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2026 St. Louis Cardinals Predictions with Odds to Win World Series and Futures Picks

by Ryan Cobbett - 3/23/2026

St. Louis Cardinals predictions Matthew Liberatore

This is going to be a complete rebuilding year for the St. Louis Cardinals. They have shipped out a lot of their veteran players, letting the next generation of players make their mark on the franchise. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their fans, and the front office, their MLB ready young players have failed to establish any consistency at the big-league level. While they have a strong pipeline of prospects and a lot of future capital, this season is going to be viewed as an extended tryout for the team in the coming years.

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Summary of Last Season

Last season was an ugly one for the Cardinals. They finished the year in fourth place in the NL Central with a 78-84 record. Their -65-run differential was the worst in the division and fourth worst in the NL. The Cardinals laid an egg on the road last season, winning just 34 of their 81 road games. St. Louis finished five games out of the final wild card spot, but they did finish four games better than their expected record of 74-88.

The lack of production from the lineup was a big part of their woes last season. They finished the regular season ranked 25th in OPS, 19th in runs, 20th in hits, 29th in homeruns, 20th in stolen bases, and 25th in walks. Brendan Donovan led the team with a 2.7 WAR. He finished with 10 homeruns, 132 hits, and 50 RBIs. Willson Contreras led the team with 20 homeruns, a .801 OPS, and 80 RBIs. Victor Scott II led the team with 34 stolen bases, and he was joined by Jordan Walker (10) as the only Cardinals players to reach double-digit steals. Ivan Herrera finished second on the team with 19 homeruns, despite playing in just 107 games.

As for the pitching staff, they weren’t any better. They finished 21st in team ERA, 15th in quality starts, 24th in WHIP, and 24th in homeruns allowed. Reliever Matt Svanson led the team in WAR with a 1.8 mark. He posted a 4-0 record in 60.1 innings of work, adding 68 strikeouts, and finishing the year with a 1.94 ERA. Sonny Gray was the best starting pitcher for the Cardinals last season after posting a 14-8 record in 32 starts, recording 14 quality starts, 201 strikeouts, and a 4.28 ERA. Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas, Matthew Liberatore, and Erik Fedde all made at least 20 starts for St. Louis and the four starters combined for a 4.90 ERA.

Key Additions/Losses

Once the disappointing season ended, the Cardinals watched Mikolas walk, and they decided to non-tender relievers John King and Jorge Alcala. They did trade away their best pitcher in Gray after dealing him to Boston. They also traded Contreras to Boston, Donovan to Seattle, and Nolan Arenado to Arizona to extend the veteran sales.

The additions were largely prospects to reload their future capital and depth. However, there were some important additions that could lead to future trade chips in the summer. Those added pieces include reliever Scott Blewett, starter Dustin May, reliever Jared Shuster, pitcher Bruce Zimmerman, reliever Justin Bruihl, reliever Ryne Stanek, infielder Ramon Urias, and reliever George Soriano.

Prospect Outlook

Their prospect pipeline was reloaded with some of the acquired prospects in the offseason moves. However, they rank just inside the Top 10 with the ninth best farm system in the league. They have six prospects listed inside the MLB’s Top 100 Prospect Rankings. Infielder JJ Wetherholt is their top prospect and is ranked fifth in the league. He is followed by left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle (34th), catcher Rainiel Rodriguez (37th), outfielder Joshua Baez (87th), right-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (91st), and catcher Leo Bernal (98th). Baez and Cijntje will join Wetherholt as the three biggest prospects who are expected to have a role with the Cardinals this season.

X-Factors

The Future- There is no hope of anything positive related to the 2026 campaign. However, they can use the year to get creative with their prospects, use the year as an extended tryout for their players, and get their new guys acclimated to the way of the big leagues. They have a few other veteran that they can deal for future capital as they look to rebuild their core. Unfortunately, until they get a few guys to emerge as consistent contributors, there is nothing to like here.

2026 St. Louis Cardinals Notable Odds:

Win Total: 69.5

World Series Champions- +40000

Pennant Winners- +15000

Division Winners- +3000

NL Cy Young- Matthew Liberatore +20000

NL Rookie of the Year- JJ Wetherholt +550

2026 St. Louis Cardinals Predictions

The Cardinals are in for a bad season. There is no excitement surrounding the team this season after the fire sale of veteran players and the lack of additions in the offseason. They have no shot at winning the division, and they are going to hit the under on the win total. The rest of the NL Central is much better than the Cardinals. Wetherholt at +500 could be a nice value pick to win the NL Rookie of the Year, but that is the extent of it. Hang tight Cardinals fans, it is going to be an ugly year.

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