2025 MLB Draft Review: St. Louis Cardinals

Full list of draftees

This was an atypical draft for the Cardinals, especially on the pitching side. While St. Louis usually favors pitchability types who can mix and match hitters into falling off balance, this year it was all about power, power, power. The first two pitchers they picked both reach triple digits with their explosive fastballs, while the next three are up into the upper 90's themselves. Interestingly, the trade off is quality breaking balls, which are a bit lacking compared to the sizable pitching investment early in this draft. While they didn't take a lot of hitters early on, those they did take show advanced bats that should take to pro pitching relatively smoothly. Overall, the Cardinals brought in a lot of new talent with more draft capital than they typically have, picking in the top five for the first time since they drafted J.D. Drew out of Florida State in 1998 and also adding an extra CBB pick at #72.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-5: LHP Liam Doyle, Tennessee
Slot value: $8.13 million. Signing bonus: $7.25 million ($884,800 below slot value).
My rank: #8. MLB Pipeline: #8. Baseball America: #8.
St. Louis has a brand when it comes to college pitching, and that would be advanced, deceptive, command and control types like Brian Holiday, Quinn Mathews, Cooper Hjerpe, Brycen Mautz, Pete Hansen, Michael McGreevy, the list goes on and on. In 2025, they completely flipped the script and grabbed arguably the most electric arm in the country. A native of New Hampshire, he traveled all the way south to Coastal Carolina for his freshman season and immediately played a big role as a swingman. Transferring to Ole Miss for his sophomore season, his 6.35 ERA was not indicative of a pretty strong season under the hood, pushing him higher on draft boards. In 2025, Doyle chose to pack up and transfer once again, this time to Tennessee alongside fellow double transfer and Brewers first rounder Andrew Fischer. In Knoxville, Doyle's stuff leapt forward and he left evaluators with their jaws on the floor as he struck out eleven of the fifteen Hofstra Pride batters he faced in his first outing. Following fourteen, nine, and thirteen strikeouts against Samford, Oklahoma State, and St. Bonaventure, respectively, he brought a 0.44 ERA, a 0.54 WHIP, and a 47/5 strikeout to walk ratio over 20.1 innings through four starts, making for a ridiculous 69.1% strikeout rate (47 of 68 batters). The electric start to the season rocketed him straight into the top ten prospects of the draft, and while his results evened out a bit in SEC play, he still had loud many more loud outings and his 164 strikeouts finished second in all of NCAA Division I. Doyle's fastball is, bar none, the most electric in the country. A big bump in velocity has him sitting in the mid 90's and scraping triple digits at peak, but it plays well above its plus velocity with huge riding life that makes it look like a rocket ship out of his hand. You could argue that it's a true 80 grade fastball. His slider has improved as well and now looks like an above average bender, while his hard cutter splits the difference. Doyle has been working on his changeup and it has shown flashes, with some dropping above average grades on it on its best days. The 6'2" lefty is not the traditional tall, gangly horse you typically see at the top of the draft, with a stockier build and a high effort delivery that would typically look like it belongs more in the bullpen. Still, Doyle holds his velocity deep into starts with incredible arm strength and while his arm plunge and effort create some inconsistencies in his command, he ran a very reasonable 8.3% walk rate in 2025 (alongside an absurd 42.6% strikeout rate). The Cardinals like that Doyle's entire arsenal has taken a step forward, not just his fastball, and see him as a potential four pitch ace. Critics will point to his fastball being his only true plus pitch and the fact that he had times keeping better SEC hitters off balance as he trusted that fastball much more than his secondaries. St. Louis will want to continue to bring those secondary pitches along to make him a more complete pitcher. Doyle is a fierce competitor that often rubbed opponents the wrong way, earning a reputation around the SEC as a guy you love if he's on your team and hate if he's in the other dugout. The high energy, passionate style of play as well as the explosive fastball would fit very well in a bullpen role if he was forced into it, with the upside of a lights out closer.

2-55: OF Ryan Mitchell, Houston HS [TN]
Slot value: $1.72 million. Signing bonus: $2.25 million ($529,700 above slot value).
My rank: #56. MLB Pipeline: #55. Baseball America: #48.
With some of their savings on first rounder Liam Doyle, the Cardinals turned to a semi-local product in Ryan Mitchell, who signed for just over the value of the #44 pick rather than follow through on a Georgia Tech commitment. Mitchell grew up in the shadows of AutoZone Park, home of the Cardinals' AAA affiliate Memphis Redbirds, and attended Houston High School in the western suburb of Germantown. There he road a strong spring to significant interest as high as the back of the first round, then ultimately settled here in the second round albeit for an above slot bonus. Mitchell starts his left handed swing with a high handset and a bit of bat wrap, but whips his hands hard through the zone with an accurate, line-drive oriented stroke that has produced great results as a prep. His very strong approach and above average bat to ball ability give him a chance to be an on-base machine in St. Louis, and one who could get there a bit quicker than most prep bats given how advanced that bat is. Mitchell is hit over power, but there is some thump in his 6'2" frame and he stings the ball well. His average raw power plays down a touch in games because of his linear swing, making fringe-average power the more likely outcome, but he could threaten for 15 home runs per season at peak or perhaps 15-20 if he adds a little loft. He is an above average runner that was primarily a shortstop in high school, where his glove received mixed reviews with some seeing light feet and solid glovework and others seeing a relatively raw defensive product overall. The arm might be a bit stretched at shortstop anyways, so for me I saw him as more of a second base prospect. The Cardinals appear to be more bearish on the infield defense and drafted him as an outfielder, where his speed could help him slot nicely into center field. Overall, Mitchell is a very well-rounded profile with a standout hit tool to carry him up the ladder.

CBB-72: RHP Tanner Franklin, Tennessee
Slot value: $1.15 million. Signing bonus: $1.15 million.
My rank: #140. MLB Pipeline: #124. Baseball America: #122.
One fireballing Tennessee Volunteer was not enough, so St. Louis went back to Knoxville and found a second here in the competitive balance round. Tanner Franklin pitched two seasons at Kennesaw State where he showcased a fastball just as electric as his command was shaky, running an ugly 20.6% walk rate (40 walks) across 38.1 innings. Transferring to Tennessee for his junior year, he spent the season in the bullpen and focused on attacking the middle of the strike zone, slashing his walk rate all the way to an excellent 5.5%. The fastball sits in the mid to upper 90's and has topped 101, just chewing up bats with riding life and flat plane from a low slot. If Liam Doyle's fastball looks like a rocket ship, Franklin's looks like it accelerates towards the plate and zips past the hitter before he can blink. Like Doyle, his fastball steals the show while his secondaries take more of a back seat. He can cut his fastball around 90, or he can turn it over into a truer slider in the mid 80's, but both pitches are fringy and lack the bat missing bite to induce whiffs in the big leagues. Additionally, Franklin's dramatically lower walk rate in 2025 came because he attacked the zone much more aggressively, not because he suddenly learned how to paint the corners. While 100 down the middle will zip by bats in college, even in the SEC, he won't be as consistently successful in pro ball unless he can locate a little better, especially considering the lack of an offspeed weapon to keep hitters off the fastball. That said, the arm talent is electric and the fastball is approaching 80 grade when he locates it up in the zone. The 6'5" righty has pitched almost exclusively in relief during his three years in college, and while that's likely to be his role going forward as well, it's not out of the question that St. Louis could run him out as a starter for a little while to see what happens. He certainly looks durable enough to pull it off, though of course he'll need to find a more consistent breaking ball and develop a changeup. The most likely projection is that of a flame throwing reliever who gets just enough out of his secondary stuff to keep hitters off his elite fastball.

3-89: 1B Jack Gurevitch, San Diego
Slot value: $879,000. Signing bonus: $879,000.
My rank: #141. MLB Pipeline: #144. Baseball America: #90.
The Cardinals believe they found one of the best sticks on the West Coast in Jack Gurevitch, a name other teams may have passed over as a mid major first baseman. Gurevitch has played three years at San Diego, alma mater of Kris Bryant, where he evolved from somewhat of a light hitting freshman (.265/.387/.457, 6 HR) to a middle of the order sophomore (.324/.444/.507, 9 HR) to a first team all-WCC selection as a junior (.371/.479/.677, 17 HR) to land himself here in the third round. He has really filled out his 6' frame and now shows easy plus power in batting practice, power he has begun tapping much more in games as he has become adept at pulling the ball in the air. You could argue that it was the most usable game power in the state of California available in this year's draft. Meanwhile, the Southern California native shows a solid average hit tool, running reasonable strikeout rates while taking his walks and adjusting late in counts to find a way on base. There is a fair amount of swing and miss when he tries to turn on the ball, though he showed very well last summer in the elite Cape Cod League (.278/.375/.411) when he focused more on getting on base. The upside here is that of a 20-25 home run hitter with reasonable on-base percentages, though probably more likely in a platoon or bench role. Gurevitch is limited to first base defensively and will therefore have a ton of pressure on his bat, though swinging left handed does help. He could move relatively quickly if he manages to stay un-blocked at his only position.

4-120: LHP Cade Crossland, Oklahoma
Slot value: $629,500. Signing bonus: $729,500 ($100,000 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #207. Baseball America: #173.
Cade Crossland brings the Cardinals yet another power arm, though he has a bit more of a balanced profile than the two arms above him. He began his career at Ouachita Baptist in Southwest Arkansas, but struggled to a 7.30 ERA as he walked 16.6% of his opponents. Transferring to Weatherford JC closer to home, he took a huge step forward and dropped his ERA to 2.37, but still ran an ugly 14.2% walk rate. Oklahoma liked his big stuff and brought him up north to Norman, where his ERA jumped back up to 6.02 but his walk rate continued to creep down to a more respectable 10.6%. Crossland works with a fastball that can creep into the upper 90's, but usually sits more in the low 90's with run and ride. He gets nice depth on his sweeping slider, but it lacks bite and can break early at times, giving hitters a good look at it and failing to miss a ton of bats. The true weapon here is his changeup. It's a plus-plus cambio that looks like a fastball for 55 feet before falling off the table at the last second, diving hard down and to the arm side. He can throw it in any count, double up on it, whatever he needs to get outs. With the gains he has made in his command moving from well below average to simply fringy, Crossland has a chance to work his way up as a back-end starter if he can bring the breaking ball along. The 6'2" lefty has been durable in his three years in college and doesn't throw with a ton of effort, helping aid those starter projections. If the breaking ball remains fringy, he may be forced into a fastball/changeup relief role where the heater could more comfortably sit mid 90's and approach triple digits at peak.

5-150: RHP Ethan Young, East Carolina
Slot value: $470,100. Signing bonus: $630,000 ($159,900 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #355.
Following Cade Crossland's over-slot bonus in the fourth round, Ethan Young signed for roughly the slot value of Crossland's #120 pick here in the fifth round. Young has followed a very similar career path to Crossland as well. He began his career at Hillsborough JC in Florida where command kept him from having much of an impact, but transferred to Catawba Valley JC closer to home in North Carolina for his sophomore year where he became a shutdown closer. Transferring again to ECU for his junior year, he worked as a long reliever for the Pirates and was largely successful, highlighted by gems against William & Mary (4.1 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) and Wichita State (5.1 IP, 0 ER, 7 K). Young, like the arms before him in this Cardinals draft class, has a power fastball that sits mid 90's in short stints and has grabbed as high as 99 on the gun. The pitch comes in with hard run and sink, making it difficult to square up especially in this day and age where pitchers are favoring the flat riding fastball. He complements the fastball with a power sweeper in the mid to upper 80's, missing plenty of bats with its late life and making for a very difficult at bat. His curveball and changeup round out the arsenal but neither are true weapons at this point. Consistency has been the main bugaboo for the Charlotte-area product, as he can look downright dominant on his best days but has others where he struggles to find the strike zone. Combine that command with what is primarily a two-pitch arsenal and you have significant reliever risk. However, the Cardinals made a significant investment in Young with the belief that his athleticism, simple delivery, and two potential plus pitches could lay the groundwork for a long term rotation career if he just gets incremental steps forward in the other parts of his game. He's plenty filled out at 6'2", 220 pounds and certainly looks the part of a big league starter if he gets to that point. If not, a power fastball/slider combination is always good to have in relief and Young's combo is better than most.

