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Arquette is my #1 overall, but I doubt him or Holliday make it to the Cards. I’m fine with them spending their whole 1st on a single player. The Cards won’t be picking this high again for a while and as long as I see one of those guys as the best player, I’m picking them and taking the upside and worrying about 2nd round talent in future rounds. I do think it can make sense to cut a deal if players are really even, but I think there will be a couple of guys that separate themselves into tier 1, maybe 2 or 3 in tier 2.
Trading from depth for extra pool money wouldn’t be an awful idea. I’m clearly thinking at catcher for a contender who needs catching help.
Has Pozo done enough to bring something back? Herrera, Pages, Crooks, Bernal, now Rainel…. Even Contreras I’m sure could step up in a pinch. They seem set there and the sell high would make sense….
The best college player from the best conference. This guy will be a first rounder but probably not top 10.
Wehiwa Aloy was named SEC Player of the Year by the league's coaches on Monday, while four other Hogs picked up All-SEC honors. https://t.co/CTAwAH61ZI #WPS pic.twitter.com/sNYy44eTzX
— Daniel Fair (@DanFair88) May 19, 2025
Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy was named one of 25 finalists for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award.
"He’s the best player in college in the country. It’s not even close."https://t.co/FYxbP4cF6e #WPS
— Daniel Fair (@DanFair88) May 19, 2025
mudville
I’d just as soon take my chances on a pitcher with high upside, rather than an outfielder that has trouble putting the bat on the ball like Gorman and Walker. Maybe try for a hitter again in the 2026 draft.
We also have some data showing Jobe and Lieter, Rocker and Horton, Lowder and Skenes, Burns and Smith, the high-end SP choices in the last 4 drafts, have turned out rather well so far.
MLB Prospect Pipeline released their updated draft 200. From the executives polled, here was the breakdown of who they think the best player in the draft is out of 22 votes.
Ethan Holliday – 10
Eli Willits – 5
Seth Hernandez – 4
Aiva Arquette – 1
Jamie Arnold – 1https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-s-top-200-draft-prospects-for-2025?t=mlb-draft-coverage
Kade Anderson is their updated to college pitcher at 3 with Arnold at 4. Willits right at 5 where he needs to go.
BA also released their updated top 500 now.
https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2025-top-mlb-draft-prospects/
They have WIllits at 3 overall and have Arnold still as the top college pitcher at 5 and then Anderson at 6. Aiva Arquette at #4.
I know some here like Gavin Kilen, but I doubt he goes in the top half of the 1st round. MLB has him at 17 and BA at 25. Another name that is likely a back half of the 1st talent I like is Ethan Conrad. He has a good combo of hit took, power, and athleticism, but he got hurt early and that hurt his stock. I would absolutely love if he could make it to 55. Alex Lodise is another guy who I would like there in the 2nd. A guy who could be there in the 2nd is the high schooler Quentin Young has a huge power bat and big arm. The upside is high on him, but the hit tool is a little risky although the grades he has it is playable if he does tap into the power. Young also has big league bloodlines as he is the nephew of the Dmitri and Delmon, but he supposed to have a great work ethic.
Baseball America’s 5.0 Mock (post CWS) has Eli Willits to the Cardinals at #5. We discussed the HS SS extensively during last Wednesday’s podcast.
I know the old rule of not drafting for need, but Jojo Parker is likely to end up at 3B and the Cards will have a hole there soon and definitely need a player who can at least hit with some power.
I must admit that I’m not really too concerned about which way the Cards go with their first pick. I’m taking more of a macro view & want to see them target multiple high-upside/toolsy players vs. safe/moderate floor players early on. So, if they see Willits & Parker as the same, but Parker will take less money, you take Parker & reinvest that savings in the following couple of picks. Same theory applies with one of the college pitchers. I know lefty’s get people all weak in the knees, but again, it’s about accumulating as many high-end guys as possible early on-no matter their position. If Witherspoon (P from Oklahoma) will take less than whichever lefty remains (if any), take Witherspoon.
I would like to see the Cards come out with 4-5 players from this daft that fans can actually dream on & not have to squint so tightly that maybe, just maybe, a player gains 6-7mph on his fastball (90 to 96), or grows 3-4 inches (after college) & finds power no one knew he possessed. Embrace a AJ Preller scheme o drafting…go BIG!
While I know that Mo will be running the trade deadline for the Cards, I pray that since the draft is about the future, that Bloom’s input is felt in the overall draft philosophy this year. I get the individual selections are Flores’ purview, but the pre-daft philosophy of high school vs college, high-risk vs. safe discissions do not involve Mo at all! In fact, I want him locked out of the draft room, if at all possible!! haha
Katie Woo threw out five names as potential targets.
Eli Willits, 17, SS Fort Cobb HS Oklahoma
Liam Doyle, 21, LHP Tennessee
Jamie Arnold, 21, LHP Florida St.
Kyson Witherspoon, 20, RHP Oklahoma
Ethan Holliday, 18, SS/3B Stillwater HS OklahomaThe more I think about it the more I like Witherspoon. While drafting pitchers in the first round can be risky I like him because he projects to be a number 2 starter and could probably be signed under slot allowing for more money in the following rounds.
