Cardinals 2025 Rule 5 Draft Targets

On December 10th in Orlando, Florida. Major League Baseball and all 30 clubs with an open 40-man roster spot will have the opportunity to steal eligible young talent from another organisation in hopes of finding a marginal advantage on the roster. Most recently, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted Ryan Fernandez in the 2023 Rule 5 draft, and after being eased into a bullpen role, the more Manager Oliver Marmol gained trust in him, the more high-leverage opportunities he was given. So much so that entering the 2025 season, most Cardinals fans assumed he was an ascending back-of-the-bullpen option and could be a potential future closer. 2025 obviously did not go Fernandez’s way, and he was unable to capture some of the magic that he found in his first season with St. Louis. In 2026, Fernandez will look to reclaim his spot on the depth chart and in the big league bullpen in hopes of a long and fruitful career.

This year, the Cardinals will likely be looking for a similar opportunity to draft a young reliever to add to their growing stash of young arms. Fellow content creator, Tyler (@RedbirdFarmhands), and I combed through the minor leagues, and I have developed a list of 10 names who could be interesting fits for the Cardinals in 2026. Shout out to fellow content creator Kareem Haq for sharing with me https://prospectsavant.com, where you can get a visual of AAA and A ball players, where statcast metrics are measured and available. I will rank and tier these players based on their “PS score” – “PS (Prospect Savant) Score is a percentile stat that tries to evaluate prospect value. It weighs results, batted ball stats, and discipline (for hitters) multiplied by their age percentile (younger is better).”

Tier 3: “Worth a Gamble”

10. RHP Matt Pushard (Miami Marlins)

28 Years old, 6’4 250 lbs R/R

At 28 years old, Pushard is the oldest player on this list, but his performance in 2025 shows that he could be ready for the next level. Posting a 2.98 FIP and a near 34% whiff rate highlighted by a mid-90s fastball and 2 distinct breaking pitches that should neutralize hitters from both sides of the plate.

9. RHP Harrison Cohen (New York Yankees)

26 years old, 6’0 211 lbs R/R

Cohen, a career reliever in MILB, is a soft contact merchant, as evidenced by his 84.4 MPH average exit velocity, and does a decent job at generating swing and miss, producing a 36.5 Whiff%. Cohen won’t wow you with big pure stuff, but can get the job done.

Tier 2: “Upside with a real chance”

8. LHP Sammy Natera Jr. (Los Angeles Angels)

26 years old, 6’4 230 lbs L/L

Take the above results with a grain of salt, as Natera Jr. only appeared in 9.1 IP at AAA Salt Lake in 2025. In 47.1 IP in AA, Sammy Natera Jr. accrued a 2.64 ERA, struck out 68 batters, posted a .183 BAA, and was 8/12 in Save opportunities. I think the Angels are taking a gamble leaving Natera Jr exposed, and I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see someone at least give him Spring training to make a roster.

7. RHP Zach McCambley (Miami Marlins)

26 years old, 6’2, 225 lbs L/R

McCambley can spin it! 3 pitches that register above 2700 RPM between his Cutter, Slider, and Curveball, and a 4SFB that can sit mid 90’s combined with a whiff% of 35.7 McCambley looks like a weapon waiting to happen!

6. LHP Garrett McDaniels (Los Angeles Dodgers)

25 years old, 6’2 180 lbs L/L

If this name looks familiar, it’s because the Cardinals faced him with the Angels early last season, so McDaniels does have the rare leg up in this scenario, already having been in the show once before. Call McDaniels “league minimum John King.” With King already non-tendered and JoJo Romero reportedly on the block, the Cardinals could be looking for cheap left-handed relief help, and with McDaniels, they would have the role and opportunity to offer him the chance to truly stick at the big league level. McDaniels’ stuff might be a tick better than what John King’s was, but that’s essentially the profile you’re getting with the Dodgers southpaw. Lots of groundballs, lots of balls in play. With an infield likely to feature Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt next season, you can understand why a league minimum groundball reliever wouldn’t be a bad investment.

5. RHP Francis Pena (San Diego Padres)

24 years old, 6’1, 170 lbs R/R

Pena is a little bit younger and a little more raw than others on this list who came before him, but the upside to be a future leverage reliever is there, and if a team wanted to stash him at the back of the bullpen and use him in low leverage spots while learning how to be a big leaguer it would be an investment for future seasons more than just results in 2026. He may get passed over, but a team like the Rockies could take a chance on stealing him from an in-division rival.

Tier 1: “Slam dunk selections”

4. RHP Jared Southard (Los Angeles Angels)

25 years old, 6’2 220 lbs R/R

Southard throws 84% fastballs, but the trick is trying to figure out which one, and the ability to keep opposing hitters off balance and generate weak contact or suboptimal contact can work well in 1-2 inning bursts, all while having a put-away breaking ball that generated almost a 39% whiff rate. Southard might not set the world on fire at the next level, but could be a solid contributor to a bullpen in 2026.

3. RHP Griff McGarry (Philadelphia Phillies)

26 years old, 6,2 190 lbs R/R

Forgive me, PS seems to have a slight bug with McGarry’s profile, but I still think sifting through the inconvenience is worth it to get a feel for McGarry’s usage and spin data. Once again, take these numbers with a grain of salt, as this was all that was produced at the AAA level in 2025. The Philly right-hander struck out 103 batters in 72 IP for Double A Reading this season, and walks were a little high, but out to the bullpen, you can live with that, posting a 3.24 ERA over that span as well. McGarry has the arm talent to potentially close games at the big league level. Mid-90s fastball with good carry and life at the top of the zone, two distinct breaking balls with high spin that should give him enough juice to really give hitters fits.

2. RHP RJ Petit (Detroit Tigers)

26 years old, 6’8 300 lbs R/R

Petit is a MONSTER on the mound at 6’8 300 lbs, and appears to get really good extension on his delivery, which makes it feel like he’s right on top of hitters at release, which can be very uncomfortable. The upper minors production is there, posting a 3.19 FIP in AAA and striking out 35% of batters and keeping the walks at 10% are all elements that have historically gotten players selected in the R5 draft, and I expect Petit to be no exception.

1. RHP Peyton Pallette (Chicago White Sox)

24 years old, 6’1 190 lbs R/R

I’ll be honest, I don’t fully understand why Chris Getz left Pallete unprotected. This is my absolute favorite target in this year’s R5 draft. Mid-90s fastball, absolute hammer curveball, and a couple of other complementary offerings with his slider and changeup. Pallete has an awesome mound presence when he’s in the game and pitches with a little bit of FU in his attack. This kid could impact a big league bullpen in 2026.

The Cardinals will have a top 10 selection in this draft based on the reverse order of the standings from a season ago, and theoretically, multiple of these 10 options will be available to them at their selection. Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals are looking to win on the margins, and the Rule 5 draft is a great opportunity for them to seize on young, inexpensive, talent that carries very little risk and all the opportunity for reward. This will be an event worth monitoring at the conclusion of the Winter Meetings in Orlando next Thursday.

-Thanks for reading