7-210: RHP Payton Graham, Gonzaga
Slot value: $280,800. Signing bonus: $280,800.
My rank: #173. MLB Pipeline: #211. Baseball America: #254.
Not to be confused with Tigers prospect and former Oklahoma star Peyton Graham, Payton Graham has a chance to really outplay his draft position if he can get healthy, as he doesn't have much to go on in terms of track record. Over his first two years at Gonzaga, he went just 1-8 with an abysmal 10.14 ERA and perhaps an equally ugly 2.14 WHIP. However, he came out in fall practice in 2024 looking like a transformed pitcher, then had scouts buzzing by dominating UC Davis (5 IP, 0 ER, 7 K) in his spring debut in 2025. Unfortunately, that was all the scouts got to see as he hurt his elbow and went down with Tommy John surgery, wiping out his 2025 season and likely limiting him into next spring as well. At his best, Graham throws a low to mid 90's fastball that reached 98 in the fall, coming in with great riding life as well. His two-plane slider and truer curveball have taken steps forward and give him a pair of swing and miss breaking balls, both flashing plus at their best but neither proving consistent enough yet to earn that grade overall. He adds a changeup, but presently his feel for spin stands out much more than his feel for the changeup. Graham has some effort in his delivery with a long arm circle and other exaggerated actions, making for fringy command that probably won't be helped by the surgery recovery at least in the short run. However, St. Louis believes in the stuff and can see him picking up right where he left off when he gets back on the mound in 2026, bringing that four pitch mix and sturdy 6'2" frame toward a big league rotation future. He'll need to bring his changeup along and shore up the command, but based on what he showed when he was healthy, he probably had the most complete starting pitching profile in this Cardinals class outside first rounder Liam Doyle. Graham had been getting second round looks when healthy and the Cardinals hope to get him back to that level again.

11-330: SS Jalin Flores, Texas
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $175,000 ($25,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #235. Baseball America: #255.
Jalin Flores is well known to Central Texas area scouts. He was a highly touted prep prospect in the San Antonio suburbs, earning top three rounds interest before pricing himself out so he could attend Texas. He struggled as a freshman, but turned around a huge draft-eligible sophomore campaign in which he slashed .340/.408/.656 with 18 home runs in 60 games and pushed himself back into that third to fourth round conversation. However, concerns about his approach at the plate suppressed his market a bit, and again he priced himself out of the draft to head back to Austin. He started off hot in 2025 and was hitting .318 into late March, but slumped in the second half of the season and wound up at just .239/.317/.491 with 13 home runs in 58 games. Flores has a big league body 6'2", 210 pounds with long arms and legs built to do damage. He takes big hacks in the box to produce above average raw power, showing the ability to put the ball out to all fields when he's on time and projecting to continue to hit for power with wood bats. He has very solid bat to ball as well when he picks the pitch up out of the hand, but his bugaboo has been a combination of poor pitch recognition and a high proclivity to chase out of the strike zone. SEC pitchers have begun to adjust to that and have gotten Flores out in front of the ball more often than he'd like, and after many years on the prospect radar and his 22nd birthday passing shortly after the draft, there are real questions whether he'll ever get that approach to a place it needs to be. Fortunately, his power, bat to ball, and defense buy that approach time to catch up. While he's not much of a runner, he nonetheless plays a very solid shortstop with a plus arm to make throws in the hole and on the run. A springier defender, such as fellow Texan Masyn Winn up at the big league level, could force him over to third base, but either way Flores should stick on the left side of the infield and provide value there. The upside is that of a 15-20 homer bat that may lack in the on-base percentage department but plays good defense on the dirt to hold down a platoon spot.

14-420: RHP Anthony Watts, Iowa
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
St. Louis stayed relatively close to home in the fourteenth round, grabbing Anthony Watts out of Iowa. After graduating from Waukee Northwest High School in the western Des Moines suburbs, Watts began his career at Creighton where he took on a substantial role as a freshman. Transferring back into his homes state to play for the Hawkeyes, he spent two seasons as a reliever with strong results. Watts throws a low 90's fastball that plays up with riding action from a release that brings plenty of extension, putting some extra hop on the pitch. He has a sharp slider in the mid 80's, then has a fairly firm upper 80's changeup that he uses less often. The 6'4" righty has a durable, projectable frame that figures to keep him healthy and help him add a bit more velocity, which will play up due to his release characteristics. The command is fringy but workable, and between the fastball and slider he has two big league pitches to help him navigate lineups in the pro, hopefully working his way up as a middle reliever.

20-600: C Chase Heath, Central Missouri
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $5,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
At first glance, a $5K senior sign in the final round might look like a pick destined to wind up an org depth glove-first glorified bullpen catcher, but Chase Heath has a real shot to outplay that projection. Not only that, but he gets to do it for his hometown team. Heath grew up in O'Fallon, an outer suburb about thirty miles northwest of St. Louis, and attended nearby Veritas Christian High School. He spent four years at Central Missouri, where he was a backup catcher for the first two seasons before taking on a larger role in 2024 and 2025, combining to slash .373/.452/.705 with 25 home runs in 92 games over those final two seasons. He then impressed in the MLB Draft League before the 2025 draft, where he slashed .310/.423/.500 with a pair of home runs and nearly as many walks (6) as strikeouts (7) in fourteen games. Listed at 5'10", 200 pounds, Heath is built like and plays like a traditional catcher. He has received consistent praise for his glove, earning an array of defense-related honors during his time in Warrensburg as a seasoned receiver who will no doubt be a boon for young pitchers in the St. Louis organization looking to hone their craft. While defense and pitching development is the primary role for a player with this profile and draft position, Heath has a sneaky bat as well. He struck out just 27 times over his final two seasons in Warrensburg, good for a minuscule 7.1% strikeout rate, owing to an excellent approach that played up during his time in the MLB Draft League. Heath works counts and forces pitchers to come into his wheelhouse, where his strong pitch recognition and hand-eye coordination gives him a good chance to make the jump and hit pro pitching. While he hit 25 home runs over those past two seasons, he typically keeps things simple with a line drive approach and now in pro ball, that power will probably mostly play on ambush swings lifting the ball to the pull side. It's likely a glove-first backup catcher projection but he is already off to a strong start to his pro career.

2024 MLB Draft Review: St. Louis Cardinals

Full list of draftees

Lacking a second round pick after signing Sonny Gray, the Cardinals targeted exclusively college players (nineteenth rounder Brendan Lawson, a high schooler, was never expected to sign) and in their typical fashion went for advanced college players at that. The pitchers mostly exhibited strong starter traits with deep arsenals and a history of filling up the zone, while hitters showed both contact and power ability with sneaky strong underlying metrics and plate discipline. I also found it interesting that each of their first four picks were below six feet tall and ultimately half of all players they signed had heights beginning with a five, including a pair at 5'8" in fourth rounder Ryan Campos and tenth rounder Bryce Madron. Unlike many teams, St. Louis more or less took the slot values at face value, never going more than $171,000 above slot value or more than $164,500 below.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-7: 3B JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia {video}
Slot value: $6.82 million. Signing bonus: $6.9 million ($76,300 above slot value).
My rank: #3. MLB Pipeline: #4. Baseball America: #3.
Right off the bat, this looks like a steal for the Cardinals because there is no reason JJ Wetherholt should have been available at pick #7, and for just about slot value to boot. He burst into the national conversation with a massive sophomore season in which he hit .449/.517/.787 (!) in 55 games, then followed it up by hitting .321/.406/.571 against elite pitching in the Cape Cod League and struck out just once in 32 plate appearances. He entered the 2024 season firmly in the conversation for the first overall pick as a virtual consensus top-three prospect in the class. Unfortunately he made it just four games before his hamstring flared back up and knocked him out for two months, ultimately limiting him to 36 games on the season. Still, while he didn't match his 2023 numbers, he hit well enough upon his return (despite still being hobbled by the nagging hamstring) to play himself back up to #3 on my board. This dude is a straight up ballplayer. Listed at 5'10", 190 pounds with merely above average athleticism, he might not catch your eye at first, at least not until you watch him play. Wetherholt is an elite contact hitter that combines an outright refusal to chase with plus pure bat to ball skills, so he never strikes out – just 9% over the last two seasons, an elite rate. In order to make that kind of contact, most hitters have to sacrifice power and get slappy, but not Wetherholt. There's real juice in the bat as well, with above average raw power that he taps every bit of in games. The Pittsburgh-area native just drops his hands to the ball and wallops it to all fields, with elite feel for the barrel helping him square it up virtually every time. His pitch recognition is also a major factor in his hitting ability, as he does damage against both velocity and offspeed. Wetherholt is also an above average runner with excellent instincts on the basepaths, helping him play more like a plus runner when his hamstring is healthy. He's not quite explosive enough to play shortstop and most project him at second base, where his average arm fits better, though the Cardinals interestingly drafted him as a third baseman. The glovework is sound and will play anywhere on the infield. To top it off, Wetherholt is renowned for his work ethic, leaving evaluators more than confident he'll maximize his skills in pro ball. The whole package reminds me a lot of peak Daniel Murphy with more speed – that's to say 20-25 home runs per season with high on-base percentages and plenty of stolen bases. He took well to minor league pitching, slashing .295/.405/.400 with a pair of home runs and a 15/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 29 games at Low A Palm Beach.

3-80: RHP Brian Holiday, Oklahoma State {video}
Slot value: $964,500. Signing bonus: $800,000 ($164,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #223. Baseball America: #156.
This is a classic Cardinals pick. A Tampa native, Brian Holiday began his career at Florida Southwestern State JC, transferred to Central Florida JC as a sophomore, then wound up across the country at Oklahoma State for his junior season. He only got one season in Stillwater, but in it he was one of the best pitchers in the Big 12 and enters pro ball as one of the most advanced 21 year olds in the class. The stuff is pretty ordinary all around, beginning with a low 90's fastball that tops out around 95 with above average riding life from a lower release point. He leans heavily on an above average slider with a nice combination of depth and bite, while he shows a get me over curveball and an average changeup as well. Everything plays up, though, because of his pitchability. Holiday has above average command but beyond that, he fearlessly attacks the zone with all of his pitches and is comfortable throwing anything in any count. He consistently keeps hitters off balance and his feel for his slider is particularly impressive, executing it consistently in and out to rack up the strikeouts. Holiday is consistently working ahead in the count where he can be in control, making for a true starting pitcher profile. The 5'11" righty lacks projection but he has been plenty durable, finishing second in Division I with 113 innings pitched and pitching into the ninth inning in each of his last three starts. Holiday should move quickly and become a back-end starter for the Cardinals in the near future.

4-109: C Ryan Campos, Arizona State {video}
Slot value: $669,300. Signing bonus: $669,300.
My rank: #175. MLB Pipeline: #176. Baseball America: #181.
In Ryan Campos, the Cardinals might have just picked up the most consistent hitter in the Pac-12 over the last three seasons. He never hit below .357 in any season and never posted an on-base percentage below .430, finishing at a career .369/.464/.554 in 147 games. Campos is undersized at just a stocky 5'8", but he packs plenty of punch and grades out very well metrically. His most impressive attribute is his elite bat to ball ability, especially in the zone where he virtually never whiffs. He's a pretty patient hitter too, so it's extremely difficult to get the ball by him when he forces you into the zone and he never strikes out. Despite his diminutive stature, Campos shows average power from a compact left handed swing as he finds the barrel virtually every time. That mostly translates into doubles power for now, with his 25 tying him for seventh in college baseball, though I don't necessarily see him growing into more than 10-15 homer power in the majors. It was only six games, but he struggled in his brief time on the Cape by slashing .136/.240/.136 and striking out a third of the time. That dents the offensive numbers he put up in Tempe, which is a very hitter-friendly environment, but there's no reason to think the Phoenix-area native won't continue to hit in pro ball. While he's built like an old school catcher, he's a bit choppy behind the plate and will need to work hard to become a playable major league backstop. There's not a ton of arm either, but the Cardinals clearly believe in his ability to stay a catcher. The bat looks a lot better there, as he'll likely find himself as more of a tweener type if he's forced to move to left field. His Arizona State bat showed up in his first taste of minor league ball, slashing .319/.396/.407 with an even 13/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 26 games for Low A Palm Beach.

