The St. Louis Cardinals top 5 leads in 2018 was comprised of 4 gamers that had actually previously belonged of the group's top 5 checklist. Some may see this as an indication the organization had a hard time to bring in effect prospects by means of the draft and global signings. Others may see it as a sign the group's leading end leads where solid admins because of this really did not involve much rescind. I'm someplace between as it was a solid group of gamers, all of whom have actually played multiple periods in the Majors. Although, I do think it is crucial for teams to consistently generate gifted potential customers which is something the Cards battled to do in this period. 1. Alex Reyes - RHP - Existing group - Los Angeles DodgersCovered in 2015 short article. When healthy Reyes' skill was evident and also was highlighted in his 2021 All Celebrity period where he had 29 saves for St. Louis. Regrettably, though for him he simply has actually not been able to remain on the field sufficient to showcase his capabilities.2. Jack Flaherty - RHP - Existing team - St. Louis Cardinals Covered in 2015 article. He finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 as the former leading possibility posted a 3.34 age to accompany a 3.36 FIP. Then in 2019 he took off and appeared like the future ace of the turning as he had a 152 ERA+ which saw him end up 4th in the CY Young ballot. However, though he has actually because had a hard time to remain healthy and balanced as well as even when he does pitch his numbers have slid considerably.3. Carson Kelly - C - Existing team - Arizona DiamondbacksCornered in 2017 write-up. Considering that [he was traded to the Diamondbacks complying with the 2018 period], Kelly has been a fairly unexciting player hitting.231 with 43 crowning achievement throughout 1, 057 at bats. He has actually turned himself right into a long-term big-league player which is always going to be valuable. Nevertheless, he has absolutely not got to the assumptions that were put upon him early in his occupation.4. Tyler O'Neill - OF - Present team - St. Louis CardinalsThe only launching prospect on this list, O'Neill was originally prepared by the Seattle Mariners with the 85th pick in the 2013 draft. His very first 2 periods in the minors consisted of a strong.310 batting average in his debut year and also a fine sophomore period where he hit.251 across 3 levels. He damaged out in 2015 with a triple reduce line of.260/.316/.468 to accompany 21 increases, 32 residence runs and also 16 stolen bases at the A+ level. The only downside of his season was his 33.6 percent strikeout portion over his 407 at bats. He followed that up in 2016 by posting an arguably better season at Double-A. His three-way slash that year was.293/.374/.508 along with 26 increases, 24 crowning achievement and 21 taken bases. O'Neill's strikeout percentage likewise dropped down to a somewhat far better 30.4 percent. Due to his success over the previous 2 periods, MLBPipeline.com placed him as the 36th ideal possibility in 2017. He took an instead big go back in 2017 at the AAA level with a triple lower of.246/.321/.499, but he still hit 31 house runs as well as swiped 14 bags. In July of that season, the Mariners delivered him to the Cardinals in a straight swap for lefty Marco Gonzales. He had the best season of his occupation in 2019 with the Cards Triple-An associate as he had an OPS of 1.078 with 26 crowning achievement in just 238 at bats. That torrid production earned him a telephone call up to the program where he published an OPS+ of 115 over 130 at bats. Over the next 2 periods his production for the big-league club slid as he had a. 218 standard, hit 12 crowning achievement and created an OPS+ of 80 throughout 280 at bats. He was a solid factor in the area though as he strolled away with a Gold Glove honor in 2020. Then 2021 saw his breakout MLB period. The slugger finished in the top 7th percentile or much better in average exit speed, xSLG Diamondbacks Shorts, xwOBA, xwOBAcon and also hard-hit percent. His production saw him win his second Gold Handwear cover in addition to completing 8th in the MVP voting. In 2022, O'Neill was an above ordinary hitter in numerous analytics, yet the season was considered to be a frustration after his displaying in 2021. 5. Harrison Bader - OF - Current group - New York Yankees Covered in 2017 short article. Most of Bader's impact came from his handwear cover. The former third round pick turned into one of the very best fielders in the MLB in his time with the Red Birds totaling 56 outs above average. Bader was traded at the 2022 trade target date to the Yankees for starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery.