Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Wednesday With Walton and Reis of The Cardinal Nation

This week, Brian and Kyle begin with the Sonny Gray trade, and why it one day may be called the “Brandon Clarke” trade. The focus on hitting in Tuesday’s Player Development and Performance hires and promotions is noted. The recent (re)signings of Yohel Pozo, Sem Robberse and Scott Blewitt are put into context and they close with the impact of new TV deals on the timing of the draft.

Brian and Kyle introduce their new podcast homes before outlining the new Competitive Balance Round A draft pick and the upcoming 2026 draft lottery. They touch on the changes to the St. Louis Cardinals major league staff and a minor league promotion. Yadier Molina surfacing in winter ball and the divestiture of the large contracts of Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado are also discussed. They close with a focus on several recently unveiled Top 50 prospects, about whom they do not fully agree - Michael Watson, Andre Granillo, Josh Kross and Jack Gurevitch.

This week, Brian and Kyle start with the St. Louis Cardinals’ signing of Dustin May. Minor league topics include technology standardization and the Cards’ projected picks in the first 2026 draft mocks. They touch on the trade rumor mill and close with a discussion of outfield prospects in the 20-30 range – Nathan Church, Zach Levenson, Chase Davis and Travis Honeyman.

This week, Brian and Kyle start with the St. Louis Cardinals’ waiver claim of reliever Zak Kent. Next is the Lottery for the 2026 Draft, in which the Cards drew an unlucky #13. The main event is Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft. The Cardinals added reliever Matt Pushard but lost Double-A starter Cade Winquest in the Major League Phase. They selected one player in the Minor League phase, but three others were taken.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Brian and Kyle begin with the pitchers received by the St. Louis Cardinals in their trade of Willson Contreras to Boston. The minor league addition of Jared Shuster is noted. Kyle explains the ramifications of pitchers using the Major League baseball starting at Triple-A. They look at the magnitude of staff additions made by Player Development and Performance and close with a surprising Albert Pujols comp (sort of).

Brian and Kyle conclude 2025 with varying views on pitchers ranked around our Top 10 St. Louis Cardinals prospects – Hence, Hjerpe, Roby and Henderson - after touching on the Nolan Arenado trade market. They also discuss Joshua Baez as an example of the prospect impact of the impending labor strife and close with the Top 10 Cardinals Stories of the Year as published at The Cardinal Nation.

Brian and Kyle open 2026 with World Baseball Classic talk, thenthe acquisition of lefty reliever Justin Bruihl. The primary focus this week is the Top 6 St. Louis Cardinals prospects for 2026 and two additions from Boston in the Willson Contreras trade.

Brian and Kyle open an extended podcast with new Cardinals pitchers Stanek, Zimmermann and Martinez and say goodbye to Nolan Arenado. They spend most of the time breaking down the starting pitching candidates at each level from St. Louis down to Palm Beach and close with a preview of Thursday’s international signing period opening.

Brian and Kyle focus on their thoughts from St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up – The DeWitts including owner succession, stadium remodel, labor strife, Donovan, Doyle, Walker, Scott, Pallante, Marmol’s extension, Player Development investment and more!

Before they dive into the Brendan Donovan trade, Brian and Kyle discuss local TV plans for 2026, new scouting director Zach Mortimer and the two additional draft picks acquired.

They say goodbye to Donnie then cover the three new Cardinals prospects, Cijntje, Peete and Ledbetter, including where they may be ranked on The Cardinal Nation's 2026 Cardinals Top 50 Prospect List.

Brian and Kyle discuss The Cardinal Nation's 2026 St. Louis Cardinals Prospect Guide, the return of Yadier Molina, Cardinals on national Top 100 prospect lists, Spring Training non-roster invitees, including newcomer Nelson Velazquez, and those passed over.

This week, Brian and Kyle start with Tuesday’s all-reliever trade of Andre Granillo for George Soriano. Next up is very early spring training camp news, the St. Louis Cardinals’ no. 2 farm system ranking by Baseball America, the acquisitions of P Justin Militello and 3B Bryan Ramos and more!

Brian and Kyle provide injury updates on Brandon Clarke, Ixan Henderson, Pete Hansen and Cooper Hjerpe and surprises in camp including Jake Shelagowski, Jacob Odle, Juan Rujano and Leonel Sequera. They discuss St. Louis Cardinals 40-man roster changes, the catching situation at the majors and upper minors, The Cardinal Nation’s 2026 Prospect Guide Addendum and much more.

Brian and Kyle discuss the implications of the addition ofRamon Urias, possible backups on the infield and standouts from St. Louis’ first three spring games and why to not get excited over them. Coach Yadier Molina, two hitters transitioning to pitching and the opening of the full Minor League Spring Camp are also among topics covered.

