ST. LOUIS • Less than 30 months ago, a ranking of the top prospects in the Cardinals’ system without any major-league experience featured four players who would be in the majors within the next two seasons, and two of whom would have been starters for the 2016 team.
Those kind of on-deck prospects were a hallmark of the Cardinals’ development program over the past decade. Within reach of the major-league team were talents like Colby Rasmus (2009), Allen Craig (2010), Lance Lynn (2011), Joe Kelly (2012), Michael Wacha (2013), Oscar Taveras (2014), and Stephen Piscotty (2015).