Yadier Molina isn't coming to Springfield but there are still reasons to see the Cardinals soon

Springfield came up short in the Yadier Molina lottery when the St. Louis organization announced Yadier Molina would begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday and Friday before joining the big-league club.

Molina will miss out on eating Andy's Frozen Custard and we're sure Adam Wainwright would have recommended City Butcher to him over any of the barbeque places in Memphis.

Even though what would have been the biggest attraction of the season isn't coming, there are still plenty of reasons to make your way out to Hammons Field in the weeks ahead to see the Springfield Cardinals play.

Here are a few of them:

Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn are tearing it up... and could be traded for Juan Soto?

The main attractions for Springfield Cardinal games this season have been two of the best young prospects in all of baseball.

But if rumors surrounding the upcoming trade deadline come to fruition, one or both of the players could be on the move.

Jordan Walker, baseball's No. 7 overall prospect, along with Masyn Winn, the 89th overall prospect, have both been attached to rumors surrounding Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.

The Cardinals have been tabbed as the favorite to land Soto if he's traded due to the talent they have in the minors compared to other teams across the Majors. Soto is a 23-year-old budding superstar who reportedly turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension.

It's up in the air whether the two will be shipped away before the 5 p.m. deadline on Aug. 2 but the rumors are going to continue to swirl.

Walker has been the standout for the Cardinals while batting .301 this season with eight home runs and 36 RBI. Winn has been great in Springfield as the team's shortstop since arriving in late May and is batting .262 with six homers and 27 RBI.

These players have been exciting fans all season. You might want to go see them just in case they're traded away.

Cardinals lead the Texas League North standings

Winning and losing aren't the biggest things when it comes to Minor League Baseball, but it's an added bonus to a night at the ballpark when everything is coming together and the hometown team is playing well.

Springfield entered this week's series atop the Texas League North Division standings and one game ahead of Wichita. This turnaround comes after the Cardinals finished in last place in the division during the first half of the season.

The biggest difference between the first half and the second half has been the run production from the Cardinals as they've gone from 5.6 runs per game to an average of 7.4. Pitching is around the same while allowing 5.8 runs per game in each of the halves this season.

Runs have come in bunches for the Cardinals in recent weeks. In their three-game sweep of Northwest Arkansas following the All-Star break, they scored seven once and 11 twice while allowing four runs in each game. In the week before against Tulsa, the Cardinals scored 13 or more runs three times in a six-game series.

We're running out of home series

Before you know it, baseball season will be over. There are only a handful of games at Hammons Field remaining this season.

Including the ongoing series against Frisco, there are only four series remaining this season. That's only a few opportunities to see Walker hit a bomb while eating a ballpark hot dog.

Plenty of fun promotions are ahead for the Cardinals including Molina tumblers, Thirsty Thursday and Woof Wednesdays. Check milb.com/springfield for more.

Remaining home schedule

• July 26-31 — Frisco

• Sept. 16-21 — Arkansas

• Sept. 30 - Aug. 4 — Wichita

• Sept. 6-11 — San Antonio

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Yadier Molina: Cardinals catcher to rehab in Memphis