Redbird Minor League Weekly: Peete Heats Up at Springfield, Molina's September Run Keeps Rolling
By Caleb Hughes ·
Redbird Minor League Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Cardinals farm system.
Peete Finds Another Gear at Springfield
Tai Peete (AA, OF, Rank: 19) went 6-for-14 with a double, a home run, 4 RBI, and a walk this week at Springfield, a line that fits neatly into what has been a genuinely strong Double-A debut. Over his last 30 days at the Double-A level, he is slashing with a .408 average across 54 plate appearances, posting 4 home runs, 2 doubles, and 13 RBI while striking out at a 20.4 percent clip, an improvement over the 23.0 K% he carries on the full Double-A season. The swing rate has climbed to 55 percent over that stretch, which is aggressive, but a 70.5 contact rate alongside it means the intent is connecting reliably. For the full 2026 season combined across A+ and Double-A, he has 13 home runs, 19 doubles, 7 triples, and 16 stolen bases in 312 plate appearances, a significant leap from a 2025 campaign at Everett where he hit .217 with a 30.6 K% across 529 plate appearances.
The jump in production is real, and the question is how much to trust it. Peete is a 60 speed tool in center with a 60 arm, and the athleticism has always been there. What is new in 2026 is the power translating into games: 13 home runs this year after 19 in a full High-A season signals that the 55 raw power grade is starting to show up in results rather than batting practice. The 40 hit tool remains the honest ceiling limiter. His contact rate is better than his 2025 numbers suggested it could be, but Double-A breaking balls will continue to probe the same vulnerabilities that plagued him in Everett. If the approach he has shown over the last month holds up, the second-division projection starts to look conservative. If the strikeouts creep back toward 30 percent as arms get more information, the fourth-outfielder outcome is still very much on the table. Either way, this week and this month are the best sustained evidence yet that the tools are beginning to organize into a real baseball player.
Molina Is Pitching Like a Different Person in September
Mason Molina (AAA, LHP, Rank: 49) threw five innings of one-run ball this week at Memphis, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 6 and generating 11 swinging misses. It was another entry in what has become the system's most compelling late-season pitching story. Over the last 30 days at Triple-A, Molina has a 0.30 ERA across 30 innings, allowing just 17 hits and 8 walks while striking out 39 batters. The K% over that span is 34.2 percent and the BB% has dropped to 7.0 percent, a significant tightening from the 11.2 BB% he carries at Triple-A for the full season. His season ERA at Memphis sits at 4.45, but that number has been aggressively revised downward by a September that has been almost entirely zeroes.
The profile has not changed: a 92-94 fastball from the left side, a 55 slider at 85 mph that is his best and most consistent pitch, and a changeup that provides some right-handed coverage without being a true weapon. The 45 command grade is what made the Triple-A adjustment rough early, and the elevated walk rates that showed up through the summer were a predictable consequence of a starter with tight margins facing hitters who will punish any fastball left over the plate. What September has shown is that the margin does not have to be enormous to work. When Molina gets the slider in favorable counts, he can miss bats against Triple-A hitters, and the fastball has played well enough from the left side when the location is even passable. The up-down projection attached to him feels right, and a full six-week stretch of sub-1.00 ERA ball at the highest minor league level is an audition tape that at minimum gets the phone ringing before spring.
Quick Hits
- Liam Doyle (AA, LHP, Rank: 3) · threw five scoreless innings this week, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks while fanning 6 and generating 14 swinging misses. It continues a strong September for the Cardinals' third-ranked prospect: over his last 30 days at Springfield, he carries a 1.93 ERA across 18.2 innings with a 29.9 K% and a 14.3 BB%. The walk rate is still elevated, 54 on the season at Double-A against a 12.5 BB%, and the 10 home runs allowed in 103 innings underline that when the 60 fastball misses middle, advanced hitters make him pay. Still, a left-handed starter running 95-98 with a 60 slider and this strikeout profile at 22 is a mid-rotation arm with a real ceiling, and September has been a good look.
- Daniel Eagen (AA, RHP, Rank: 12) · posted his cleanest outing of the week in terms of results: 6 innings, 4 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, and 7 strikeouts with 11 swinging misses at Springfield. Over his last 30 days he has a 38.8 K% at Double-A, and the command picture has tightened considerably after his midseason move from Amarillo: a 5.0 BB% at Springfield against a 9.1 BB% with his prior organization. The plus curveball is the reason hitters keep getting punched out, and the 55 fastball at 94-96 gives it a workable setup pitch. The home run exposure (6 in just 34.2 innings at Springfield) is the ongoing concern and maps directly to the elevated-location misses that come when the high-slot delivery loses timing. A #4 starter projection feels appropriate, with the floor determined entirely by whether he can manage the long ball.
- Sandro Santana (AAA, LHP, Rank: 57) · worked 4 innings out of the Memphis bullpen this week, allowing 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. The walk rate is the central tension in his profile: 21.6 BB% over the last 30 days at Triple-A is a real number, even as the 39.2 K% and a whiff rate of 46.7 percent this season make clear the stuff is legitimate. The 97-98 mph fastball paired with a 60 sweeping slider is a genuine two-pitch weapon for a left-handed reliever. Getting ahead consistently enough to let the slider do its best work remains the gap between a setup role and a more limited up-and-down outcome.
- Joshua Báez (MLB, RF, Rank: 2) · was placed on the 10-day MLB injured list on September 18 with a left oblique strain, ending what had been a productive season split between Memphis and St. Louis. At Triple-A he hit .256/.328/.573 with 34 home runs and 21 stolen bases across 461 plate appearances. His major league cup of coffee added 7 home runs in 108 plate appearances. Oblique injuries are notoriously unpredictable in timeline and feel, and the Cardinals will presumably be cautious with one of their top two system prospects heading into the offseason.
- Trevor Condon (A, OF, Rank: 5) · was activated from Palm Beach's 7-day injured list on September 21, returning from a stint that began September 4. No diagnosis was confirmed publicly. In 31 plate appearances at Palm Beach before the injury, he was slashing .321/.387/.536 with a home run and 2 stolen bases, a small but encouraging sample for a prospect with his tools. No game action has appeared in the window since his activation.
- César Prieto (MLB, 3B, Rank: 28) · was recalled to the major league roster on September 18 after hitting .310/.367/.498 with 12 home runs across 360 plate appearances at Memphis. His major league line of .059/.086/.059 through 35 plate appearances has not been what anyone hoped, but the Triple-A production is genuine and the September callup gives him a chance to close the gap before the roster shakes out over the winter.