5-142: LHP Braden Davis, Oklahoma {video}
Slot value: $485,700. Signing bonus: $485,700.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #345.
Returning to the Sooner State for another arm, the Cardinals went to Norman instead this time for Braden Davis. He spent his first two seasons at Sam Houston State, where he served as a lockdown reliever with a 2.47 ERA and a 30.1% strikeout rate across 35 appearances. Transferring to Oklahoma in 2024, he jumped into the rotation and performed admirably, headlining his season with a complete game shutout of TCU to open the Big 12 Tournament. Davis sits in the low 90's with his fastball and tops out at 95, playing up with riding and running life from a fairly low slot. It's almost a mirror image of Brian Holiday's fastball from the left side, except his runs just a bit more. He gets good results from a solid slider and shows a get-me-over curveball, but his best pitch is a plus changeup with massive fading action. He throws the changeup liberally and will continue to lean heavily on it in pro ball. Davis' command is fringy and he ran an ugly 17.1% walk rate on the Cape over the summer (but otherwise shined with a 31.0% strikeout rate), but he kept it around the zone effectively in Norman where he kept the walk rate to a reasonable 10.2%. The DFW native has a shot to continue starting in pro ball due to his deep arsenal and durable, if a bit undersized, 5'11" frame, but he'll have to hold his command together in order to do so. In the bullpen, his fastball could tick up a bit and he could pitch off that big changeup, providing a unique lefty weapon who can get hitters out from both sides of the plate.

6-171: 1B Josh Kross, Cincinnati {video}
Slot value: $369,100. Signing bonus: $369,100.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
St. Louis went off the beaten path a little bit for Josh Kross. Like Brian Holiday, he has bounced around quite a bit. He started off at Toledo but didn't play, so he transferred to Eastern Michigan and put up a massive 2023 season to earn MAC Freshman of the Year honors. He transferred once more to Cincinnati in 2024, where he had another strong season and pushed himself into the sixth round. He's actually the first Cardinals draftee this year to crack six feet tall, clocking in at 6'2" and packed with strength. The switch hitter has above average raw power that he taps extremely consistently in games, having blasted 34 home runs over the past two seasons, with excellent ability to turn on the ball and elevate it to the pull side. The Cleveland-area product makes pretty good contact, too, helping keep his strikeout rate to a reasonable 15.1% despite his pull-oriented approach. It's actually a really nice all-around offensive profile, and he makes up for a slightly lower walk rate by getting hit by a ton of pitches, his 26 in 2024 good for ninth in Division I. Kross has a chance to hit for average and power at the major league level and proved himself with wood bats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer before the draft. That's important because he'll be limited to first base, where pressure will be all on his bat. He did catch some in college but it appears the Cardinals are not going to go that route. In his pro debut, he slashed .216/.383/.311 with a 10/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 23 games at Low A Palm Beach.

7-201: RHP Andrew Dutkanych, Vanderbilt {video}
Slot value: $288,700. Signing bonus: $300,000 ($11,300 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #286.
Talk about buying low. Andrew Dutkanych was a superstar high school prospect who earned first round buzz at points during his senior season, then reached campus at Vanderbilt as one of the most hyped incoming freshmen in the country. Unfortunately a leg injury derailed that freshman season and he tossed just 6.1 innings, then made it only five appearances into 2024 before he went down with Tommy John surgery. Born one day before the cutoff, he was eligible for the 2024 draft despite turning 21 a few weeks later, and now he's a Cardinal after just seventeen innings for the Commodores. The stuff is still big. His fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and can hit 97 with big time riding life, making for a plus pitch at its best. He rips off a nasty, tight slider that also looked plus in high school, then has a loopier curveball and a fringy changeup as well that he didn't use as much at Vanderbilt. His command has been up and down dating back to his high school days, and he walked 15 of the 75 hitters he faced (20%) in two years in college, though I'll chalk the college performance to not being healthy consistently. The Duke is a confident pitcher who attacks hitters with conviction, which in high school helped his fringy command play up and should serve him well as he gets back into the swing of things once healthy in 2025. If all it takes is consistent time on the mound for Dutkanych to get back to his high school form, he has a chance to make this an absolute steal for St. Louis. The Indianapolis-area native, if he puts it back together, could have a full arsenal headlined by two plus pitches, a big 6'3" frame, and the attitude to go right after hitters. If either his health or his command force him to the bullpen, he could still be effective leaning on that fastball and slider. Dutkanych has been praised back to his high school days for his mental acumen as a strong student with high baseball IQ and should soak in knowledge in the Cardinals' system.

8-231: LHP Jack Findlay, Notre Dame {video}
Slot value: $229,000. Signing bonus: $400,000 ($171,000 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #315.
Jack Findlay gives St. Louis a second consecutive pick coming off Tommy John surgery. He was one of the top freshmen in the ACC in 2022, when he put up a 2.17 ERA and a 54/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 49.2 innings, then was off to a hot start in 2023 before the surgery cut him down in April, knocking him out for 2024 as well. The stuff isn't overwhelming for Findlay, with a fastball that sits around 90 and tops out at 94 with some cutting action. He leans heavily on his slider, which shows big sweep and good depth across the plate, while he also shows a truer curveball. The 6'3" lefty makes everything play up because he has above average command and hides the ball well, keeping hitters off balance and making lots of weak contact. Tommy John can happen to anybody, but he otherwise has a durable frame and a repeatable, athletic delivery that will lend itself well to starting. He should be fully ready to go for 2025 right from the start and has a chance to move quickly from there. Findlay could use to add a tick of power to both his fastball and his offspeed stuff, which could add more ceiling to an arm that currently projects in the back of the rotation.

12-351: OF Ian Petrutz, Alabama {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $250,000 ($100,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Ian Petrutz spent two years at Maryland, where he was one of the better hitters in the Big Ten and leveraged his hitting ability to transfer to Alabama alongside his head coach. The power evaporated this year, his slugging percentage dropping from .555 over two years in College Park to .467 in Tuscaloosa, but the hit tool showed up and it was overall a solid transition to SEC pitching. Petrutz is solidly built and shows above average raw power from the left side, though his ability to tap it in games has come and gone. The Philadelphia-area product can get pull heavy, but his swing can also get rigid and he can slash at the ball. That doesn't stop him from hitting it hard, but it does make it difficult to lift the ball at times and get it over outfielders' heads. He's a very disciplined hitter that walked at a 15.3% clip at Maryland and 10.8% of the time at Alabama, showing strong bat to ball skills to boot on top of his selective approach. If he can find a way to incorporate more loft into his left handed swing, he could be a really complete hitter. That's really important, because his fringy defensive tools will limit him to left field and will put a ton of pressure on the bat. So everything here hinges on the swing change. The power didn't show up in his pro debut, but he hit everything thrown at him and slashed .344/.482/.433 with a 10/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 28 games for Low A Palm Beach.

18-531: 2B Christian Martin, Virginia Tech {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: #220. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #417.
Christian Martin brings the Cardinals a scrappy, high contact infielder. He has been an on-base machine in his three years in Blacksburg, with a career .448 on-base percentage over 130 games with tremendous consistency. Martin is a patient hitter that draws a ton of walks, forcing pitchers to come into the zone against him. Undersized at 5'10", 185 pounds, he'll see more pitchers do that, so he'll have plenty to hit in the minors. The bat to ball is more average, though combined with the strong approach he controls his at bats well and doesn't strike out too much. The power is fringy, but his quick, whippy right handed swing can put the ball out to the pull side and he doesn't lack punch entirely. He shows a strong glove at second base as well, where his springy actions and sound glovework could make him an above average defender. While he fits best at the keystone going forward, he does have enough arm to make shortstop or third base work in spot starts, helping aid his utility infielder projection. That would represent Martin's ceiling, as he lacks a carrying tool to get him into the lineup every day at the big league level. He's a high baseball IQ type with the chance to hit 5-10 home runs per season with solid on-base percentages. Greg Garcia, anybody? He got on base but otherwise didn't hit much in his pro debut, slashing .206/.432/.221 with five stolen bases and a 13/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 23 games for Low A Palm Beach.

2022 MLB Draft Review: St. Louis Cardinals

Full list of draftees

The Cardinals stayed on brand in this class, leaning heavily on college pitching and in fact beginning their draft with three consecutive college lefties. It's a mix of pitchability types with guys who show unique traits on the mound, giving them a nice mix of guys who could race to the majors and others with upside that can be unlocked with patience and creativity. There is also a distinctly California feel here, with nine of their twenty picks hailing from the Golden State including each of those three college lefties at the top of the draft.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

1-22: LHP Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State. My rank: #19.
Slot value: $3.18 million. Signing bonus: $3.18 million.
Despite not picking until #22, I think the Cardinals picked up the best college pitcher in the draft here. Cooper Hjerpe steadily improved throughout his time in Corvallis and was at his best in 2022, when he put up a 2.53 ERA and a 161/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 103.1 innings. Those 161 strikeouts led the country by a full dozen ahead of Yankees second rounder Drew Thorpe (149), he'll continue that in pro ball. Hjerpe sits in the low 90's with his fastball and gets up to 95-96, but the pitch plays way above its velocity because it comes from such a unique angle. It's a very low three quarters look, nearly sidearm, coming in with a tremendously flat approach angle that is very difficult to mimic with plenty of bat missing ride. It plays extremely well off his slider, which comes in with huge sweep from that low slot, again not something you see every day to that degree. The small town Californian finishes off his arsenal with an above average changeup, giving him the necessary weapons to combat both left handed and right handed batters with success. To top it off, Hjerpe shows above average command of his three pitches that really enables him to play them off each other and execute the game plan, something that will make him very fun to develop for St. Louis. The 6'3" lefty still has some projection remaining, so if the Cardinals can help him add a tick or two of velocity, he could be a true ace. I really like this pick in this organization, and even if Hjerpe sticks around his current velocity band, he looks to be a high probability mid-rotation starter. It's a great combination of ceiling and floor.

2-59: LHP Brycen Mautz, San Diego. My rank: #99.
Slot value: $1.25 million. Signing bonus: $1.10 million ($146,200 below slot value).
The Cardinals saved some money on Brycen Mautz, who feels like a very Cardinals-esque pick. He's coming off a breakout year at San Diego where he put up a 3.87 ERA and a 122/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 90.2 innings, punctuated by a strong start against Vanderbilt at the Corvallis Regional with a lot of eyes on him. You can attempt to handicap those numbers by saying he didn't pitch in a power conference (and you'd be missing the fact that the WCC has strong competition), but in addition to his great start against Vanderbilt he also showed very well in non-conference matchups against Oregon and Grand Canyon and also struck out fifteen against Dallas Baptist. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball, getting up to 96 much like Hjerpe, albeit without the same unique traits. He drops in an above average slider with some sweep as his primary offspeed pitch, while also showing a fringier curveball and changeup on occasion. The 6'3" lefty comes from a wide three quarters slot that puts some angle on the ball, and overall he's cleaned up his delivery significantly during his time with the Toreros leading to much improved command that now looks solid average. It's a very solid #4 starter's package, and perhaps more if he can add a tick of velocity or refine his changeup a bit more while holding his command where it is. Additionally, he's young for a college junior and only turned 21 shortly after the draft, adding some upside.

3-97: LHP Pete Hansen, Texas. My rank: #195.
Slot value: $629,800. Signing bonus: $629,800. 
If anything, this is a very interesting pick. I'm not totally bought in, but I recognize the upside here and if the Cardinals play their cards just right, they could come out looking very smart. Pete Hansen generated a lot of draft buzz during the shortened 2020 season, his freshman year, and entered the 2021 draft cycle a potential top fifty pick as a draft-eligible sophomore. Despite a dominant season alongside Ty Madden in that excellent Texas rotation (1.88 ERA, 80/23 K/BB in 91 innings), he returned to school as his stuff took a massive step backwards somehow without impacting his performance. The stuff wasn't all the way back in 2022, but he was still very good with a 3.76 ERA and a 120/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 107.2 innings for the Longhorns. Hansen is very much an enigma – his fastball has touched as high as 94 in the past, especially frequently back in 2020 when he sat in the low 90's, but he also had days in 2021 where he literally sat in the mid 80's. Typically, he's perfectly happy sitting in the upper 80's, and as an observer it just seems like he doesn't care much for velocity at all. Even with that mediocre velocity, I saw him touch 90 on pitch #114 of a game in 2022, so he's not 87-89 for a lack of arm strength. There are also some nice spin rates that create sneaky life on his fastball, so if he does get back more into that 91-93 range, the pitch could play well up. Hansen also throws an above average slider that for now is his best pro pitch, while adding a solid average changeup and a fringier curveball that he uses to steal strikes. The 6'2" lefty has plus command of his arsenal from a very easy, simple delivery, which is partially why he was able to put up the numbers he did in Austin. This will be a very interesting case study once he hits the Cardinals' player development system. His game is very much not centered around velocity, but without a plus offspeed pitch to keep hitters off his fastball, he is not going to find much success sitting in the upper 80's against minor league and major league hitters. The Cardinals will want to bring him out of his comfort zone a little bit and get that velocity up, which he has shown he's capable of. Now whether he's able to maintain his plus command while pitching like that remains to be seen, but I'm much more confident in the Sacramento-area product developing to the best of his abilities in the St. Louis organization than I would be in a less effective player development system such as Washington or Oakland.

4-127: C Jimmy Crooks, Oklahoma. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $470,300. Signing bonus: $470,300.
The Cardinals finally broke from their string of college lefties to pick up Jimmy Crooks, ironically a left handed hitting catcher. He spent his freshman season at McLennan JC in Waco before transferring to Oklahoma, where he has quietly been one of the better catchers in the Big 12. Despite not leaving the yard until his 22nd game of the season in late March, he got hot late in the year like the rest of the Oklahoma team and finished with a very solid .305/.430/.506 slash line, nine home runs, and a 57/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 69 games. It's a pretty traditional backup catcher profile, with average power coming from a quick, simple left handed cut that's more designed for line drives. The DFW native works a lot of deep counts and can be prone to chasing breaking balls, but overall keeps the strikeouts reasonably down and draws plenty of walks. It's a solid offensive profile that will play in pro ball, albeit perhaps not quite enough to become Yadier Molina's full time successor. Behind the plate, it's very solid defense with a strong arm, though I did see him lose focus occasionally and let balls get to the backstop that should have been kept in front. Overall, it's a solid package that could produce 10-15 home runs per season with middling on-base percentages at his ceiling, which would be very valuable from a catcher. Through four games at Low A Palm Beach, Crooks is slashing .182/.357/.273 with a 5/2 strikeout to walk ratio.

5-157: OF Victor Scott, West Virginia. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $350,400. Signing bonus: $350,400.
If Cardinals fans are feeling the sting of losing Harrison Bader, they can look to this year's draft for a replacement, even if he's a few years away. Victor Scott never put up spectacular numbers at West Virginia, where he finished 2022 with a rather pedestrian .278/.397/.454 slash line, six home runs, and a 53/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games, but there is real upside here. He's a plus-plus runner that stole 38 bases this spring and eleven more in the Cape Cod Leauge this summer, really deploying that speed well both on the basepaths and in center field, where he'll fit right in as Bader-esque. Scott has a very good eye at the plate and tracks pitches very well, leading to a very healthy 14% walk rate this spring and an even more impressive 9/14 strikeout to walk ratio over twenty games on the Cape. Though he finished his WVU career with just eleven home runs in 121 games, there's some sneaky power in the profile with a knack for hitting the ball hard, all coming from a quick, balanced left handed stroke. He didn't impact the ball as much as he would have liked on the Cape (.173/.368/.308), but if the Cardinals play their cards right, they could unlock a 15+ home run bat with high on-base percentages and great center field defense. That sounds like a gamble worth taking in the fifth round. Through five games with Low A Palm Beach, he's slashing .182/.389/.182 with an even 5/5 strikeout to walk ratio.

6-187: RHP Max Rajcic, UCLA. My rank: #159.
Slot value: $270,700. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($329,300 above slot value).
The Cardinals' lone over slot bonus in the top ten rounds went to Max Rajcic, who signed for nearly double the slot value in the sixth round. Rajcic was a well-known name at Orange Lutheran High School in Southern California, but went undrafted in the shortened 2020 draft and reached campus at UCLA. After excelling as the team's closer as a freshman in 2021, he stepped into the rotation in 2022 with a 3.28 ERA and a 92/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 85 innings. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball, topping out around 95, but he's more known for his offspeed stuff. Rajcic's curveball is an easy plus pitch with huge spin rates and wicked bite, while his changeup flashes above average at its best and gives him another quality weapon. He pounds the strike zone with all three and projects for above average command, which goes great in tandem with his arsenal. The 6' righty is physically maxed out and is just an average athlete, with a fairly generic release that makes his fastball play down, but that's about the only knock on his profile. If he can hold up in a starter's role and potentially add some life to his fastball, he could be a solid #4 guy, or he could slide back to the bullpen eventually and pitch off his offspeed stuff. He certainly has the competitive makeup to thrive in the latter role, and it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals develop him.

8-247: RHP Cade Winquest, UT Arlington. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $174,600. Signing bonus: $174,600.
Cade Winquest will be an interesting project for the Cardinals. He's always flashed potential, but finished his four year career at UT Arlington with a 5.77 ERA and never quite found that breakout scouts were looking for. In 2022, he put up a 5.40 ERA and a 57/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 58.1 innings, an incremental step forward from what he had bene doing. Winquest is a great athlete, getting down the mound extremely well with great extension that helps his pitches play up and will give the Cardinals a lot to work with. His fastball can sit in the low to mid 90's and get up to 98 at its best, coming in with plenty of running life to keep it off barrels. He also adds a big curveball with deep bite in the mid 70's, but it can pop out of his hand at times and could use more consistency. The Fort Worth-area native closes out his arsenal with a hard changeup in the upper 80's with arm side fade, and he likes to use it low and away against left handed hitters. Holding Winquest back for now is command, as he rushes his delivery late and has struggled to find a balance between throwing strikes and keeping the ball off the middle of the plate. He's likely better suited in a bullpen role, especially in a deep Cardinals system that includes plenty of polished, innings-eating starter types.

12-367: SS Michael Curialle, UCLA. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $150,000 ($25,000 against bonus pool).
Michael Curialle, like his teammate and fellow Cardinals draftee Max Rajcic, was a well known prospect out of the Orange County private school ranks, but reached campus at UCLA. Unlike Rajcic, he's been more good than great in Westwood, though he shook off a slow start in 2022 and was red hot when the Bruins were knocked out of the Auburn Regional, finishing the season with a .319/.395/.479 slash line, five home runs, and a 58/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 58 games. He takes healthy, uppercut hacks from the right side that help him put balls deep into the gap and occasionally over the fence, though he also swings and misses at a decent clip and when he's cold, such as early this season, he doesn't have enough power to make up for the strikeouts (21.2% rate in 2022). It's a bit of a tweener offensive profile in that the swing and miss isn't egregious and the power is solid, but he'll need to take a step forward in one or the other to make an impact. Defensively, he's played all over the diamond at UCLA and shows good actions on the infield, though he's not quite explosive enough to handle shortstop and probably fits better at second or third base. The Cardinals are buying into the track record of hitting (career .306/.380/.455 hitter at UCLA with strong showings in high school as well) and defensive versatility, and the fact that he was one of the toughest outs in the Pac-12 from mid-April onwards certainly makes everything look better. Through four games at Low A Palm Beach, Curialle is slashing .250/.333/.250 with one strikeout and one walk.

2021 MLB Draft: St. Louis Cardinals

Full list of draftees

The Cardinals had a very clear draft strategy this year, and it was very on-brand. They selected pitchers with six of their first eight picks, with all of those pitchers falling into the same category as feel-over-stuff types. Five of those six pitchers were 6'3" or taller, and all stand out for their aptitude for pitching and likelihood of cracking the major league rotation as three, four, or five starters. The only two non-pitchers taken in those first eight picks were power hitting outfielders, and second rounder Joshua Baez especially stands in contrast to those workhorse starting pitchers as a tooled up athlete. I really liked both those outfield picks (the other being Ryan Holgate), but I will say that aside from those two, there isn't much upside to be had in this draft. It was a really safe, risk-averse run for St. Louis. Although, they did have an interesting trend of drafting players who were young for the class, with three of their first four picks having June or July birthdays that some teams value, and that youth could help tap some hidden upside.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

1-18: RHP Michael McGreevy, UC Santa Barbara. My rank: #66.
This probably wasn't my favorite pick of the first round, but the Cardinals are still getting a very talented pitcher who has a good chance to be an impact arm for them. Michael McGreevy has steadily gotten stronger and stronger at UC Santa Barbara, putting up a strong 2.92 ERA and a 115/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 101.2 innings this spring. That tops off an excellent career in which he had a 2.33 ERA and a 194/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 189.1 innings overall. His fastball has ticked consistently into the low 90's now and touches 96-97, well up from where he was even a year ago. McGreevy adds a full set of secondaries, none of which are true swing and miss pitches, but the slider stands out as perhaps his best. Everything plays up because of his plus command that ranks among the best in the class, with a very repeatable delivery and consistent pitchers' counts. The 6'4" righty has been nitpicked, though, due to that lack of a plus pitch. His fastball is pretty straight and ordinary despite its above average velocity, so getting ahead and being able to keep hitters guessing is very important. The Southern California native was hit a bit harder by decent Big West competition than you'd expect, allowing more than a hit per inning as hitters punished his stuff when he missed over the plate. McGreevy's margin for error will be relatively slim in pro ball, at least as far as first rounders go. He has a good chance to reach his ceiling as a mid-rotation starter and will likely settle in as a #3 or #4 guy, with his late birthday (only turned 21 a few days before the draft) a positive factor. He signed for $2.75 million, which was about $730,000 below slot.

2-54: OF Joshua Baez, Dexter-Southfield HS [MA]. My rank: #23.
Ironically, Michael McGreevy ranks right around where Joshua Baez was picked, while Baez ranks right around where McGreevy was picked, at least on my board. Baez is one of the most physical players in the entire class, listed at an imposing 6'4" and 220 pounds with tools to match. He has tremendous raw power from a huge right handed hack that produces a ton of torque, absolutely pummeling baseballs into a powder. The Boston-area native shows strong plate discipline to go with that huge power, though at times he can still be prone to swinging and missing more because he's swinging out of his shoes than anything else. Baez is also a good athlete with an absolute cannon right arm, one which has been clocked up to 96-97 on the mound and could legitimately have gotten him drafted as a pitcher had the bat not been a factor. That should make him a plus defender in right field. Youth is yet another factor on his side, as he only turned 18 at the end of June and has plenty of time to figure out his game. The Cardinals will want to teach him that he can still hit 30+ home runs a year in the big leagues with a toned down approach, and that trusting his strength will be more effective against premium pitching than coiling up and letting it rip. If he can find a balanced approach at the plate, this could be a future star, though of course there's plenty of risk inherent in drafting a cold weather bat with swing and miss question marks of any sort. Baez signed for $2.25 million, which was roughly $910,000 above slot value, to forgo a Vanderbilt commitment. Through two games, he's picked up two singles in five at bats in the FCL.

CBB-70: OF Ryan Holgate, Arizona. My rank: #65.
Sixteen picks later, the Cardinals grabbed another power hitting outfielder, though Ryan Holgate is a more balanced hitter than Joshua Baez with perhaps a bit less physical prowess. Holgate has been one of the best hitters in the Pac-12 over the past two seasons, slashing .356/.437/.570 with 12 home runs and a 64/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 78 games since the start of 2020. He has a knack for finding the barrel, and that's a barrel that can really put a charge into the baseball on a consistent basis with both metal and wood bats. Previously more of a three true outcome guy, he dropped his strikeout rate from 26.3% as a freshman to 18.6% this year while maintaining his home run swing, though he can still swing and miss occasionally and it's probably an average hit tool. The Davis, California native cannot match Baez on defense, with an unremarkable overall game in the outfield that will likely see him end up as a serviceable left fielder. If he hits like he's capable of, which is to say 25-30 home runs a year with solid on-base percentages, the so-so defense will be an afterthought. Holgate signed for $875,000, which was $31,800 below slot value, and he went 2-4 with a home run in his Class A debut.

3-90: RHP Austin Love, North Carolina. My rank: #148.
Austin Love's strong redshirt freshman season in 2019 had area scouts looking forward to their Chapel Hill trips in 2020, but he couldn't quite build on his previous success and wound up undrafted that year. He hung around in mid-round conversations for most of 2021, sometimes showing early round stuff (such as a twelve strikeout, no walk performance against Clemson on March 12th) but getting hit around a little to much at other times (eight runs, seven earned two starts later against NC State). His stock got a late boost in May when he fired back to back complete games against Louisville and Georgia Tech, combining to strike out 24 along the way, and he finished the season with more ups than downs that led to a 3.71 ERA and a 129/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 102 innings. Traditional teams like the Cardinals fell in love with the profile, and it was enough for St. Louis to pop him in the top one hundred picks. Love attacks hitters with a low 90's fastball that he can dial up all the way to 98 when he needs to, and he holds that low 90's velocity deep into his starts. His slider shows above average with late bite, and he works in a very good changeup to round things out. Everything plays up because the Salisbury, North Carolina native attacks the strike zone and goes right after hitters, enabling his average command to play up as well. As with first rounder Michael McGreevy, there are questions about the life on his relatively straight fastball, and he's a year and a half older than his UCSB counterpart with less command. Of course, that's why McGreevy was a first round pick and Love is coming off the board here in the third. It's a classic back-end starter projection with a high probability of reaching the majors in some capacity, though it's hard to envision him as much more than a #4. The 6'3" righty signed for $600,000, which was $57,600 below slot value.

4-120: RHP Zane Mills, Washington State. Unranked.
Zane Mills is another high floor type that figures to be a back of the rotation starter. He put himself on the map with a strong run through the Northwoods League last summer, then showed reasonably well this spring with a 4.15 ERA and an 83/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 80.1 innings. Mills is a big, 6'4" righty with an easy delivery and above average command, already laying out that starting pitcher profile. His fastball sits in the low 90's, coming in from an overhand delivery with downward plane and sink. It's not your sexy bat-missing fastball, but he hits his spots with it and generates a lot of weak contact. The Portland native's slider is an average pitch, and he does show feel for a changeup that flashes above average. The fact that he turned 21 only a week before the draft elevates his profile and gives him extra time to take a step forward with his velocity or one of his secondaries, and given his command and durability, any uptick in stuff would be a big boon. The Cardinals will look for him to move relatively quickly through their system. Mills signed for $375,000, which was $103,300 below slot value.

5-151: RHP Gordon Graceffo, Villanova. Unranked.
Gordon Graceffo was excellent this spring at Villanova, where he pitched at least seven innings in nine of his eleven starts and at least six innings in all but one. In total, he put up a 1.54 ERA and an 86/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 82 innings, and while most of it came against mediocre competition, he did strike out twelve over eight innings against an NCAA Tournament-bound UConn team. Graceffo comes in with a low 90's fastball that's sitting a tick higher than it used to, dropping in an above average slider and changeup that he can fill up the strike zone with. Teams love his bulldog mentality on the mound and tireless work ethic, and the Cardinals believe he'll continue to trend up in their organization just as he has at Villanova. Given that he can throw three good pitches for strikes, the 6'4" righty has a chance to start, but he'll need probably need another tick of velocity on his fastball to do so because it's relatively straight and in the low 90's, won't miss many barrels. In relief, that stuff should naturally tick up. The North Jersey native signed for $500,000, which was $146,300 above slot value, and he has tossed 2.1 innings of one run ball with three strikeouts so far at Class A Palm Beach.

7-211: RHP Alec Willis, Regis Jesuit HS [CO]. My rank: #180.
With their eighth pick, the Cardinals handed out their third largest bonus of the draft to Alec Willis, a high school right hander out of Denver-area powerhouse Regis Jesuit High School. Willis was really trending up when the weather got warm in the Front Range, showing plenty of starter traits that teams covet. The 6'5" righty shows a low 90's fastball that's up to 94 for now, but more velocity is likely coming as he develops that huge frame. Willis flips in a solid curveball and a decent changeup for now, and he fills up the strike zone with all three pitches. With an easy, repeatable delivery and a sturdy frame, he has the look of a solid mid-rotation starter down the line. This is the kind of arm where if he ends up on a college campus, he could see his stuff tick up and throw 70+ innings a year before popping back out three years later as a performance-based early draft pick. He was looking to do that at Minnesota, but the Cardinals signed him away from that commitment for $1 million, which was $788,500 above slot value.

8-241: OF Mike Antico, Texas. Unranked.
Mike Antico is a money saving senior sign, but he's also one of the more recognizable names in college baseball. He hit .332/.451/.519 with 13 home runs, 44 stolen bases, and a 94/80 strikeout to walk ratio over a very successful four year career at St. John's, then transferred to Texas as a graduate when COVID gave him an extra year of eligibility. In Austin, Antico served as the leadoff man for one of the most balanced offenses in college baseball, slashing .273/.436/.489 with ten home runs, 41 stolen bases, and a 43/63 strikeout to walk ratio over 66 games, giving him 85 stolen bases now for his career. The Central Jersey native brings the plus plate discipline that you would expect from a fifth year senior with more than 200 games under his belt, drawing a ton of walks while keeping his strikeouts reasonably low. While there's not a ton of power in his 5'10" frame, he maximizes what he has and has knocked 23 home runs in his career (including a career-high ten in 2021), so he won't just be a slap hitter in pro ball. Given that he turned 23 before the season even started, there's pretty limited upside here, though Matt Carpenter was a 23 year old fifth year senior when the Cardinals drafted him out of TCU. With his speed, on-base ability, and moderate power, Antico projects as a fourth or fifth outfielder. He signed for $20,000, which was $151,200 below slot value, and he has three hits in thirteen at bats for Class A Palm Beach.

11-331: SS Mack Chambers, New Mexico. Unranked.
The Cardinals didn't draft any true hometown guys for me to highlight, but living in North Texas I've come to learn that much of Oklahoma is actually Cardinals country and that's where Mack Chambers comes from. A product of Broken Arrow High School in the Tulsa area, Chambers began his career at Seminole State JC to the east of Oklahoma City and transferred to New Mexico this year. First of all, if nothing else, Mack Chambers is a great baseball name, but he did also show that he's a great player by slashing .371/.444/.624 with seven home runs and a 12/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 41 games in Albuquerque. He doesn't show a ton of power, but he puts the ball in play virtually every time he lifts the bat off his shoulders and struck out in a minuscule 6.1% of his plate appearances this season. The bat to ball skills are so good that he rarely walks, because as soon as he gets a hittable pitch, the at bat is over. He profiles to be a high on-base, low power guy in the majors. Chambers is also a strong defensive shortstop who will stick there in pro ball, giving him the full utility profile whereas many projected utility infielders don't have true shortstop tools. He signed for $175,000, of which $50,000 counts against the bonus pool, and he has picked up two hits in eight at bats so far at Class A Palm Beach (plus five strikeouts, almost equalling his college total already).

12-361: LHP Chris Gerard, Virginia Tech. Unranked.
The Cardinals' largest signing bonus of day three went to Chris Gerard, who was arguably Virginia Tech's most consistent pitcher during his three years there. In 24 starts and not a single relief appearance, he put up a 2.63 ERA and a 121/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 120 innings, including marks of 3.02 and 48/12 in 41.2 innings this year. I've watched him quite a bit over the years as one of the few, proud Virginia Tech baseball fans (albeit I was more of a VT baseball "watcher" than a fan until this year when they started showing some promise), getting my first look at him in 2019 when he was on his way to a strong freshman season. His velocity was upper 80's at the time, but it's now ticked up slightly and sits comfortably around 90, scraping 93 at its best. He shows two breaking balls in a slider and a curve, with the slider showing a little bit better in the low to mid 80's than the curve, which is down in the mid 70's. His changeup is his best pitch, fading to the arm side and unlike his other pitches, it doesn't necessarily need to add power. The 5'10" lefty is undersized but succeeds by deftly mixing his four pitches and executing his locations, so if he can manage to add a tick of power to that stuff, he has some sleeper upside. The North Jersey native signed for $250,000, of which $125,000 counts against the Cardinals' bonus pool.

17-511: OF Elijah Cabell, Florida State. Unranked.
Here is some of the most famous raw power in amateur baseball. Elijah Cabell has been known for his pop since his days at TNXL Academy in Florida, where he ranked #100 on my 2018 board but priced himself out of the draft. Cabell's stock has slipped a little bit as he's struggled with strikeouts at Florida State, and he wrapped it up this year by slashing .264/.397/.560 with 15 home runs and a 78/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 50 games. What you see is what you get with the big 6'2" slugger. He brings plus-plus raw power that he has tapped consistently in games against a strong ACC schedule, such as with this 489 foot bomb to dead center or this 116 MPH nuclear missile to the opposite field. It's the kind of power that stands out even among other power bats, and it will absolutely play with wood bats. How often the Orlando-area native will tap it, however, is more of a question. He has struck out in exactly 40% of his plate appearances at Florida State and that mark has held (remarkably) stable over his three seasons, and it's not so much that he has a long or complicated swing than that he just struggles to recognize pitches. The ACC will throw a pretty tough set of arms at you, including Cardinals' third and twelfth rounders Austin Love and Chris Gerard, but pro ball will be another step up and Cabell has a lot of adjustments to make. He's old for the class and turned 22 in June, giving him slightly less time, but in the seventeenth round there are no perfect profiles and power like that is very hard to come by in any round. He won't stick in center field but is plenty quick enough for right field, where his strong arm will fit, or left field, where he played in Tallahassee. Cabell signed for $125,000.

2020 Draft Review: St. Louis Cardinals

1-21: 3B Jordan Walker, Decatur HS (GA)
2-54: SS/RHP Masyn Winn, Kingwood HS (TX)
CBB-63: RHP Tink Hence, Watson Chapel HS (AR)
2C-70: OF Alec Burleson, East Carolina
3-93: LHP Levi Prater, Oklahoma
4-122: RHP Ian Bedell, Missouri
5-152: OF LJ Jones IV, Long Beach State

I'm usually a fan of the Cardinals' draft strategy, and this year was no different after they pulled in a really impressive class. They started with three high schoolers early (including two Arkansas signees), all of whom bring great upside and one of whom, Masyn Winn, will be deployed as a two way player. After that, they pivoted to two under slot college players that don't seem like the most exciting picks, before jumping back to go over slot on Missouri's Ian Bedell. Lastly, LJ Jones could be a real hidden gem in this draft class, and he's one of my sleepers to watch going forward. Youth relative to class was a theme here, as six out of seven have March birthdays or later. Lastly, the Cardinals stayed relatively close to home for much of the draft, picking up Tink Hence from Pine Bluff, Arkansas (less than six hours south of St. Louis), Levi Prater from Byng, Oklahoma (less than eight hours southwest of St. Louis), and Ian Bedell from Davenport, Iowa (four hours north of St. Louis, an avid Cardinals fan, and a Mizzou product).
Full index of team reviews here.

