Cardinals Conclude 2023 Draft with 10 Picks

photo: Dakota Harris (Joe Buvid/University of Oklahoma Athletics)

By Blake Newberry and Brian Walton

On Tuesday, July 11, the St. Louis Cardinals are making their final 10 selections in the third day of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, covering rounds 11-20.

Though some observers pay little attention to Day 3 selections, the reality is that good major leaguers have been sourced from these picks. In fact, the Cardinals have been especially successful over the years finding talent in round 11 and later.

Note that the Cardinals would be required to use a portion of their $6,375,100 pool allocation from rounds 1-10 to cover any harder-to-sign any Day 3 selections who receive more than $150,000 in signing bonus.

It remains to be seen if the Cardinals go down this path in 2023, as they did not in 2022. But in 2021, they spent an extra $175,000 to sign 11th round shortstop Mack Chambers and 12th round pitcher Chris Gerard.

On Days 1 and 2 of the 2023 Draft, the Cardinals focused exclusively on college outfielders and pitchers, using all nine of their picks there. Of the nine collegians added to date, just two are seniors, taken in the fourth and seventh rounds.

Further, with the signing of Willson Contreras, the Cards forfeited their second-round spot and associated cap spending of almost $1.5 million. These factors leave them less opportunity to save money to enable overpaying selected Day 3 picks.

The lack of financial leverage that goes with having one of the smallest overall bonus pools is a big reason why the Cardinals have not yet selected a high schooler in this draft. If they want to go after such a higher upside, higher risk teenager at all, it could be in the early rounds of Day 3.

For More

Click on each player’s photo to be taken to his player profile page here at The Cardinal Nation, with additional information.

To reference the Cardinals’ new draft class on an ongoing basis, each player will have a profile located on a holding team called “DRAFT PLAYERS UNSIGNED”. This can be accessed at the bottom of the drop-down menu in the red column in the left menu called “ROSTERS/PLAYERS/MOVES” or click here.

St. Louis Cardinals Select Eight in Day 2 of 2023 Draft

Cardinals Select Chase Davis on 2023 MLB Draft’s First Day

Quick day 3 summary

Early in draft day 3, the Cardinals focused on the infield with three in rounds 11-15 before finishing Tuesday with a total of four pitchers, an outfielder, a catcher, a first baseman, a third baseman and two shortstops.

It was a heavy college senior focus with half of the day’s picks, five in that class. Two were college juniors, two came from junior colleges with the final pick a high schooler who will almost certainly not sign.

Of the 19 players taken over the three days, St. Louis chose nine pitchers (six RHP, three LHP), four infielders, five outfielders and one catcher.  The split is nine college juniors, seven seniors, two juco players and the lone high school player taken to conclude the draft.

As Tuesday progresses from afternoon into evening, this article will be updated as picks are made and information added, so please check back often.

Randy Flores (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

Flores speaks

As he did following each day of the draft, Cardinals assistant VP and scouting director Randy Flores met with the media.

The Cards had “scouting history” with Tre Richardson, who hails from Masyn Winn’s high school.

Day 3 was senior heavy for the Cardinals due to the population of players, said Flores. He noted the COVID year gave many players an extra year of eligibility, leaving them some “very intriguing” players to select on Tuesday.

The MLB Draft League, Summer Program and the Combine have become “a key part of the evaluation process”. It allows them more looks at the players and for some to prove they are healthy. Even some of the Day 1 picks were influenced by the players having played a longer post-season. But they also have to be on guard to not attach too much weight to the “last look” and override several years of information.

When asked about the chances of signing 20th round prep star and LSU commit Cameron Johnson, Flores asked for prayers and mentioned a “Hail Mary”.

He noted the shift is from “seven days of being bunkered together” between meetings and the draft to onboarding, physicals and turning the players over to the player development function.

St. Louis’ 2023 Day 3 selections

11th round, 335th overall

Dakota Harris, shortstop
University of Oklahoma, junior
6’0/197 pounds
Bats/Throws: B/R

  • Slashed .328/.403/.516 with 7 HR, 12 doubles and 48 RBI in 46 games played as a junior this past season at Oklahoma.
  • 2023 semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is given annually to college baseball’s best shortstop.

Dakota Harris

Dakota Harris is a switch hitting shortstop who started his career at Polk State College, a junior college in Florida, before transferring to Oklahoma for the 2023 season. He quickly became a key player on both sides of the field for the Sooners, who struggled to a 5-9 record when he got hurt during the year.

