The St. Louis Cardinals should be watching the World Series closely this fall, despite the fact that they are not in it, of course.

St. Louis is building towards the future and the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays are two examples of what this team can be in the not-so-distant future. You don't necessarily need a $400 million payroll to stack up wins and advance, although that obviously doesn't hurt either. If you play the game the right way and build around players that reflect that idea, you can go on a run. Last year, the Rays actually won just 77 games, the same total as St. Louis in 2026. Now, they have a chance at a title.

For the Cardinals, the biggest takeaway this fall should be pitching, pitching and more pitching.

Pitching is the bread and butter of both the Brewers and the Rays. Tampa Bay finished the regular season with the third-best rotation ERA in the league at 3.51. Milwaukee finished with the fifth-best rotation ERA in the league at 3.61. Milwaukee's rotation is led by the likely 2026 NL Cy Young Award winner in Jacob Misiorowski. Milwaukee is built for the future as well with guys like Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser in the playoff rotation. Tampa Bay's rotation has been led by Drew Rasmussen. Beyond him, the Rays have Freddy Peralta, Griffin Jax, Shane McClanahan and Nick Martinez, among others.

The Cardinals Need To Learn From Milwaukee And Tampa Bay

Heading into the playoffs, it was talked about a lot that teams need power to make deep runs. It obviously doesn't hurt to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but you need to pitch well. The Cardinals took a step in 2026, but they need more if they want to be a real threat. In 2026, the Cardinals had the 12th-best staff ERA at 4.17. On the bright side, the Cardinals have young pieces who could very well help this team out in the long run. Kyle Leahy, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy and Quinn Mathews all flashed positive signs in 2026. But, still, the Cardinals need more.

St. Louis can't base its rotation around a few guys who would be the No. 3 or No. 4 starter on a playoff team. The Cardinals need an ace to pair with these guys. Down in the minors, that could end up being someone like Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin or Jurrangelo Cijntje. But they haven't made the jump to the big leagues yet. There's no way to know just yet.

St. Louis is not going to be a legit contender again until it has an ace again. Maybe that's someone in the minors right now. Maybe that's an external piece. Either way, the Cardinals need to take a page out of the Brewers' and Rays' playbooks. The second the Cardinals have their version of Misiorowski and Rasmussen, things will change.