1-21: 3B Jordan Walker, Decatur HS, GA (my rank: 30)
The Metro Atlanta high school ranks didn't come with the same depth of talent they usually do this year, but the clear top player in the area was Decatur's Jordan Walker. He's a big, 6'5" slugger that possesses some of the best raw power in the high school class, using his long arms and impressive strength to drive baseballs deep to all fields. He's not just about the power, though, as his high baseball IQ and strong plate discipline enables him to tap that power consistently in games. That was especially so this spring, when he came out of the gate hot and gave scouts confidence he would continue to tap his power in pro ball. While his ability to make contact remains a bit behind his plate discipline, his strength in the latter should enable the former to improve as he grows into his body and tightens up his right handed swing a little bit. That gives him 30+ home run potential in addition to good on-base percentages, a true lineup anchor if everything comes together. His mature approach to the game enables him to play a very solid third base, as does his strong arm, though there are questions about his ability to stick there as more and more is demanded out of practitioners of the hot corner in the age of shifting. A move to first base or a corner outfield spot would put more pressure on his bat, but if he reaches his ceiling, the bat will play anywhere. This is a really fun name to track that's been trending up, and he could remind some Cardinals fans of a right handed Nolan Gorman. Like Gorman, his May birthday makes him slightly younger than the typical high school senior, giving him a little more time to develop. Jordan Walker also has to be a great baseball name, right? He signed away from a Duke commitment for $2.9 million, which saved about $230,000 off of slot value for the Cardinals. Pre-draft profile here.

2-54: SS/RHP Masyn Winn, Kingwood HS, TX (my rank: 29)
This has to be one of the most interesting picks of the draft, and I'm a big fan of it. The Cardinals plucked Masyn Winn out of high school in the Houston area, and they're going to play him two ways in the minors. I'm all for it, as Winn is a special baseball player despite being a bit undersized at 5'11". He has lightning fast hands that work really well on both sides of the ball, and he has star potential for both. Starting with the bat, Winn shows some real power potential despite his smaller frame, generating good raw power from a projectable swing. Though there is a lot of movement in the swing pre-pitch, he finds himself in a low setup before the pitch that puts him in a good position to fling the bat head through the zone with a bit of an uppercut. He has shown some swing and miss, but given how quick his hands are, I think bringing that back a little bit and quieting down the pre-pitch movement could make him an above average hitter. The ceiling there seems to be about 20-25 home runs and decent on-base percentages, with his above average speed helping as well. He's raw, but he is talented enough to stick at shortstop with a bit of extra refinement. I prefer him as a pitcher anyways, where he fires mid 90's fastballs that top out at 98 from an exceptionally quick arm. He also adds an inconsistent curveball and changeup, but the curve looks like a true plus pitch when it's on and he can flash some very good changeups as well. A solid strike thrower, further refinement could make him an undersized impact starting pitcher if he can prove his durability. I honestly doubt that he ends up playing both ways in the majors, just given how much refinement both sides of his game need in addition to his smaller size, but I think the Cardinals are very excited to just push him out there in the minors and see what happens, which emerges as the better side of his game. Committed to Arkansas, he instead signed with the Cardinals for $2.1 million, about $660,000 above slot. Pre-draft profile here.

CBB-63: RHP Tink Hence, Watson Chapel HS, AR (my rank: 81)
As someone who grew up in Virginia, I'm not entirely sure how Arkansas is divided up between Cardinals, Royals, and Rangers Country (maybe Astros and Braves as well?), and Hence's hometown of Pine Bluff is roughly equidistant to the Rangers' and Cardinals' stadiums. So is this a "hometown" pick for the Cardinals? At less than a six hour drive from Busch Stadium, I'll just go with yes. Anyways, you might have seen Tink Hence listed under the first name Markevian leading up to the draft, but whatever you call him, he's an interesting arm. Hence sits in the low 90's with his fastball but he's run it as high as 96 and the velocity is trending up, and he adds in a potentially plus curveball with really tight spin and sharp bite. He can manipulate the breaking ball into more of a slider, one which also shows sharp bite and plus potential. He doesn't have much of a changeup at this point, but having two breaking balls makes up for that at least a little bit given his age, and he's a pretty decent strike thrower. Like with Winn, there are questions about his frame, as he's very skinny at 6'1" and doesn't seem to have much room to fill out. That said, he has a very fast arm (also like Winn) and doesn't throw with a ton of effort, and scouts love the direction he's trending in. With an August birthday that makes him young for a high school senior, he gets another plus. If Hence can hold up under a starter's workload, the Cardinals could have an impact arm here, but there is significant risk just due to the size and high school right hander demographic. Again like Winn, he was committed to Arkansas, but he signed for $1.15 million, or $70,000 above slot. Pre-draft profile here.

2C-70: OF Alec Burleson, East Carolina (unranked)
I was aware of Burleson before the draft, but he just missed my top 160 because I wasn't quite sold enough on the bat given his lack of defensive value. He lands at pick number 70 with the Cardinals, compensation for losing Marcell Ozuna to the Braves. Another two-way player like Winn, he figures to go back to one way in pro ball, after putting up a great offensive track record at ECU. Since the start of 2019, he's hit .371/.408/.568 with 12 home runs and a 27/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 81 games for the Pirates, picking up base hits as consistently as anybody. He has a line drive bat and elite bat to ball skills that enable him to make hard contact in almost every at bat, and he struck out just 40 times in 130 career games for ECU. In fact, he makes such easy contact that he rarely works the count deep enough to draw walks, drawing just 33 over the same span. Now, it's unclear how much power he profiles for in pro ball, as he's hit just 12 home runs in those 130 games and was limited to a .148/.250/.222 line in a short, eight game Cape Cod League sample. He didn't strike out much, just three times in those eight games, but he didn't hit for a ton of authority with wood bats. Once he gives up pitching, he can probably profile for close to average power, perhaps 15-20 home runs per season if we're lucky, but the pressure will be on his bat because he's a mediocre defender. He's pretty slow and doesn't cover a ton of ground in the outfield, and while he does look like he could be above average defensively at first base, the pressure on his bat will be even higher there. I see Burleson more as a bench bat than as a future regular, but I wouldn't bet against a guy who finds the barrel as consistently as he does. He signed for $700,000, which was $206,800 below slot and just about paid for Walker's over slot bonus.

3-93: LHP Levi Prater, Oklahoma (unranked)
Prater was another guy who just missed my rankings, but he's easy to get behind and root for. Hailing from the small town of Byng, Oklahoma, Prater lost three fingers on his right hand to a lawnmower accident as a toddler, so he just throws with his left. He's a bulldog competitor on the mound that gets the absolute most out of what's an otherwise average arsenal; his fastball sits close to 90, topping out at 94, while his slider does a good job of keeping hitters off his fastball but doesn't miss a ton of bats, and his changeup is solid. He's a decent strike thrower but doesn't have the pinpoint command necessary to survive at lower velocities in the majors, and at six feet tall, he doesn't project to add a ton of velocity. That's why the competitiveness and intangibles are the key here, and the Cardinals hope that Prater will simply outwork his competition and sharpen up his stuff. He's relatively young for the class and only turned 21 a week before I published this review, helping his profile out a little bit. Overall, he looks like a #4/#5 starter if he can sharpen up either his stuff or his command just a little bit, or he could be a middle reliever if not. He signed for $575,000, which was $52,900 below slot value.

4-122: RHP Ian Bedell, Missouri (my rank: 100)
Bedell was the player to crack my top 100 and therefore the last player to receive a full pre-draft writeup (my public rankings went up to 125 and I'm including ranks up to 160 in the "my rank" section). I pondered a bit over Hence's status as a hometown player, but while Bedell isn't from Missouri, he has a clearer case. Growing up in Davenport, Iowa, about 250 miles upriver from St. Louis on the Mississippi, Bedell is a lifelong Cardinals fan and spent three years pitching for the Missouri Tigers. Davenport is less than three hours west of Chicago and four hours north of St. Louis, but if he grew up a Cardinals fan and pitched at Mizzou, he's earned the hometown label. Anyways, Bedell has had a highly successful career in Columbia following in the footsteps of guys like Tanner Houck, Michael Plassmeyer, and TJ Sikkema, highlighted by a 1.56 ERA over 40.1 innings as a long reliever in 2019. Bedell also dominated the Cape Cod League over the summer, posting a 2.31 ERA in 35 innings, giving plenty of track record for the Cardinals to lean on. He typically works in the low 90's with his fastball, though as a starter this spring, he was sitting closer to 90 and that caused him to slip a little bit. He adds in an above average curveball that could project as a true plus pitch if he adds a little depth, and he throws a slider and changeup as well that are improving and round out his arsenal really well. While he doesn't have any plus stuff, he commands his pitches well and controls the strike zone even better, holding a 75/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 59.1 innings between the Cape and his shortened 2020 season. He's very young for a college junior in that he won't turn 21 until September, giving him more time to fill out his 6'2" frame and hopefully add a tick of velocity to stay in the rotation. He signed for $800,000, which was $331,000 above slot and higher than both Burleson and Prater's bonuses. Pre-draft profile here.

5-152: OF LJ Jones IV, Long Beach State (unranked)
Here's a really interesting sleeper for you. A product of the same Eastlake High School in the San Diego area that gave us Adrian Gonzalez, 2019 Twins first rounder Keoni Cavaco, and 2020 Giants second rounder Casey Schmitt (via San Diego State), LJ Jones has been a steady performer at Long Beach State when healthy. He hit .312/.358/.408 as a freshman in 2018, missed almost all of the 2019 season when Florida's Jack Leftwich hit him on the hand with a pitch, and returned to hit .327/.377/.509 with two home runs and an even 4/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 14 games in the shortened 2020 season. With a strong, somewhat stocky frame, he generates impressive bat speed from the right side of the plate with great leverage. While he hasn't had much of a chance to tap his power at Long Beach State, he has shown the ability to make very consistent contact and I think as he gets more games under his belt, the power will come too. He's going to have to hit, because he's probably limited to left field defensively, but I really like the bat in the fifth round and I think he could hit for both power and average at the major league level. Watch this one. Jones signed for $100,000, which was $250,300 below slot.

Undrafted: RHP Gianluca Dalatri, North Carolina (unranked)
With one of the cooler names in college baseball, Gianluca Dalatri put together a strong and high profile track record at UNC, posting a 3.12 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a 151/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 156 innings for the Tar Heels. However, the problem is that he hasn't pitched since early in the 2019 season, as various injuries have nagged him throughout his career – his only full season came in 2017, his freshman year, and he's only thrown 59 innings sine the start of 2018. The stuff is average, as he sits in the upper 80's with his fastball and adds an average curveball and changeup, but he commands it all extremely well and gets good extension in his 6'6" frame. It appears that it should be a durable frame, but given his injury history, that hasn't been the case. The Cardinals will try to develop him as a potential #5 starter or long relief type, but it's noteworthy to get that kind of a college performer on the staff.

Undrafted: RHP Nick Trogrlic-Iverson, Gonzaga (unranked)
Trogrlic-Iverson is pretty well travelled, heading from the Toronto-area high school ranks to Central Arizona College in the desert between Phoenix and Tucson for two years before heading up to Gonzaga in Washington state. He was off to a strong start to his senior year in 2020, striking out 20 while walking just three in 21.1 innings with a 3.80 ERA along the way. Trogrlic-Iverson throws a fastball in the low 90's in addition to a full set of secondary pitches, probably headlined by a solid slider and changeup. Standing 6'1" with a little bit of funky long arm action, he might fit better in the bullpen, where the velocity could tick up and he could focus on one or two secondary pitches. He's a good strike thrower who could move quickly in that relief role and make an impact sooner rather than later.