Offensively, the shortstop has a bit of pop in his bat, clubbing 7 homers with Oklahoma, but it’s really his defense that he prides himself on. As a Juco player, Harris earned NJCAA defensive player of the year honors as both a freshman and a sophomore and was then a finalist for the Brooks Wallace award this year, which is awarded annually to college baseball’s best shortstop. 

The award was eventually won by Matt Shaw, a first round pick out of Maryland in this draft.

Given the defense pedigree, though I haven’t watched enough of him in the field to confirm this with my eye, it seems that Harris should have a good chance of sticking at shortstop in pro ball. And while that’s valuable enough by itself, Harris also has experience playing centerfield from his time in the Cape Cod league. For someone who plays up the middle at premium positions, he’s not actually a huge stolen base threat, but while he may lack elite speed on the basepaths, he does seem to have enough athleticism and feel for the game to be a strong up the middle defender.

Harris also saw time at third base, second base, and left field in his two seasons of summer ball, so he does have some versatility to his game as well.

Offensively, there is a little bit of swing and miss to Harris’ game but not an overly concerning amount as he struck out 16.8% of the time. He does have a good strong swing that creates decent power, which makes me think there may be a healthy amount of power production in him when he gets to pro ball. While his power and bat-to-ball skills don’t stand out one way or the other, it’s a solid overall package for a day 3 pick, especially when paired with the defensive profile. Unsurprisingly, his 8.6% walk rate doesn’t stand out as particularly good or bad either.

It also sounds like Harris gets high marks for his leadership skills and energy on the field, which really adds to his gamer kind of profile.

The 11th round pick doesn’t have a standout tool but he does a lot of things well and has a well-rounded skill set without any glaring holes. Harris is the first infielder taken by the Cardinals in this draft and he’s a fun one. He should have the glove to stick up the middle and he pairs that with good athleticism and an interesting bat, which gives him a valuable overall profile.

12th round, 365th overall

Brayden Jobert, outfielder
Louisiana State University, senior
6’2/209 pounds
Bats/Throws: L/R

  • Played in 60 games for the Tigers in 2023, batting .301 with 11 doubles, two triples, 14 homers, 49 RBI and 40 runs scored. Started 34 games in right field, eight games in left field, six games at third base and three games at designated hitter.
  • Batted .290 (9-for-31) in the 2023 College World Series with three doubles, one triple, three homers, seven RBI and six runs.  Was the Tigers’ CWS leader in HR (3), and was second on the club in RBI (7).

Brayden Jobert

Brayden Jobert (LSU Athletics)

Brayden Jobert also spent some time in the junior college ranks, playing at Delgado Community College in New Orleans in 2021 after transferring from Nicholls State University, where he played, and dominated, for the shortened 2020 season. His roundabout college career then led him to LSU, keeping him in the same state as his previous two schools, after excelling at the plate with both of his previous schools.

Jobert is no stranger to high exit velocities as he routinely pounded balls in the 100-110 mph range for LSU so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that Jobert was known for hitting “Jobombs” in college. In fact, he hit 14 of them this year after connecting on 18 in 2022. Part of the power obviously comes from the exit velocities, but Jobert likes to pull the ball too and get his bat out in front where it can do the most damage. He also gets his power from a simple swing without a ton of moving parts.

What pushed Jobert to day 3, though, was the amount of swing and miss in his game. The slugger had a 25.7% strikeout rate this past season with LSU, which is actually up almost 5% from the 2022 season.

That’s a high strikeout rate for a college bat and it does lead to questions of what his hit tool will look like against better, more advanced, professional pitchers. Still, Jobert has a standout tool, and a valuable standout tool at that, so there’s the potential that it can carry him through the system if he can refine his game and make more contact down the road.

Defensively, most scouts have pegged Jobert for a 1B/DH role in the future but the Cardinals announced him as an outfielder so they will almost certainly give him the chance to stick in the grass first. He played some outfielder in his college career as well as some first base and some third base so he does have options before moving down the defensive spectrum.

Jobert did spend some time at DH in college but the Cardinals didn’t pick him for his glove, they picked him for his standout bat which has rare power for someone available in the 12th round. Jobert may stick in the outfield or he may have to slide to first base but he has more than enough juice to add value from a corner spot.

This is a good value pick to nab a guy this late with a loud standout tool and hope that he can add to it.

