Second Base is a position that always feels pretty empty. A lot of eventual second baseman are currently shortstops primarily, making 2B a hard position to gauge. For this series I’m choosing to put players into their current position, not what their future position may be. The exception to this is major leagues who I have good reason to believe will be moving positions this season. That is one reason that Nolan Gorman won’t be on this list, as I consider him primarily a 3B this year and beyond. I also decided to keep JJ Wetherholt at SS as it’s unclear whether he would play 2B or 3B in the majors, and he also might not even be on the opening day roster and could return to SS in AAA.
The MLB (40-Man) Level
Brendan Donovan
Age: 29
Secondary Positions: LF, 3B, RF, 1B, SS
Donovan is if a super utility player had a good enough bat to be a full time starter. He plays basically everything except Catcher and Center Fielder, although he shouldn’t be playing SS very often. His best position is probably 2nd but with Saggese, Gorman, Wetherholt, and Fermin all as 2B options, there’s a good chance he gets a lot of OF time.
He slashed .287/.353/.422 last year, which is essentially the same as every other year of his career. Donovan is a remarkably consistent force in the lineup. All of this, of course, is if he even is a Cardinal at season’s start. Donovan has been a huge trade target this offseason, to the point it feels unlikely he’ll remain in town. As of today though, he’s a Cardinal, so he makes the list. With that being said, I would trade him. There’s no reason wasting his prime while we rebuild, so might as well get a return for him. Because of this, he will not be included in my depth chart projection, but if he does start the season in St. Louis, he would be a starter at some position.
Thomas Saggese
Age: 23
Secondary Positions: SS, 3B
Saggese is a former top prospect acquired from the Rangers in the Jordan Montgomery trade. He’s yet to really break through at the major league level, but with some spots opened up due to offseason trades, 2026 will be his best shot at becoming a full time starter. He’s a former SS who definitely seems to fit better at 2B, or even 3B.
Saggese slashed .258/.299/.342 last season over 275 at bats. He’s an all around player who is more of a jack of all trades and master of none. Unfortunately his game hasn’t translated well to the major leagues just yet but he should get some runway this season to prove himself. I would start him on the major league bench, sharing time at 3B with Gorman and at 2B whenever Donovan plays somewhere else. It should be noted JJ Wetherholt’s possible promotion could throw a wrinkle in things.
José Fermín
Age: 26
Secondary Positions: 3B, LF, RF, SS
Like Saggese, Fermin is a former SS who has mostly moved off the position. He has picked up some time in the outfield recently to maybe fill a super utility role. He has been pretty dominant in AAA but has not been able to get major league success throughout his career. He seems like a true AAAA player, unfortunately. Although, he did have a solid 60 at bats last season. He slashed .283/.377/.417 in his short major league stint, but .300/.428/.485 in AAA.
There just isn’t a spot for him on the opening day roster as it stands. Burleson, Donovan, Winn, Gorman, Saggese, and Wetherholt are likely all ahead of him on the infield pecking order, and with 3 Catchers on the major league roster there just isn’t enough room on opening day. I would start him in AAA and have him as an injury replacement option for the major league squad.
Top 30 Prospects
Unfortunately, the Cardinals have no Top 30 Prospects who primarily 2nd basemen.
Cardinals Top 100
While there are no top 30 prospects at second base, there are quite a few that break into my top 100, some former top prospects, and some up and comers.
Bryan Torres
Age: 28
Secondary Positions: RF, LF, CF, 3B, C, 1B
Torres is another utility guy who plays pretty much every position on the diamond. Originally a Brewer, he signed with the Giants after being cut but played just 1 year for their AA affiliate. 3 Years of indy ball later, and Torres signed with the Cardinals. He slashed .328/.441/.464 in AAA last year, after a good AA season the year prior. Suddenly, he’s on the verge of the major leagues. As we discussed with Fermin though, there isn’t really room on the major league roster for him in the infield. He would have a better chance breaking through in the OF, especially if Donovan and/or Nootbaar get moved. Ultimately though he seems like a classic AAA killer who can be called up when he’s needed, but this kind of production is good enough to become my #32 prospect. I would have him start in AAA in the outfield to prepare him for a potential major league callup.
Noah Mendlinger
Age: 25
Secondary Positions: RF, 3B, LF, SS
Mendlinger is a guy I never really considered to be a prospect during his time in the system. He’s now had 3 straight seasons with 400+ at bats, and solid production to boot. This season he slashed .282/.399/.355 between AA and AAA, actually performing his best in AAA. He’s my #67 prospect now and isn’t too far from the major leagues. I would probably play him as a backup/utility player in AAA, at least until Fermin is called up to the majors, although he could also start in the OF.
