Cardinals have some ammo heading into this next MLB draft? We're going to talk about those picks coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals. Hiring isn't just

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Starting point is 00:20:21 Thanks again for making a lockdown. Cardinals your first listen of the day. Thank you for making lockdown the number one sports podcast network. Could not have done it without you. Thank you to all of you. Now, we know the draft can be fickle in any sport, right?

Starting point is 00:20:40 You know, which ones are going to hit, which ones are going to be bust, you know, same with prospects. Same with prospects. These guys are unknown commodities. And you have to trust the people that do the scouting and drafting to give you the best shot.

Starting point is 00:20:56 at landing some winners among the thousands of players across the country, you know, and I use the phrase more bides of the apple a lot when describing what the Cardinals had been doing so far because, you know, the more prospects and picks you have, the better your odds are at finding something special. Limited amount, odds aren't as good, right? So after getting the three current players, the Cardinals also got the number 68, number 72 picks in this upcoming draft from Seattle and Tampa Bay, which now gives them picks 13, 32, 50, 68, 72, and 86.

Starting point is 00:21:35 That's six picks inside the top 86. Now again, that's great and all. But what you do with them is what will ultimately decide how successful this trade can really be. because if, let's say, just one of the three prospects that they got ends up hitting and doing well, and then your trades are a bust, you're going to be like a little disappointed. But if you have the picks and one of those guys hits and then two of the prospects hits, you're talking about a real success story right there. And for fun, if you look back at the 2024 draft at number 13, James Tibbs III,

Starting point is 00:22:16 who got traded to the Dodgers by Boston for new carton. old Dustin May, by the way, was who went at number 13 and 24. He's now ranked as the number eight prospect for L.A. Griff O'Farrell. Can't say I'm familiar with him. Went in number 32 to the Orioles, but he is inside their top 30. At number 50, you guys are going to recognize this name. Peyton Tolly, who went to the Red Sox and is now the 19th best prospect in baseball,

Starting point is 00:22:44 according to MLB pipeline and second among left-handed pitching prospects. Got him at 50. So there's talent there. Number 13 in 2020, Matt Shaw to the Cups. 2022, Zach Netto with the Angels. Number 32 that year in 2022 was South Stewart,

Starting point is 00:23:02 one of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball, top prospect for the Reds. 2021 at number 13, Andrew Painter, top pitching prospect with the Phillies. Number 72 that year, Bubba Chandler. top pitching prospect for the pirates. There's a real good chance that you find some very good talent with these picks. Doesn't mean 68 and 72 are worthless, but, you know, things get a little more difficult when you get a little bit later in the draft.

Starting point is 00:23:34 But you've got a lot of picks to work with here. And more chances to hit on those, more competition at different positions. You know, Hime mentioned in the Zoom call that he was like, you know, you want the ultimate goal is to have a top prospect at every position throughout your farm system. And the more guys you draft and the more guys you develop, better chances you can do that. John didn't broke down all of the additions that Bloom has made this off season. It's quite a list. You know, he netted them nine new prospects, two of which are competing for a spot in this year's rotation in Richard Fitz and Hunter Dobbins. you got Sanger,

Starting point is 00:24:15 Brandon Clark, Yohiker Fuhardo, Tai Pi, all land inside your top 30, plus Blake Aida, Jack Martinez, Colton Ledbetter to go along with two new picks.

Starting point is 00:24:31 I know that you gave up four former All-Stars, one of which will be a Hall of Famer. But you weren't winning with these guys anyway. Like, it wasn't working out. You are shedding payroll for the inevitable strike before the 2027 season. And you're giving the youth of your franchise a chance to compete,

Starting point is 00:24:52 make their mark without any pressure or restrictions holding them back. Like the lanes are wide open. What can you do with them? Where can you take your game? The Cardinals have done a lot of upgrading as far as they're scouting and instructors. like they're doing it the right way, at least from where I'm standing. They're doing this the right way. It's going to be a little painful in 2026 because the wind total is going to hurt.

Starting point is 00:25:25 It ain't going to be pretty. But you're going to see a young group of guys that are going to grow together. Like Lars Neupar is like the oldest position player now. Like that's crazy. That's crazy. But that's what this year is going to be for. You know, the word runway, I know it got worn out, but there's a, all of them are on the runway now. All of these guys, the whole team is on a runway.

Starting point is 00:25:50 And we'll see where they can go together. I'm impressed. I'm impressed now that all of it is said and done. Will Jojo Romero get moved? Maybe. I don't know. But now we just got to get to camp, which is just a few days away, see what we got. And who separates from who to be on the 2026 roster.

Starting point is 00:26:10 which Hine did bring up that he's going to be looking outside of the organization for another bat to go into the outfield, right-handed bat. We know that's something that they need and are looking at. So we'll see what he's got. But we'll have to cover that in another episode. So your thoughts of what Hime has accomplished so far, are you impressed? Are you disappointed? Let me know in the comments section.

Starting point is 00:26:36 Thank you for making lockdown cartels your first list every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on X at L.O underscore Cardinals at a JD Sports Radio. You can find us on TikTok, Instagram, like, subscribe on YouTube, obviously, making that push for 14,000 subscribers. If you don't miss an episode, join the everydayer club. It's built for you. Locked on STL Cardinals. That supercast is how you join the club. For those of you on video, I'm going to send you to the first ever 24-7 National Lockdown Podcast Network, YouTube channel on audio.

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Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Make BOLD Move, Trading Heart of Their Team for PROSPECTS and Draft DREAMS!

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