Cards call up Reyes; Weaver to debut Sat.

ST. LOUIS — After weeks of being patient with the development of Alex Reyes and Luke Weaver, the Cardinals are finally ready to debut their top two prospects.

Reyes arrived first, donning a big league uniform on Tuesday after the Cardinals purchased his contract from Triple-A Memphis. But it will be Weaver who draws the first start, as the Cardinals tapped him to replace Michael Wacha — who was placed on the disabled list — in the rotation. His debut will come at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

In the meantime, Reyes, ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the ninth-best prospect in baseball, becomes a fresh weapon in the Cardinals’ bullpen.

• What to expect from Cards’ Reyes, Weaver in bigs

“It went from zero to 100 when I got the call last night from my [Triple-A] manager,” said Reyes, who learned the news while out for dinner. “It was a crazy experience, a dream come true, and I’m happy to be here. I don’t know what it’ll feel like once I step out there.”

Reyes, 21, has been pitching for Memphis since serving a suspension for a positive test for a drug of abuse at the start of the season. He has a 4.96 ERA in 14 starts and most recently pitched on Saturday, when he went six innings and allowed one run on six hits. He’s struck out 93, but also walked 32, over 65 1/3 innings.

That walk rate — and efficiency issues — have been cited as reasons why Reyes was not in position …

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