Wednesday With Walton and Reis of The Cardinal Nation

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.

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!

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 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.

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.