13th round, 395th overall

William Sullivan, first base
Troy University, senior
6’4/216 pounds
Bats/Throws: L/R

• Career .289/.395/.511 hitter in four seasons with the Trojans, and hit .310/.416/.625 during his senior season with 17 HR, 15 doubles, three triples, 53 RBI and 61 runs scored across 60 games.
• Set the Troy school record with 45 career HBP. His 25 HBP in 2023 tied the school single-season record and were T6th in NCAA Division I.
• Earned Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America honors in 2020 when he posted a .396/.468/.547 slash line to go along with 12 RBIs in 15 games.

William Sullivan

William Sullivan (Troy University Athletics)

Another pick, another powerful college bat, this time a senior from Troy. Sullivan was a solid performer for his first three years on campus but definitely not a standout guy, posting OPSes of .681 and .832 as a sophomore and a junior, respectively. But he really broke in a big way as a senior as his OPS jumped to 1.040 and his home run total spiked to 17, almost doubling his cumulative home run total from his first three seasons (9).

You can probably guess the weakness, though, swing and miss. He had a 19% strikeout rate which isn’t too high but needs to be kept in the perspective of being a senior hitter against smaller conference pitchers. He also does chase a bit out of the zone and has an aggressive approach which limited his walk rate to 7.7% as a senior.

Again, players are going to have flaws when you get this late in the draft but Sullivan has a loud tool that gives him a lot of upside. The first baseman routinely crushes baseballs and hit one batted ball at 118 mph this year. For reference, that’s a higher max exit velocity than 1st rounder Chase Davis this year. Sullivan can absolutely demolish the baseball. No doubt about it.

He does have some movement in his swing with a big leg kick and some extended hand movement in his load so it’s possible the Cardinals will try to quiet that down to improve his contact skills.

The power is what the Cardinals are drafting here. The left-handed hitting slugger is probably a first base only guy going forward but his bat can handle playing a low-value defensive position. He did play some outfield in college but he was announced as a first baseman and that’s where I expect him to play in the Cardinals’ system.

A potential red flag worth pointing out is that Sullivan never really dominated the summer ball circuit. In three seasons, he never had an OPS above .795 and in his last summer campaign in 2022, he had an OPS of just .625. Still, Sullivan checks all the boxes from a batted ball metrics perspective and will bring his powerful bat into the Cardinals system where he can really maximize its impact by working on improving his overall hit tool.

The Cardinals are adding another loud tool to the system that they were able to snag in the 13th round. That’s another solid day 3 pick.

14th round, 425th overall

Jacob Odle, pitcher
Orange Coast College (CA), Juco junior
6’5/210 pounds
Bats/Throws: R/R

  • Was 1-1, with a 2.03 ERA and 29 SO in 13.1 innings pitched (8 games) while showcasing a 99 MPH fastball with State College in the 2023 MLB Draft League.
  • Was 2-3 with 2 saves and 22 strikeouts in 14.1 IP (13 games) as a freshman for Orange Coast College in 2023.
  • Averaged 13.81 K/9 IP in college.

Jacob Odle

Jacob Odle

To continue the trend of drafting players with loud tools, the Cardinals took Jacob Odle as their first pitcher selected on day 3.

The right-hander does not have the profile that we’ve come to expect from Cardinals pitchers. His fastball tops out at 99 mph and sits 95-98 and he mixes that with an 88-92 mph cutter and a 79-82 mph curveball. The fastball plays up in the zone with a ton of riding action and generates around 2400 rpms of spin, making it a true bat weapon for Odle. In terms of metrics, it’s probably one of the better four-seam fastballs in the system already due to its ridiculous combination of spin, velocity, and induced vertical break. He’ll need to control it better but it looks like a future plus or even double plus pitch once he improves his command.

The pitch also gets some arm side run and his cutter plays off it reality well with it’s little bit of glove side movement. The curveball gets good two plane break but he doesn’t always have the best control of it, though it does miss bats when it’s thrown near the zone. In fact, more than ⅔ of the swings against the pitch came up empty in the MLB draft league.

Those three pitches seem to be his primary offerings but as I watch Odle pitch, it looks like he may also throw a slider that’s distinct from his cutter and gets more sweep and depth while being thrown a few ticks slower. That could just be some inconsistency with his cutter, but either way, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him throwing a slider in the Cardinals organization as a fourth pitch.

This is a true power pitcher, bat missing arsenal that has really helped Odle rack up strikeouts wherever he’s pitched. In fact, he struck out 29 of the 57 hitters he faced in the MLB Draft League, which is an absurd 51% strikeout rate, and also fanned 22 in 14 ⅓ innings with Orange Coast College. He hasn’t always had a ton of success, but one thing is clear – he’s really tough to hit.

