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Going off of the pre-season BA top 30, I wanted to take a look and see how they are doing. I'll put a +/0/- to indicate whether I think they have moved up or down. I'm not as in tune with some on here with the prospects, so I hope people will jump in.

1. Oscar Taveras: Graduated.
2. Carlos Martinez: Graduated.
3. Kolten Wong: Graduated.
4. Stephen Piscotty, OF: 305/363/438 @ Memphis. Ranked 48 in BA's midseason report. Trend: +
5. Marco Gonzales, LHP: 2.33 ERA/38.2 @ Springfield. 12.00 ERA/3.0 IP @ Memphis. You saw St. Louis. Trend: 0. Obviously the team liked what it saw in Springfield.
6. Tim Cooney, LHP: 3.74 ERA/110.2 IP @ Memphis. I think he might be next if we need a SP. Trend: 0
7. Alex Reyes, RHP: 4.20 ERA/70.2 IP @ Peoria. I saw him pitch and was impressed with his raw tools. He's been inconsistent. Trend: 0
8. James Ramsey, OF: 303/384/537 @ Springfield. Trend: +
9. Rob Kaminsky, LHP: 1.44 ERA/ 62.1 IP. I hope to see him pitch before years end, I've heard great things on here about him. Trend +
10. Randal Grichuk, OF: 270/316/505. Didn't take advantage of his cup of coffee, now part of the Memphis dream team OF. Trend 0
11. Carson Kelly, 3B/C: 249/318/385. Looks like he is starting to find a groove, was completely lost in May. Trend -.
12. Charlie Tilson, OF: 311/359/406 @ Palm Beach. Trend: +
13. Patrick Wisdom, 3B: 229/273/405. Trend: -
14. Greg Garcia, SS: 254/345/380. I think this is who he is. Trend: 0.
15. Zack Petrick, RHP: 0.48/18.2 IP @ Springfield. 4.97/79.2 IP @ Memphis. Trend: 0
16. Mike O'Neill, OF: 261/347/346 @ Springfield. 308/400/423 @ Memphis in 9 games. Trend: 0. On track to be a 5th OF'er some day.
17. Tyrell Jenkins, RHP: 2.00 ERA/27 IP @ West Palm Beach. Great numbers, don't know if it's enough to move his stock. Trend: 0
18. Kenny Peoples-Walls, SS/OF: 241/260/310. All potential right now, have to be disappointed with the development. Trend: -
19. Oscar Mercado, SS: 233/298/278 @ Johnson City. Not enough time yet. Trend: 0.
20. Juan Herrera, SS; 306/350/394 @ Peoria. I saw him play once, he's got nice hands and looks like he has some offensive tools. Trend: +
21. Keith Butler, RHP: Good number at Memphis, 2 terrible outings in St. Louis, and now he's hurt. Not sure what is going on with him. Trend: -
22. Lee Stoppelman, LHP: 6.75 IP/13.1 IP @ Memphis. 4.57 ERA/22.2 @ Springfield. Trend: -
23. Tommy Pham, OF: 324/388/519. If anyone deserves a cup of coffee, it's Tommy Pham.. Hope he gets it. Trend: +.
24. C.J.McElroy, OF: 275/342/311. Dude can flat out fly. He's picked up switch hitting again which he has to do. Billy Hamilton II? Trend: +
25. Edmundo Sosa, SS; 286/342/429 @ Cardinals Gulf Coast Rookie league. Trend: 0
26. Boone Whiting, RHP: 3.92 ERA/62 IP @ Memphis. Trend: 0
27. John Gast, LHP: 6.61/32 IP @ Memphis. Trend -
28. Steave Bean, C: 249/365/335 @ Peoria. Very solid defensive catcher with a knack for getting on base. Trend: +
29. Jacob Wilson, 2B: 298/358/397 @ Palm Beach and 305/366/519. Maybe the biggest jump of any prospect on the list next year. Trend: +
30. Xavier Scruggs, 1B; 248/336/407 @ Memphis. Trend: 0.

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So there you go, my take on the Cardinals top 30 from what I've seen/read.

I tend to believe Carson Kelly and Edmundo Sosa should have a + as well, due to their age and the level of comp. they're playing at while holding their own at demanding defensive positions.

I enjoyed reading your thoughts.

I put a - for Kelly partly because I saw him play once and was very underwhelmed.

Nice write-up, jim.

Overall, the system looks like it needs a little shot in the arm, but it's been worse.

Piscotty seems a little overrated to me. Grichuk is younger and better, in my uneducated opinion.

We have graduated a boat load of players in the past few years, it's really impressive that it is as good as it is.

Piscotty will be our #1 ranked prospect when BA comes out next year is my prediction.

Thanks for the write-up, Jim. It will be interesting to see the new names that end up on that list next year other than the obvious '14 draft picks. Aledmyz Diaz, Breyvic Valera, Ian McKinney, Nick Petree, and Rowan Wick are some of the first to come to mind.

Alex Reyes had a nice game last night, he was voted Baseball America pitcher of the night:

Alex Reyes, rhp, Peoria (Cardinals). Reyes, the Cardinals’ No. 5 prospect in our Midseason Prospect Update, has a dynamic fastball-curve combo but has trouble keeping them in line at times. On Tuesday, Reyes tied a career high with 11 strikeouts and allowed only two hits in six innings against Burlington. Reyes returned to the mound after two weeks away as the Cardinals try to limit his innings, and he told milb.com that he was throwing a changeup and that it was working better than ever. Typically, Reyes is striking out almost 11 batters per nine, but also walking 5.68/9.

Do you think Petree would be in the top 30 now??

Petree will always be a guy who has to prove himself as he goes up, and I'm closer to him than any other player on our list, but his stuff took a step up his Senior year. He now can hit 87-90 regularly and touch 91 or 92. He doesn't have a true 'plus' pitch but has a great mound feel, is as competitive and as anyone you'll meet and isn't rattled on the mound when runners reach against him.

I would say he'll probably be top-30, but just miss the 21.

I'm changing my trend on Kelly to neutral or possibly +. He looked pretty good behind the plate, really solid actually.