Brian and Kyle opened with news about Kyle’s (now former)assignment writing for Cardinals.com. Kyle highlighted top minor leaguers his followers are following. The two discussed St. Louis’ outfield and bench construction options going forward, specifically Bryan Torres, Cesar Prieto andmaybe even Blaze Jordan. Pitchers covered include Quinn Mathews, Liam Doyle and Tink Hence and three relievers promoted upward. They closed with a couple oflate-round 2025-drafted Class-A hitters impressing.

Brian and Kyle open with challenges with relief and defenseat several levels of the Cardinals minor league system. Players discussed include Chase Davis, Liam Doyle, Quinn Mathews, Ty Van Dyke, Jose Suarez and Tanner Franklin. Stuff+ was touched on, we previewed our upcoming new no. 1 prospect and debated what an accelerated rebuild might entail.

Brian and Kyle cover a lot of pitching ground, including Hunter Dobbins and the St. Louis rotation, Winquest, Hansen, Doyle, Franklin, Sparks, Van Dyke, Galle, Hence, Molina and more. Position players discussed include Crooks, Davis and Joshua Baez.

Brian and Kyle cover early season news across all levels of the St. Louis Cardinals system. Players highlighted include Crooks, Jordan, Hansen, Rincon, Cijntje, Franklin, Doyle, Lin, Ortiz, Galle, Brayden Smith and more.

Brian and Kyle open with an overview of Kyle’s new Monday column at cardinals.com. They cover standouts and opinions of players in the early action by Triple-A Memphis and St. Louis, pitching transactions, and potential roster standouts at Double-A Springfield, High-A Peoria and Low-A Palm Beach.

Brian and Kyle discuss St. Louis Cardinals Spring Breakoutand Springfield exhibition games, roster decisions (26-man and 40-man), Memphis starting and relief pitching, spring standouts from Minor League Camp and more.

Brian and Kyle discuss St. Louis Cardinals’ roster battles,Masyn Winn’s contract, Minor League rule changes, TCN’s series on Cardinals top prospect rankings and backfield observations from Jupiter.

Brian and Kyle discuss the early roster for the upcoming Spring Breakout Game and especially Yairo Padilla. Three sets of cuts from St. Louis’ camp are noted, including Jimmy Crooks, Tink Hence and Joshua Baez. They look at remaining candidates for the second lefty reliever and for the Memphisrotation.

Brian and Kyle discuss St. Louis Cardinals manager OliverMarmol’s contract extension, the first round of spring roster cuts, MLB Camp news and then go into detail on the Minor League Sim Game held on Tuesday. Some mammoth home runs were hit. They close with putting context around the team’s six draft picks in the top 86.

Brian and Kyle open with the All-Star Game, Futures Game and the odd draft schedule this coming weekend. Players covered include Gastelum, Mautz, Rodriguez, Doyle, Hjerpe, Molina, Rincon, Nuñez and Mathews plus hitters Peña and Cho. They close with their final preview of the Cardinals 2026 draft plans.

Brian and Kyle open with hot Palm Beach hitters Brayden Smith and Ryan Weingartner. New Memphis pitcher Mason Molina is next along with speculation about other deadline deals potentially coming. Leadership changes with the Cardinals and Angels, now and perhaps ahead, are explored. They close with analysis of significant changes to player acquisition and development proposed in the CBA negotiations.

Brian and Kyle open with a discussion of recent promotionsof Michael Dattalo, Won-Bin Cho and Jesus Baez then discuss Lars Nootbaar and Joshua Baez. A review of key changes to The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 Prospect List for June follows. Standouts moving up include Cooper Hjerpe, Braden Davis,Mason Molina, Jacob Odle, Xavier Cruz and many more.

Brian and Kyle are joined by Kareem Haq fromCardinalsProspects.com, They started with recent promotions including Dos Santos and Richardson and the return of Padilla. The Cardinals strategy for their early 2026 draft picks was a major focus, including high school vs college, hitters vs. pitchers, budget usage and development preplanning with scouting. Eligible names discussed include Burrell, Curiel, Gracia, Lebron and others.

Brian and Kyle cover recent roster moves by the St. LouisCardinals including Dobbins, Church and Scott and what we might expect at the trade deadline. Activations in the system include Hence, Hjerpe, Ortiz and Dutkanych. Exploding offense at Peoria, including Jesus Baez, Kross and McGee, wasdiscussed. TCN’s Pitcher of the Month Jacob Odle and several finalists were highlighted as were recent standouts Graham and Mathews.