The obvious drawback to Odle is command as he can be wild with all of his pitches, usually missing up with his fastball specifically and sometimes being prone to not only miss the plate but miss it by a lot. His walk totals at Orange Coast College (18 walks in 14 ⅓ IP) and in the MLB Draft League this summer (9 walks in 13 ⅓ IP) are proof of that.

The Cardinals don’t typically draft pitchers with this level of stuff and with so little control but Odle is still only 19 years old and has the ceiling of a really dynamic arm if he can start living closer to the zone more consistently. The right-hander is probably best suited to a relief role initially while he builds up his stamina and works on his control but he has a ridiculous 3 or 4 pitch arsenal that could help him pitch out of the rotation in the future. 

Odle is going to be a bit of a project but he truly has an electric arsenal and should miss a ton of bats wherever he pitches. There’s the potential for three plus pitches at least which gives him more of a ceiling than most of the players taken today, by any organization. He has a long way to go to reach that immense ceiling but this is one of my favorite picks of the draft for the Cardinals so far.

15th round, 455th overall

Tre Richardson, shortstop
TCU, senior
5’10/165 pounds
Bats/Throws: R/R

• Slashed .311/.392/.452, leading the Horned Frogs in hits (84) and stolen bases (25) while playing in all 68 games (tying a school record) in 2023.
• Tied TCU record with three homer game, 11 RBI (NCAA Post-Season Record) – 5-for-6, three runs, two grand slams in the first two innings vs. Arkansas (June 4). Named 2023 Fayetteville
Regional MVP.
• Appeared in 115 games in three seasons at Baylor, hitting .295 with 31 doubles, five triples and seven home runs as part of 130 career hits. Started every game for Baylor the last two seasons.
• Graduated a semester early from Kingwood (TX) High School where he was teammates with Cardinals top prospect Masyn Winn. Named first-team All-State after junior season, batting .421 with 30 RBI and three HR.

Tre Richardson

Tre Richardson (TCU Athletics)

Tre Richardson is a player who may not have a standout tool but he has an all-round package and plays up the middle. The shortstop stands at just 5’10” and 165 pounds and he may not have a ton of power he can really run Richardson stole 25 bases for TCU this year while only being caught 4 times and he uses that speed well in the field too as he has a lot of range in the middle infield. He played a lot of second base with TCU this year but the Cardinals announced him as a shortstop and will likely give him the chance to stick over there.

Now, before I get deeper into the skill set, there are a number of fun facts about Richardson that I want to cover first. For starters, he actually went to the same high school as Masyn Winn, who was quick to welcome Richardson on Twitter.

But that’s far from the only fun little tidbit about Richardson. The speedster, who isn’t known for his power, also set an NCAA record with 11 RBI in a single game after hitting two grand slams and another home run, all to the opposite field, in the same game. That’s cool enough as it is, but when asked what he did differently, he said he ate at IHOP that morning. So then Richardson found himself featured in an IHOP tweet.

Finally, Richardson stepped up on the big stage and earned MVP honors in the Fayetteville regional this year. The 21-year-old is simply a really fun player.

But let’s get back to the profile now. As I mentioned earlier, I expect Richardson to get a trial run at shortstop and while he should have enough range and a good enough glove to play the position, his arm is a question mark. He has a slight frame, though, so he could likely add some more strength without losing any of his speed and that may give him the arm strength necessary to stick at short long term.

On the offensive side, Richardson posted a healthy enough 15.6% strikeout rate but he doesn’t take a ton of walks (8.7% walk rate) due to his aggressive approach and willingness to chase out of the zone. That’s not an overly appealing offensive profile for someone without a ton of pop but there is probably more power in his game than his frame indicates as, according to Joe Doyle of Future Stars Series, Richardson has posted healthy exit velocities throughout his career.

The right-handed hitter was a solid hitter in college but not a dominant one, batting .311 in his final year with an OPS of .844. In the professional ranks, he will likely get more value from his glove and his speed, which seemingly makes it all the more important for him to stick at shortstop.

Richardson may not be the slugger that some of the players picked ahead of him are but he has a good all-around package of tools and a strong defensive profile to pair with a fun personality. 