The MLB draft is quickly approaching. The #STLCards have their highest pick since 1998. What will they do with it?
Projecting potential picks with scouting reports from @keithlaw: https://t.co/1MXzdLjWnx 2025 MLB Draft primer: 5 names Cardinals could target with No. 5 pick
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) July 4, 2025
I will be disappointed if the Cards don’t draft one of the college arms, or prepper Hernandez. Unless Holliday is available, which he shouldn’t.
I know it gets to be tough the further down the draft, but I’d be curious what names might be available with Cardinal’s 2nd rounder, and their pick after the 2nd round. Maybe the Chatham Glenwood lefty prep pitcher? Appenzeiler or something like that.
Here’s the schedule:
Day 1 (Rounds 1-3): Sun., July 13, 5 p.m. CT (MLBN/MLB.com/ESPN)
Day 2 (Rounds 4-20): Mon., July 14, 10:30 a.m. CT (MLB.com)I think Willits will end up being the pick, unless Holliday somehow falls to them. Then, go pitching with the next few rounds after that. Seems like that was sort of the pattern they followed last year.
I assume Flores is running the board. He will take a high floor infielder early so he has a guy who looks good coming through the system. like Wetherholt. Probably another second baseman of the future type, like Wetherholt. He and whatever his methodology is stinks at acquiring what the team needs which is middle of the order and top of the rotation.
It looks as though Willits will be the guy everyone here has been waiting for since the middle of last season. Personally, I would like to see a college pitcher be our #1.
I dream of a big athletic outfielder with a thunder bat.
So Jace Laviolette? He is probably the only player in this class that meets that definition. Ethan Holliday if he moves off the dirt would be the other.
Here is my draft board a few hours before. The names I keep seeing to the Cards are Willits and Arnold. I would be happy with Willits with assuming the org thinks they have a plan to add some pop to the bat. Arnold would be the wrong choice to me as I see him as a #3 or #4 SP. I’ll take a page out of Bling’s book and say I am concerned about his ability to stay healthy as well. Guys with his arm slot tend to blow their arms out (cough Hjerpe).
+------+---------------------+-------+------+-------+-----+---+---+ | Rank | Player | Pos | Age | HT | WT | B | T | +------+---------------------+-------+------+-------+-----+---+---+ | 1 | Aiva Arquette | SS | 21.8 | 6'5" | 220 | R | R | | 2 | Eli Willits | SS | 17.6 | 6'1" | 180 | S | R | | 3 | Ethan Holliday | 3B | 18.4 | 6'4" | 210 | L | R | | 4 | Billy Carlson | SS | 19.0 | 6'1" | 185 | R | R | | 5 | Seth Hernandez | RHP | 19.1 | 6'4" | 190 | R | R | | 6 | Joseph Parker | SS | 18.9 | 6'2" | 200 | L | R | | 7 | Liam Doyle | LHP | 21.1 | 6'2" | 220 | R | L | | 8 | Kade Anderson | LHP | 21.0 | 6'2" | 179 | L | L | | 9 | Tyler Bremner | RHP | 21.2 | 6'2" | 190 | R | R | | 10 | Kyson Witherspoon | RHP | 20.9 | 6'2" | 206 | R | R | | 11 | Ike Irish | C/OF | 21.6 | 6'2" | 201 | L | R | | 12 | Jamie Arnold | LHP | 21.3 | 6'1" | 188 | L | L | +------+---------------------+-------+------+-------+-----+---+---+There is a mountain between #1 and #2 for me. Arquette has the body of a power hitting slugger but he is very athletic and fast with the ability to stick at SS. He also makes good enough contact against pitches to reliably hit for power. Put the whole package together and you have a potential star in the making. A little risk, but that is true for all prospects.
I think Kade Anderson is the best player in the draft. It wouldn’t surprise me if he is drafted first.
I’m normally leery of drafting pitchers in the first round but if we do I would go with Witherspoon.
Finally I will say that I know that teams usually don’t draft for need but I don’t completely agree with that philosophy. I know that if you end up with a surplus at one position you can always do a trade but it seems to me that you if you really want to have a build from within organization you should draft players who you anticiapte being on your big league club at some point. We really don’t need another blue chip SS at all. What this organization is desperate for are starting pitchers and a RH OF’s.
I’m not nearly as high on this class of college pitchers. Doyle has the highest upside. There isn’t a Skenes, Chase Burns, Hagen Smith in this class that was flat out dominant. The pitchers in this class are more like Rhett Lowder. Fine #3, but not an ace upside. Doyle has ace upside, but has a lot of question marks like secondaries and relief risk due to mechanics
Compare his numbers to someone like Skenes, Burns, or Smith. Skenes had a 1.69 ERA with a 45.2 K%. Anderson’s ERA was 3.18 this year with 33.9 K% so he isn’t even close to the same class as Skenes. Burns had 2.78 ERA with an outstanding 48.8 K%. You want those 40+ K%s in college to project a guy to be a true #1 or #2 rather than mid rotation guy.
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