Cardinals Farm Report: Koperniak Continues Hot Streak After Break

Cardinals Farm Report: Koperniak Continues Hot Streak After Break originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

While many of the St. Louis Cardinals' top prospects have had a slow start since play resumed after the mid-July MLB All-Star Break, some of the team's lesser-known farm hands have been picking up the slack.

Here are some of last week's top Cardinals minor leaguers and a couple of players to watch for in the near future:

Matt Koperniak, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A)

Koperniak, the team's No. 19 prospect, has had a July to remember and his uptick in production continued last week. The 27-year-old outfielder went 7-for-17 with two doubles and three home runs, driving in five and scoring four times. Across five games played, he slashed .412/.474/1.059/1.533.

The London native has been on fire this month, leading the team in total bases (36), extra-base hits (9) and RBI (14).

Brayden Jobert, Palm Beach Cardinals (Low-A)

Jobert, 24, led Palm Beach last week with a 1.383 OPS in 14 at bats. The outfielding 12th-round pick collected five hits, including a double and two home runs, four walks, four RBI and six runs scored across five games played, slashing .357/.526/.857.

Hopefully for Jobert, the recent surge will turn things around as he currently ranks last in average (.215) among qualified candidates on Palm Beach.

Curtis Taylor, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A)

Taylor has quietly been putting up solid numbers for the Redbirds this season after returning to affiliated ball following a year of Independent Ball in the Mexican League.

Over his last two starts, the 30-year-old right-handed pitcher has allowed just five hits and two walks to hold opposing hitters scoreless in 11 2/3 innings of work. Taylor fanned 12 and held hitters to a .132 average while carrying a 0.69 WHIP. The 2016 4th-rounder has racked up four quality starts on the year - a stat he hasn't achieved since 2017.

Players to watch for:

Although they have both their offensive production sputter coming out of the All-Star Break, No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt and No. 16 prospect Nathan Church are actively putting the Cardinals' front office in an awkward position as the MLB Trade Deadline quickly approaches.

Since Church and Wetherholt were promoted on June 3 and July 7, respectively, the two have absolutely picked apart Triple-A pitching.

Wetherholt has slashed .333/.391/.762 through 42 Triple-A at bats, while Church has slashed .333/.404/.551 through 147 at bats. The problem for the Cardinals is that these two have shown that they can compete at Triple-A and are ready for the next level, there are just no open spots in their positions in St. Louis.

With the Cardinals predicted to be sellers at this week's deadline, either - or both - these two could see MLB promotions in the very near future.

Related: Cardinals Make Michael McGreevy Announcement Ahead of Rockies Series

Related: Cardinals' Ryan Helsley Expects to be Traded at Upcoming Deadline

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.