16th round, 485th overall

Tyler Bradt, pitcher
East Carolina, senior
5’11/196 pounds
Bats/Throws: R/R

• Appeared in 18 games for the Pirates in 2023, striking out 23 batters over 16.2 innings pitched.
• Transferred to East Carolina after playing three seasons at Virginia Military Institute where he struck out 104 batters in 111.2 innings pitched.
• Pitched for the Savannah Bananas in the 2022 Coastal Plain League, going 1-0 with one save and a 1.13 ERA and averaging 19.1 K/9 IP (5 games).

Tyler Bradt

Tyler Bradt (ECU Athletics)

Tyler Bradt began his collegiate career with three seasons at VMI but while he was there, he didn’t do much to put his name into the MLB draft mix. He improved his status after a strong 8 innings stint with the Savannah Bananas (yes, that one) in the Coastal Plain League over the summer of 2022 before transferring to East Carolina University and improving his strikeout rate to 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

The right-hander didn’t have a ton of success at ECU, though, as he pitched his way to an ugly 8.10 ERA with 10 walks and 3 homers allowed in just 16 ⅔ innings. That means this selection is not about results but more so about what the pitcher can become with tweaks.

It’s easy to see what has the Cardinals interested as Bradt throws a fastball that reportedly sits in the mid 90s and gets a lot of carry. He also throws a hard upper 80s power slider that gets good two plane break.

Between the limited arsenal and the control issues that Bradt had in college, he definitely looks like a reliever long term but he’s a reliever with a power profile who can miss bats. The college numbers may not be there but there are some promising traits to work with.

On top of the power profile, Bradt is a bit undersized, meaning that his carrying fastball should play even better up in the zone with its lower vertical approach angle. He’s also athletic on the mound, so that should help him make any necessary mechanical tweaks as he enters pro ball.

17th round, 515th overall

Trey Paige, third base
Delaware State, senior
6’0/215 pounds
Bats/Throws: L/R

• Career .373/.473/.658 hitter in four seasons at Delaware State, including 2023 season that included 14 HR, 15 doubles, two triples, 53 RBI and 55 runs scored.
• Led team in batting average for three consecutive seasons from 2021-23, including a career-best .407 (70-for-172) batting average in 2022.
• Last three seasons at DSU, had a positive walk to strikeout ratio (99:86).
• Played for Trenton in the 2023 MLB Draft League and participated the MLB Draft League’s Prospect Game.

Trey Paige

Trey Paige (Delaware State Athletics)

Trey Paige is a long time small college performer with an OPS over 1.000 in each of the past 3 seasons who really developed some power in his final two years of college. The infielder slugged 14 home runs this season a year after hitting 13 as a junior and he projects to keep that power in pro ball due to his strong 6’0”, 215 pound frame.

Paige also finished his career, and his senior season, with more walks (105) than strikeouts (98), showing a good eye at the plate and not swinging and missing often. In his final year, the left-handed hitter walked at a strong 14.7% clip while fanning in just 13% of his plate appearances. These numbers must be kept in perspective with the level of competition at a small conference school but it’s likely the combination of power and discipline that drew the Cardinals to Paige this late in the draft.

Defensively, Paige has played all over the place, seeing time at every position except for catcher and he actually even pitched two clean innings with two strikeouts in the Coastal Plain League in the summer of 2022. That utility profile can be valuable in helping a late round pick get on the field. Though he probably fits best at third base due to his strong frame, he did mostly play second base this year and stole 10 bases so he does have some quickness.

After the 2023 season ended, Paige announced that he would be transferring to Penn State before decommiting due to an unexpected coaching change and announcing his intentions to transfer to Kentucky. With that in mind, it may take some extra money to sign Paige away from the SEC school, but that remains to be seen until the agreements are announced. 

The 22-year-old is also given high marks for his work ethic and leadership.

18th round, 545th overall

Hunter Kublick, pitcher
Umpqua Community College (OR), Juco junior
6’4/200 pounds
Bats/Throws: R/R

• Appeared in 17 games, making 13 starts, over his two seasons with the RiverHawks, going 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA with 64 SO over 60.2 innings pitched.
• Was 2-1 with a 2.54 ERA (11 ER/39.0 IP) in 7 starts in 2023 with a 10.15 strikeout/9 IP rate.

Hunter Kublick

Hunter Kublick (News-Review)

There’s not a whole lot out there on Hunter Kublick so I’ll stick to the basics. The right-hander spent two seasons with Umpqua Community College and pitched well in both of them, earning a 2.08 ERA as a freshman and a 2.54 ERA as a sophomore. His strikeouts ticked up in his second year, going from 8.31 K/9 to 10.15 K/9 while his walk rate improved tremendously (6.2 BB/9 in 2022, 2.5 BB/9 in 2023).