Yeferson Portolatin
Age: 18
Secondary Positions: 3B, SS
Portolatin received a $450,000 signing bonus last year, making him our 5th highest paid international free agent that season. In his rookie season, he slashed .226/.483/.374 in the DSL. That is an absurdly high walk rate for someone in their age 17 season, but the DSL pitching can be wild and a high walk rate doesn’t always translate stateside. I’m interested to see Portolatin try and improve his actual hitting this year without sacrificing his discipline. I could very well see him getting a 2nd DSL season, but I want to see him against more accurate pitchers in the FCL, so I would start him there.
Jonathan Mejia
Age: 20
Secondary Positions: SS
Mejia received a huge $2,000,000 signing bonus in 2022 when he signed out of the Dominican Republic. He peaked as the #10 prospect in the system, but has not been able to figure it out, and now ranks #75 for me. He’s switched off of full-time SS and is splitting more and more time at 2B. He finally had a good 2024 in Rookie Ball but struggled again in A this year. He slashed .183/.303/.308 with 6 Home Runs and 18 Stolen Bases. The potential is still there, but at age 20 you’d like to see him progress past A given what kind of prospect pedigree he once had. I would send him back to A as a starter but if he has another bad season there it might be time to start thinking about cutting our losses.
Tre Richardson
Age: 24
Secondary Positions: SS, DH
Richardson, my #87 Prospect, is someone that a few cardinals fans really believe in. I don’t exactly view him that way, as I see him more as a long-term backup type. He had 303 at bats last season, his most ever. He slashed .241/.330/.330 in that role. He’s a former 15th round pick, who’s never had a great season or been given the reigns as a full time starter. Given the lack of 2B in the mid-minors, he actually ends up being my pick for starting 2B in Peoria, but I expect him to share some time as people move around the diamond.
The Rest
These guys unfortunately didn’t make my top 100 prospects. This (as well as the bottom of the top 100) is more organizational depth than true prospects, but you never know.
Christian Martin
Age: 23
Secondary Positions: 3B, LF, SS
Martin was an 18th round pick in 2024. He slashed .252/.354/.328 last season across 3 levels. He played almost the whole season in A, but also briefly played at Rookie and A+. He’s a classic backup/organizational depth piece. I actually have him getting the aggressive AA callup to fill his role as organizational depth.
Cristofer Lebron
Age: 18
Secondary Positions: LF, RF, CF, 3B
Lebron signed for $175,000 in 2024 and has spent 2 seasons in the DSL. He’s played almost as much OF as he has 2B, but I’m keeping him listed at 2B. He slashed .277/.402/.428 this season after struggling in his first DSL season. He’s definitely someone I expect to spend the season in the FCL. I have him as the backup, but if Portolatin is kept in DSL then Lebron would start in the FCL.
Bracewell Taveras
Age: 19
Secondary Positions: 3B, SS
Bracewell Taveras has had some impressive streaks in his career but hasn’t been able to put it together consistently. He slashed .254/.318/.316 in the FCL and went hitless in 10 Single-A plate appearances. He’s probably not ready for a promotion but I would give him a chance as the A infield backup, but wouldn’t be surprised if he’s back in the complex.
Trevor Haskins
Age: 22
Secondary Positions: SS
A 15th round pick in 2025, Haskins had a brutal start to his career in A. He slashed.172/.172/.310 but it was only over 29 At Bats. I don’t have much to go on here, but with his low draft pedigree I’m going to treat him mostly as organizational depth. In that case, his best fit is as a High-A backup.
2026 International Signings
There are no new international signings listed at 2B. Chances are one of the shortstops moves over to fill the spot, or possibly Protolatin sticking around for a 2nd year in the DSL.
Projected Depth Chart
This is more of a “what I would do” in terms of minor league assignments than an actual projection of what the organization will do.
| MLB | J. Wetherholt | T. Saggese | B. Donovan | |
| AAA | J. Fermin | N. Mendlinger | B. Torres (OF) | |
| AA | C. Martin | |||
| A+ | T. Richardson | T. Haskins | ||
| A | J. Mejia | B. Taveras | ||
| FCL | Y. Portolatin | C. Lebron | ||
| DSL |
Final Takeaways
The lack of any ranked prospect at 2B hurts, but Saggese is a recent graduate from the system, and Wetherholt could end up playing 2B, so not all is lost at the position. I like the number of guys we have that are close to the majors but it would be nice to have a true top 30 prospect down the board.