Brian and Kyle discuss the recent roster moves by the St. Louis Cardinals and future possibilities including Blaze Jordan and Joshua Baez. TCN’s Player of the Month winner Won-Bin Cho and finalists were covered as were recent standouts Luis Gastelum. Braden Davis and Ryan Mitchell. Minor league transactions and injury updates on Ixan Henderson and Brandon Clarke were provided.

Brian and Kyle discuss his trip to Cincinnati and missingBrycen Mautz’ debut. Bryan Torres’ rise to MLB is celebrated. Injury updates for Tink Hence, Cooper Hjerpe and Tekoah Roby, promotions of Jacob Odle and Brian Holiday, and league Pitchers of the Week Braden Davis and Pete Hansen are among topics covered.

Brian and Kyle probe the real origin of “Tarps Off” and moveinto the Cardinals catching situation, current and future. The new top 30 from Baseball America is noted, including focus on Xavier Cruz. Also discussed are Florida Complex League players to watch, promotions of Van Dyke and Graham, thePeoria rotation, 2026 draft focus and outfielders Cho, Davis and Baez.  

Brian and Kyle never get to The Cardinal Nation’s new Top 50 Prospect List as they cover recent news, starting with the promotions of Rainiel Rodriguez and Jack Gurevitch, the organization’s Pitcher and Players of the Month, three releases, Liam Doyle, Joshua Baez, Tanner Franklin and more.

Brian and Kyle discuss many players including Ryan Mitchell,Tink Hence, numerous April Pitcher and Player of the Month contenders including winners Ty Van Dyke and Tai Peete, Blaze Jordan and St. Louis roster dynamics, Tanner Franklin and more.

In this special double-length edition, Brian and Kyle are joinedby Kareem Haq of Cardinals Prospects and Birds on the Farm podcast. The sole subject is a very important one - how the St. Louis Cardinals fared in the 2026 MLB Draft.  They begin with an overall view of the team’s strategies, player selection and financials as well as how outsiders viewed the draft. Then, every one of the 23 draft picks is discussed in detail from scouting and metrics perspectives.

Brian and Kyle cover players in the news of the week across the St. Louis Cardinals system including the Futures Game, Home Run Derby, All-Star Game. JJ’s contract, Pitchers/Players of the Week/Month, Gastelum’s debut,pitching injury rehabs and player transactions.

Before getting into how and where they ranked the St. Louis Cardinals 2026 draft picks in the TCN Top 50, Brian and Kyle cover players in the news including Clarke, Nuñez, Sparks, Driessen, Mautz, Cijntje, Mathews, Dobbins, Hence and more.

In a special episode recorded just after the August 3 trade deadline, Brian and Kyle break down the deals that brought four prospects into the St. Louis Cardinals organization – outfielders Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale from Milwaukee plus pitchers Daniel Eagen and Sandro Santana from Arizona – where they fit into the organization and onto our Top 50 prospect list. Kyle closes with a rant about not addressing the catching position backlog.

In the final episode prior to the August 3 trade deadline, Brian and Kyle start with the idea and timing of trading Ivan Herrera and Lars Nootbaar, bullpen turnover and potential rotation changes. They focus on hitters in the system including Jack Gurevitch, Tai Peete, Colton Ledbetter, Chase Davis, Joshua Baez and more!

Brian and Kyle cover the news of the week across the St.Louis Cardinals system, starting with MLB injuries to Winn, Pallante and Dobbins, innings limits and the impact on Gorman and the no. 5 starter. Next is a brief AFL primer and how the labor situation may impact the international program.Injuries to Henderson and Padilla are noted as are Springfield standouts Clemente, Santana, Doyle, Baez and Rodriguez.

Brian and Kyle cover the news of the week across the St.Louis Cardinals system, starting with Joshua Baez and Kyle’s survey. Organization Player and Pitcher of the Month awards are reviewed as are new farm system rankings from BA, MLB and Fangraphs. September callups are touched upon beforethe two cover their August Cardinals Top 50 Prospect Rankings. Oh yes, and the navy caps get a callout!

Brian and Kyle cover the news of the week across the St.Louis Cardinals system, and with all the roster changes, there’s a lot of it. Pitchers discussed include Cooper Hjerpe, Mason Molina, Ixan Henderson, Tanner Franklin, Yhoiker Fajardo, Cade Crossland, Daniel Eagen and more. Hitters mentionedinclude Rainiel Rodriguez, both Baezes, Leonardo Bernal and the catching position, what to do at third base and more. They close with a possible view of the 40-man, Rule 5 and minor league rosters if there is a lockout this coming winter.

Brian and Kyle cover the news of the week across the St.Louis Cardinals system, including promotions and awards. Topics include Quinn Mathews to St. Louis and back, Tink Hence, Tanner Franklin, Tai Peete, Yordalin Peña, JesusBaez, Liam Doyle, Andrew Dutkanych and more.