2020 Prospect Depth Chart: St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals' system has lived and died by the draft, and while a breakout campaign from Dylan Carlson and encouraging returns from Nolan Gorman and Andrew Knizner are huge, there's no question the system is feeling the effects of some blown picks. First rounders Nick Plummer (2015) and Delvin Perez (2016) are looking like busts, and 2018 competitive balance pick Griffin Roberts had a discouraging first full season. That said, some shrewd moves have also paid huge dividends, as Angel Rondon, Tommy Parsons, Alex Fagalde, Andrew Warner, and Justin Toerner all figure into the team's future despite signing for virtually no money, and still low-profile acquisitions of guys like Jhon Torres, Ivan Herrera, Andre Pallante, and Jack Ralston look great in hindsight. It's a thinner system than it has been recently, but the big two power bats of Carlson and Gorman, as well as a slew of upper minors back end starter types, look to make their impact in St. Louis soon.

Affiliates: AAA Memphis Redbirds, AA Springfield Cardinals, High A Palm Beach Cardinals, Class A Peoria Chiefs, short season State College Spikes, rookie level Johnson City Cardinals, complex level GCL and DSL Cardinals

Catcher
- Andrew Knizner (2020 Age: 25): Yadier Molina made it very tough on Carson Kelly, now with the Diamondbacks, and he's doing the same thing to Andrew Knizner (first N is silent). The seventh round pick out of North Carolina State in 2016 reached the majors in 2019, slashing .276/.357/.463 with 12 home runs and a 37/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 66 games at AAA Memphis while also hitting .226/.293/.377 with a pair of home runs in 18 major league games. Though he packs a lot of strength in his 6'1" frame, Knizner is plenty happy just spraying line drives around the field and that makes him extremely tough to strike out, which in turn will help his bat play up at the major league level. He's also a solid defender who should improve while learning behind Molina in St. Louis, and he could eventually develop enough power to hit 15 home runs per season. Knizner is the rare catching prospect that actually projects as a true starter at the major league level, and once he figures out a way to get around Molina, either by playing a different position for a few years, by going to another team, or just eating away at his playing time, he should be moderately productive on both sides of the ball.
- Julio Rodriguez (2020 Age: 22-23): Rodriguez lacks the impact at the plate of a guy like Knizner, but his superior defense alone gives him a shot at being a big league backup. In 2019, he slashed .268/.311/.393 with eight home runs and a 68/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 85 games at High A Palm Beach and AA Springfield, both pitcher-friendly environments, so he doesn't completely lack sock in his bat. Rodriguez employs a contact-oriented approach that limits his walks but also his strikeouts, which should help him handle big league pitching as a hitter, though he probably won't hit more than 5-10 home runs per season. The Cardinals have a lot of depth behind the plate, so I see it as pretty likely that one of their young catchers gets traded, but Rodriguez's superior glove gives him the chance to be a long-term backup in St. Louis.
- Ivan Herrera (2020 Age: 19-20): Right behind Rodriguez is Ivan Herrera, a teenager who slashed .284/.374/.405 with nine home runs and a 72/40 strikeout to walk ratio over 87 games at Class A Peoria and High A Palm Beach. Herrera employs a very advanced approach at the plate for his age, earning a promotion up to High A shortly after his 19th birthday and continuing to get on base well in his small sample size. With his quick, simple swing, he could add some power without sacrificing too much in the way of contact and has a chance to challenge Knizner for a starting spot down the road. He's a work in progress defensively, but he also doesn't turn 20 until June, so he's ahead of schedule regardless. I'd call him the better prospect to Rodriguez, even with the discrepancy in current defense, as he's rapidly improving at a young age.
- Keep an eye on: Jose Godoy, Pedro Pages, Aaron Antonini

Corner Infield
- Nolan Gorman (2020 Age: 19-20): Gorman was a first round pick out of a Phoenix high school in 2018, then his sensational run through the Appalachian League (11 HR, .350/.443/.664) put him firmly on the prospect map. He came back down to Earth a bit in 2019, slashing .248/.326/.439 with 15 home runs and a 152/45 strikeout to walk ratio over 125 games at Class A Peoria and High A Palm Beach, though he was facing older competition. Gorman has a ton of power from the left side of the plate, true 30-40 homer pop that has never been questioned by evaluators, but the nicest thing to see so far has been a hit tool that was more advanced than expected. Gorman at times struggled with his approach at the plate on the prep circuit, and the thought was that his long swing might inhibit his ability to get to his power right away in pro ball. He indeed has struck out in 29% of his plate appearances so far in the minors, though his assignments have been aggressive and he has gotten to his power for 32 home runs in 188 career games, so I'm not too worried about the swing and miss. I think he'll settle in as a guy who hits 30-35 home runs annually with decent on-base percentages. He's been improving at third base, and while he'll never be a plus defender there, he might be able to stick rather than moving over to first base. The bat will profile at either position.
- Luken Baker (2020 Age: 23): Baker, a slugging first baseman who was drafted in the second round out of TCU in 2018, saw his stock drop a notch in 2019. This year, he slashed .244/.327/.390 with ten home runs and a 112/52 strikeout to walk ratio over 122 games at High A Palm Beach, which was a bit light for a guy whose power will have to carry him up to the majors. Baker is a huge guy, listed at 6'4" and 265 pounds, though his power manifested more in hitting a lot of doubles (32) than home runs (10) in 2019. It's harder to get balls out of Florida State League parks, so if you give Baker the benefit of the doubt, he might get his power stroke back a bit in the Texas League in 2020. His strong plate discipline should help his bat play up, though at this point he might look more like a platoon bat than as a true starting first baseman.
- Elehuris Montero (2020 Age: 21): It's been a wild ride for Montero, who broke out by slashing .315/.371/.504 in A ball in 2018, but he followed it up with a nightmare 2019 in which he slashed .188/.235/.317 with seven home runs and a 74/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 59 games at AA Springfield, also missing time with a broken hand. The strike zone completely got away from him, and he struggled to make contact against advanced AA pitching. He still got to his power somewhat, but it's clear that he'll need to repeat the level in order to get on base in addition to hitting for power. He's not a great defender and may have to move to first base, which would hurt his chances of starting, and the tough year might mean a future as a platoon/bench bat. If he bounces back, though, his feel for the barrel and power could help him hit 15-20 home runs per season with solid on-base percentages.
- Keep an eye on: Evan Mendoza, Yariel Gonzalez, Juan Yepez, Malcom Nunez

Middle Infield
- Edmundo Sosa (2020 Age: 24): Sosa spent most of 2019 at AAA Memphis, slashing .291/.335/.466 with 17 home runs and a 96/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 118 games, and he's also slashed .200/.385/.200 over eleven major league games. Those 17 home runs are more than likely a product of the homer-happy Pacific Coast League, as he fits better into the 5-10 home run range with the potential to pop for up to 15 in a season, but he makes easy contact and can find the barrel consistently against high level pitching, giving him a chance to stick in the majors. His aggressive approach limits his walks, and overall it will probably keep his offensive profile low enough that he'll have trouble starting, but he's a slick defender that should be able to handle both middle infield spots well and make for a valuable utility man in the very near future.
- Ramon Urias (2020 Age: 25-26): Urias was signed out of the Mexican League in 2018, and in 2019 he slashed .262/.362/.419 with ten home runs and an 81/45 strikeout to walk ratio over 103 games, mostly at AAA Memphis. At only 5'10" and 150 pounds, he probably saw the same effect as Sosa when it came to his home run output, and he probably fits best at 5-10 per season in the majors. Urias stands out for his plate discipline, as he makes easy contact and should have no problem hitting in the majors, but he's unlikely to hit for a ton of impact and he has some competition if he wants to crack it as a utility infielder in 2020. To me, he's likely behind Sosa on the depth chart and he also has Max Schrock and Kramer Robertson to think about.
- Kramer Robertson (2020 Age: 25): Robertson, a fourth round pick as an LSU senior in 2017, has moved relatively quickly through the minors and in 2019 he slashed .231/.360/.365 with eleven home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a 85/66 strikeout to walk ratio over 123 games at AA Springfield and AAA Memphis. He's not a big guy at 5'10", but he has wiry strength that helps him produce moderate power and his excellent plate discipline helps him get to it relatively consistently. He's an extremely scrappy player who plays good defense and should be able to play his way up to the majors, though the Cardinals' utility infield scene is crowded at this point and Sosa probably has the leg up.
- Keep an eye on: Max Schrock, Kramer Robertson, Delvin Perez, Mateo Gil

Outfield
- Dylan Carlson (2020 Age: 21): The Cardinals drafted Carlson at the end of the first round out of a Sacramento-area high school in 2016, and they subsequently spent 2016 (.251/.313/.404), 2017 (.240/.342/.347), and 2018 (.246/.348/.390) waiting for him to break out. He finally did in 2019, slashing .292/.372/.542 with 26 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and a 116/58 strikeout to walk ratio over 126 games at AA Springfield and AAA Memphis, enough to push himself into the conversation with Nolan Gorman for the best prospect in the system. He's always had two things going for him at the plate, and those have been strong plate discipline and natural raw power, but he finally began to tap that power consistently in 2019 with a new approach that saw him try to drive the ball in the air more often. We've seen this a lot, as more and more minor and major leaguers are finding success by trying to lift the ball and get it off the ground. Now with his power, patience, and good defense in right field, we could see Carlson crack the Cardinals roster in 2020 and even try to pry a starting spot away from whoever takes over for Marcell Ozuna. In the end, Carlson projects for maybe 25 home runs per season with good on-base percentages and a few stolen bases.
- Randy Arozarena (2020 Age: 25): Arozarena was a highly touted Cuban import who signed for $1.25 million in in 2016, then broke out in upper minors in 2019. This year, he slashed .344/.431/.571 with 15 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and a 71/37 strikeout to walk ratio over 92 games at AA Springfield and AAA Memphis, then hit .300/.391/.500 with a home run and a pair of stolen bases in a 19 game debut with the Cardinals. At 5'11", he doesn't have a ton of raw pop, but he knows how to get to it and has hit double digit home runs all three years in the minors. That's more due to his feel for the barrel, which has enabled him to limit his strikeouts and consistently make hard contact, leading to high batting averages, albeit without a ton of walks. The Cardinals' outfield plan is up in the air for 2020 with the departure of Marcell Ozuna, and while you know top prospect Dylan Carlson is gunning for that spot, Arozarena has more experience at AAA and in the majors and is already on the 40 man roster. In all, I think both can start, with Arozarena projecting for maybe 15 home runs per season, a few stolen bases, and solid, batting average-driven on-base percentages.
- Justin Williams (2020 Age: 24): Williams was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the second round out of a south-central Louisiana high school way back in 2013, and he's since been traded twice in what's been a long road up. He originally went to the Rays in the Jeremy Hellickson trade after the 2014 season, then moved on to the Cardinals as part of the return for Tommy Pham in 2018. After grounding out in his only MLB at bat in 2018, Williams had a really up and down 2019, missing a lot of time with various injuries, slashing just .193/.246/.263 with one home run and a 17/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 17 games at AA Spingfield, then slashing .353/.437/.608 with seven home runs and a 30/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 36 games at AAA Memphis. He's got wiry strength that helps him produce average power, enough to hit 15-20 home runs annually in the majors if he can get to it, and he keeps his strikeouts reasonably low as well. If he hadn't missed so much time throughout his career to nagging injuries, he might already be a productive regular in the majors, but it's hard to gauge his ceiling when he's cracked 100 games just twice in seven pro seasons. He probably settles in as a bat-first fourth outfielder, one who can get on base and hit for some power, but if he stays healthy he has a shot at starting.
- Justin Toerner (2020 Age: 23-24): Toerner, a 28th round pick out of Cal State Northridge in 2018, is already looking like a steal. He hit .312/.410/.385 across three levels in his pro debut and reached High A, then kept on hitting in 2019 by slashing .253/.374/.379 with eleven home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a 105/61 strikeout to walk ratio over 103 games at High A Palm Beach and AA Springfield. None of Toerner's tools stand out, which is part of why he dropped so far in the 2018 draft, but he does a little bit of everything and is sneaking up behind Carlson, Arozarena, and Williams as a potential fourth outfielder because of it. He started getting to his below average raw power more in 2019, and his patient approach at the plate enabled him to post a .403 on-base percentage in High A then a solid .338 mark in AA even as his bat slumped. I doubt Toerner is ever a full time starter for the Cardinals, but he's definitely a sleeper to watch.
- Jhon Torres (2020 Age: 20): Man, this kid is explosive and flat out fun to watch hit. He was acquired from the Indians in the Oscar Mercado trade in 2018, around which he tore up complex ball to the tune of a .321/.409/.525 line. Pushed all the way to Class A Peoria for 2019, he looked a bit overmatched and slashed just .167/.240/.212 with a 29/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 21 games, so the Cardinals dropped him back down to rookie level Johnson City, where he hit .286/.391/.527 with six home runs and a 36/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 33 games. Torres already has great raw power at 19 years old, and at 6'4", he could grow into even more down the line. He generates this power both from his strength and from a big leg kick, which leads to his share of swing and miss, but he also has enough feel for hitting and finding the barrel that he can limit the strikeouts and get to that power. He'll take another crack at Class A in 2020, and he has one of the higher ceilings in the system as a kid who could eventually hit 30+ home runs annually with a good arm in right field.
- Trejyn Fletcher (2020 Age: 19): Fletcher is a bit of a mystery for multiple reasons. He played high school ball in Portland, Maine, which is well off the beaten prospect path (the only Mainers I can think of in the major leagues are Ryan Flaherty and Charlie Furbush, not sure what it is with Maine baseball players and F last names), Maine's awful spring weather makes it really hard to see those prospects, and he reclassified in March from the 2020 draft to the more age-appropriate 2019 draft. He's an exceptional athlete who at this point is all projection and no track record, though his .244/.291/.375 slash line with four home runs, seven stolen bases, and a 76/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 43 games in the complex level Gulf Coast League and at rookie level Johnson City were better than expected. Fletcher has plenty of power and speed, giving him the chance to be a real asset on both sides of the ball, but his hit tool is entirely unproven and he needs a lot of mechanical changes in his short swing. His 43.4% strikeout rate in his pro debut is evidence of that, so it will be a few years before we really know what we're getting. The upside is fun to dream on, though, and it's definitely a plus that he managed to hit his way up to the Appalachian League at 18 years old.
- Keep an eye on: Conner Capel, Leandro Cedeno, Jonatan Machado, Diowill Burgos