I haven’t been able to track down any video of Kublick so I can’t provide a scouting report on his arsenal. All I can say is that he’s 6’4” with a bit of a wiry frame so there’s plenty of room for him to add strength onto his frame.

This is likely a bit of a project pick but Kublick showed a lot of improvement from 2022 to 2023 and with projection remaining on his frame, the Cardinals are likely betting that he still has a lot more room to grow.

19th round, 575th overall

Graysen Tarlow, catcher
Cal State Northridge, junior
5’11, 190 pounds
Bats/Throws: R/R

• Slashed .311/.417/.429 with 15 extra-base hits, 41 RBI and 42 runs scored in 49 games for the Matadors in 2023.
• Started 34 games at catcher in 2023, throwing out 40.9 percent of would be base stealers (9-for-22) and was placed on the Buster Posey Award Watch List.

Graysen Tarlow

Graysen Tarlow (Cal State Northridge Athletics)

Graysen Tarlow is the first catcher taken by the Cardinals in this draft and the organization once again dipped into the college pool for the selection.

What stands out the most about Tarlow is his approach and his bat-to-ball skills. The right-handed hitter had exactly as many strike outs as walks in 2023 with 25, giving him an 11.3% walk rate and strikeout rate. This wasn’t just a one year anomaly either as Tarlow posted a 21-to-12 walk to strikeout ratio in 2022. It’s been more of the same for him in the Northwoods league the past two summers as well with him walking more than he struck out in both years, including an 18-to-12 walk to strikeout ratio this summer.

Tarlow has a good amount of movement in his swing but that hasn’t stopped him from making contact and limiting his chase rate so it seems to be something that he can handle. The catcher starts by standing straight up before moving into a big leg kick while moving his hands down to meet his knee and then back prior to his swing. It’s a pretty good looking swing that shouldn’t need too much tweaking unless he stumbles into some major issues against professional pitching.

What’s particularly interesting about Tarlow is that he’s performed better in summer ball than he did in college, and he was a good performer in college too (.846 OPS in 2023). This summer, Tarlow clubbed three homers in just 90 plate appearances after hitting three homers in 221 plate appearances with Cal State Northridge in the college season. It’s particularly impressive that his power surge came with a wood bat and that could be a sign that he has more power production in the tank as he enters pro ball.

That would be a great development for someone who also has good contact skills and draws a good amount of walks too.

Behind the plate, the catcher threw out 9 of the 22 runners that attempted to steal against him, giving him a strong 40.1% caught stealing rate. I can’t speak for his defense behind the plate as I haven’t seen him enough back there but he only allowed 4 passed balls this year and seems to have the athleticism to move around well enough to handle the position.

This looks like a solid catching depth pick up.

20th round, 605th overall

Cameron Johnson, pitcher
IMG Academy (FL), high school senior
6’5/240 pounds
Bats/Throws: L/L

• Committed to pitch next season at LSU. Showcases a 98 MPH fastball.
• Ranked as the No. 42 draft prospect according to MLB.com and the No. 2 LHP prospect in the nation by Perfect Game.

Cameron Johnson

Cameron Johnson (USA Baseball)

Cameron Johnson was one of the most highly ranked high school draft prospects in the country, ranking 43rd overall on Baseball America’s board.

That means two things. The first is that the U-18 Team USA veteran is a high upside arm. The second is that he’s unlikely to sign and will almost certainly honor his commitment to LSU and try to raise his draft status. There is an outside chance that the Cardinals could sign Johnson if a deal with someone else falls through but it would probably take seven figures to sign the prep lefty and the Cardinals almost certainly don’t have that left in the budget.

Even though Johnson is unlikely to sign, I’ll still provide a brief profile of him. The lefty is listed at 6’5” and has already filled out his frame as he carries 230 pounds. He throws a low 90s fastball that’s been up to 98 with good arm side run and sink that plays well at the bottom of the zone. That pitch is paired with a sweepy breaking ball that has good shape but could benefit by being a little tighter. The final pitch is a changeup that he doesn’t have great feel for yet and is a distant third pitch.

The lefty throws with a low arm slot and will likely continue to add velocity as he matures and could be a much more highly touted prospect after spending a few seasons at LSU.

Your authors

TCN scouting analyst Blake Newberry is writing the player scouting reports and Brian Walton adds the rest.

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