Starting Pitching
- Genesis Cabrera (2020 Age: 23): Cabrera often looks like more of a reliever than a starter, but it's not known what direction the Cardinals will go with their fifth starter and that works in Cabrera's favor. In 2019, he had a 5.91 ERA, a 1.47 WHIP, and a 106/39 strikeout to walk ratio over 99 innings at hitter-friendly AAA Memphis, then put up a 4.87 ERA, a 1.67 WHIP, and a 19/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 20.1 innings in the majors. The 6'2" lefty has an explosive fastball that sits consistently in the mid 90's while touching higher, and he adds a whole slew of secondary pitches that have been inconsistent throughout his career. He's also been even more inconsistent with his command, so even at 23 years old, he could really turn out to be anything. If his profile remains as is, he might be able to stick as a #5 starter, though he's just a few adjustments away from becoming a #3/#4. Also highly possible is a career in the bullpen, where he can focus on a couple secondary pitches and not have to worry so much about his command, and his high-effort delivery might fit better there anyways.
- Jake Woodford (2020 Age: 23): Cabrera's primary competition for that fifth spot, if the Cardinals don't outsource it, will be Jake Woodford, a competitive balance pick out of a Tampa high school in 2015. Woodford spent 2019 in the homer-happy Pacific Coast League, posting a respectable 4.15 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, a 131/75 strikeout to walk ratio over 151.2 innings at AAA Memphis, numbers that look much better considering the context. His stuff is fairly light, with a low 90's fastball, a pair of decent breaking balls, and a changeup, and his command is decent but nothing to write home about. Woodford's highish walk rates are probably more a product of him trying to avoid the middle of the zone, as he's given up 40 home runs over the past two seasons due to that light stuff, but his feel for pitching is just good enough that he was able to limit the damage up in AAA and his durability makes him one of the more consistent arms in the system. His ceiling is probably that of a #5 starter but he could be that exactly in 2020.
- Tommy Parsons (2020 Age: 24): You can say Parsons improved his stock in 2019. Signed as an un-drafted free agent out of Division III Adrian College in Michigan in 2018, he had a nice run through the Appalachian League before getting sent to Class A Peoria at 23 years old to start 2019. What ensued was a meteoric rise through four minor league levels, as he posted a 3.53 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and a 148/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 165.2 innings at Peoria, High A Palm Beach, AA Springfield, and AAA Memphis. Those 165.2 innings led all minor leaguers, and that track record of durability extends back to his college days. Nothing jumps off the page with Parsons, who sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds three unspectacular secondary pitches, but his masterful control and exceptional feel for pitching help everything play up. The durability also does more than just keep him on the mound, as he's just as effective in the seventh and eighth inning as he is in the first, and I'd be curious to see his stats split by times through the order. His ceiling is that of a #4/#5 starter but he's just a really interesting pitcher.
- Angel Rondon (2020 Age: 22): Rondon has been the epitome of a sleeper prospect. I couldn't find the terms of his signing bonus online, but I'm sure it wasn't much since he signed as an 18 year old in January 2016 (most top prospects sign at 16 years old in July and August), and he's just quietly performed in the low minors without drawing much attention. That changed in 2019, when he had a 2.93 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and a 159/59 strikeout to walk ratio over 160 innings at High A Palm Beach and AA Springfield. He joined his teammate, Parsons, in being one of only seven minor league pitchers to reach 160 innings this year, using his solid three pitch mix and feel for pitching to carve through lineups. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and adds a slider and a changeup, and while his command isn't pinpoint, it's around average and he really understands how to deploy his stuff. As a pitcher who tends to give up a lot of fly balls, it will be interesting to see how he fares with the juiced balls up in AAA and the majors, but 2019 was certainly an encouraging step forward and he now looks like a future #4 starter.
- Johan Oviedo (2020 Age: 22): Oviedo started the spring at High A Palm Beach, but after posting a 1.60 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and a 35/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 33.2 innings, he earned a quick promotion to AA Springfield. He wasn't quite as effective at the higher level, posting a 5.65 ERA, a 1.63 WHIP, and a 128/64 strikeout to walk ratio over 113 innings, but he was also only 21 years old in AA. Oviedo can sit in the low to mid 90's with his fastball while adding a slider and a changeup, the latter of which is very advanced for his age. At 6'6", he could grow into more velocity, but for now the focus needs to be on improving his command, which is below average at this point. He has the chance to become a #3 or #4 starter if he does, and that may require him to tone down his high effort delivery a bit. If not, he fits well as a reliever.
- Zack Thompson (2020 Age: 22): Thompson was the Cardinals' first round pick out of Kentucky in 2019, but if he stays healthy, he has the chance to move quickly. In his pro debut, he had a 3.52 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP, and a 23/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 15.1 innings between the complex level Gulf Coast League and High A Palm Beach, where he threw in relief after a long college season. He has the chance to be great value at the #19 overall pick, as nothing stands out in his game but everything is steadily improving and he has a track record of success in the SEC. He comes in with a low 90's fastball and a full set of secondary pitches, all of which are potential weapons that have remained pretty consistent, and his command steadily improved throughout his time at Kentucky and looked solid in his pro debut. I don't see him as a true ace, but the lefty has a very good shot at becoming a #3 starter if he can stay healthy.
- Andre Pallante (2020 Age: 21): Three rounds after Thompson, the Cardinals took UC Irvine righty Andre Pallante in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. He, like Thompson, has the chance to be great value at this spot, and he already had a successful pro debut with a 2.78 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 38/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 35.2 innings at short season State College. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds three secondary pitches, and while none stand out as plus, he has good feel for pitching and commands everything fairly well. He's on the smaller side at six feet tall and has some effort in his delivery, which gives him some reliever risk, but his deep arsenal and command could help him stick in the rotation if he tones down that delivery just a little bit. I like Pallante as a sleeper prospect and I think he could be a #3 or #4 starter.
- Keep an eye on: Austin Warner, Alex Fagalde, Steven Gingery

Relief Pitching
- Junior Fernandez (2020 Age: 23): Fernandez transitioned from starting to relieving in 2018, and after getting mixed results in his first year in the bullpen, he took off in 2019. This year, he had a 1.52 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and an 80/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 65 innings at High A Palm Beach, AA Springfield, and AAA Memphis, and he then posted a 5.40 ERA and a 16/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 11.2 major league innings. Now that he's in the bullpen, his fastball has ticked up to the upper 90's, and he can lean more heavily on his fading changeup while taking emphasis off his decent slider. His mediocre command doesn't hurt him nearly as much in the bullpen as it did in the rotation, and his stuff clearly played up in short spurts. He has closer upside if he can tighten his command a little bit, but a nice career as a set-up man is both more likely and highly valuable anyways.
- Griffin Roberts (2020 Age: 23-24): Roberts was a competitive balance pick in the 2018 draft out of Wake Forest, but his first full season in 2019 went about as poorly as possible. He missed the start of the season after being suspended for a "drug of abuse" (likely marijuana), then came back and posted a 6.44 ERA, a 1.74 WHIP, and a 36/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 65.2 innings at High A Palm Beach. His command, which was never all that great to begin with, fell apart and that caused him to pitch from behind in the count often, meaning he had to lean more heavily on his low to mid 90's fastball than on his devastating slider. In the end, he didn't miss bats and he got hit hard. His future is almost certainly in the bullpen now, where he could bump that fastball up into the mid 90's and lean on his slider, which is one of the better breaking balls in all of minor league baseball. In that role, he could move quickly and his command will be less of an issue.
- Tony Locey (2020 Age: 21-22): Locey was the Cardinals' third round pick out of Georgia in 2019, and he posted a 5.29 ERA, a 1.65 WHIP, and a 31/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 17 innings in the complex level Gulf Coast League and at Class A Peoria in his pro debut. He improved steadily throughout his time in Athens, though he remains inconsistent around most of his game. Locey sits in the mid 90's with his fastball, which is his best weapon, and he adds a good slider as well as a curveball and changeup. That deep arsenal could help him start if the Cardinals want to go that route, but the curve and changeup are unreliable and he's probably best off in relief. His command also needs a little bit of work, but tightening it up a little bit could help him be a useful, potentially multi-inning reliever at the major league level.
- Jack Ralston (2020 Age: 22-23): Here's a sleeper for you guys. Ralston didn't pitch in either of his first two seasons at UCLA and only sparingly as a redshirt sophomore, but he broke out as a redshirt junior and the Cardinals took him in the seventh round. Converted to relief at least for his pro debut, he had a 1.07 ERA, a 0.75 WHIP, and a 26/7 strikeout to walk ratio over 25.1 innings at short season State College. He's a 6'6" righty who can bump his fastball into the mid 90's now that he's pitching in relief, and his plus curveball is a bat-missing weapon that could be his ticket up to the major leagues. His command is improving, and if he can hold it around average like it was in his pro debut, he could move quickly up to the majors and be an impact reliever in the relatively near future.
- Keep an eye on: Seth Elledge, Connor Thomas, Walker Robbins