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Will we see any of the new 2026 draftees in action this year? If so, when is that likely to occur? Assuming all have already passed physicals, are all down in FLA doing skills work, getting personalized diet & exercise plans, etc.?
Talk about being penny wise & pound foolish. In the grand scheme of things, what’s $800,000 to the Cards if it means being able to be more aggressive in the draft, perhaps taking another top 100 prospect or a couple of mid-high upside high school kids?
Also, I’m stunned that Rocco got so much! He’s getting more than most of the guys taken 15-20 spots ahead of him. Did the Cards float him down to their slot? If they wanted him that badly & were unsure if he’d be there in the 50’s, why not take him at 32? In all that I read prior to the draft, Rocco’s stock was falling & he was drafted roughly where he was supposed to go. The fact that he could leverage that & get so much money over slot is impressive work by his agents!
In looking at the picks made later in the draft, while they’re surely not as low-celling as typical picks from the Mo regime, they clearly leveraged resources for a single player, bypassing higher upside players along the way.
A team that won’t pay for high-end free agents has to find stars homegrown. The best way to do that, at an affordable price, is to swing big in the draft (as many times as your budget will allow). Love what they did on Day #1, but feel like there was meat left on the bone…about $800,000 worth on Day #2.
I think the fascination with high school players may stem more from the belief that the high-end (domestic) superstars tend to come more from the high school ranks vs. college, which offers more certainty, but somewhat muted upside. For a team like the Cards, who will never sign a superstar free agent, the most likely way to obtain one is via the draft (grow your own).
If there is a lockout, would the International signing window still open, as planned, on Jan 15th? Or is that also linked to the MLB shutdown? I thought I read somewhere that minor league transactions/signings could still take place.
Since most International signings usually occur 2-3 years before signing day itself, is it safe to safe that most of this years crop for the Cards is still heavily influenced by the Mo regime, or was there time for Bloom to put his stamp on this year’s class? I know that the Cards scouts are pretty much the same, I was referring more to the overall philosophy on how to allocate money, traits to look for in players they target, hitters vs pitchers, etc.).
Brian-
Are you able to provide confirmation as to whether or not the Cardinals will be ineligible to pick in the lottery next year? I’ve seen conflicting information online stating that the earliest they could pick would be 10th, based on being a payor in revenue sharing from a prior year. I’ve also seen mentions where the lottery is defined at #1-6 so as long as the Cards didn’t pick in the Top #6 two years in a row, they could still have a Top #10 pick in 2026. Since they picked 7th in 2024, it made me think that they might still have a shot at a high pick again next year.
Any clarification you can offer is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.Couldn’t agree with you more that the Cards should have used that $700K to invest in another high-ceiling HS player. Perhaps pocketing the 5% overage (for the first time ever, I believe??) is another sign of DeWitt saving money wherever he can…
Thank you, sir. A final draft-related question. Once 21 new players sign, do the Cards have to cut 21 players from their system right away?
We have hard about some of the personnel & philosophical changes to the development side of things, but can you speak to whether or not there have been similar changes to the scouting side of things, either domestic or international?
While I agree that this draft certainly seems like a slight departure/improvement over the past few years worth of embarrassingly low-upside/conservative players (especially pitchers), I still wish that they had taken more shots with high school players. Without knowing the signing demands, I assume that Doyle & most of the other college players, signs for slot or slightly below. Nothing too extreme either way. That leaves their lone HS player as the only overslot guy. Based on his pre-draft rankings (pretty close to the spot he was drafted) I can’t imagine that he demanded double the slot value (3+ million). If the Cards spend the allowable 5% overage (without forfeiting a draft pick), that adds an extra $700K+ to the pool. Did that entire 700K go towards paying the high school kid? Could they have used that money, along with some senior signs, to bring in a couple of more high school kids with untapped upside?
The Rays, with a very similar draft pool, took 5 high school players along with 3 JC players (another younger demographic).
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
Yes, it was Lopez. Thank you cardsfan64!
I know both he in 2023 & Franco in 2024 were the Cards big signings. I know it’s a small sample size, but their struggles may underscore why most teams do not invest high dollars in DSL pitching & instead focus their dollars on hitters. They find guys who throw in the low-mid 80’s & sign them for nothing. Then once they get the proper nutrition, wind up 95-100mph in two years!
What ever happened to that 6’8″ DSL pitcher that the Cards signed 2-3 years ago? Did he ever even pitch in a game? Is he still with the team, or did he “retire” at 18??
Respectfully mudville, aside from catching prospects & a couple of outliers, the Cards system is devoid of high end talent at almost all positions! That’s the byproduct of Mo’s visionary philosophy of all floor, no ceiling position players & seeking out pitchers who have limited upside/projection left. You’re left with a bunch of AAAA players and organizational backfill.
I have no problem if they go pitching with the 1st pick, provided that arm has top of the rotation potential. Creative & forward thinking GM’s (is it 2026 yet??) would strategize that if 2-4 players are at roughly the same level of ability, draft the one willing to take the smallest bonus & then repurpose that money to draft a couple of higher-end, high school position players in Rd’s # 2 & 3. Crazy talk, I know!?!? That’s how you start to build back a farm system left relatively barren by the 2021-2024 drafts. I wanted so badly to believe that the 2020 draft was a start of a new, aggressive style of player procurement, but alas, it was an outlier. The Cards haven’t drafted a high school player (not counting the throwaway picks in Rd# 19 or 20, in three years! How is that even possible???
Ok, rant over… 🙂
It will be curious to see if the Cards (not in the Roki sweepstakes) can be strategic & scoop up a few DSL prospects from teams like the Dodgers & Padres, teams much better at identifying talent in Latin America than the Cards, but being held “hostage” waiting to Roki to decide? Just saw on BA that the Pirates scooped up one of the Dodgers top guys for the coming cycle.
With the signing window opening next week, have there been any more rumors about guys linked to the Cards, aside from those two players mentioned on BA?
Forgive my confusion, but can the Cards possibly pick in the Top 10 again in 2026, if 2025 doesn’t go well, or can they only pick in the Top 10 two years in a row? I forgot, or perhaps misinterpreted, the MLB rule about certain teams being unable to pick in the lottery for more than two straight years.
Though it seems that Mo & Flores will remain in charge of the Cards draft in 25, I’m actually excited by what they might do with all these new people & accompanying organizational philosophy they’re trying to embrace! Dreams of high upside position players, power pitching prospects & dare I say, a few high school players, fill my head with optimism.
If one of their offseason trades involves acquiring a Competitive Balance pick and/or more international bonus money, I may cry tears of joy!!
On one hand I get it, but if the Cards were being truly strategic & focused on their rebuild, that little winning surge they had the last 7-10 days would not have occurred. 79-83 gets them the 9th pick & more bonus pool money.
Why is Findlay worthy of $175K overslot? He’s an old for his class junior coming off of TJ surgery. What leverage did he have? I’m clearly missing something?? Did he throw 98 pre-injury? Is he related to Mo??
Am I alone in thinking that this year’s crop of DSL hitting prospects is the Cards best in at least 5 years? Certainly light years better than the prior 2 years crop of players. Padilla and Rodriguez seem destined for thier stateside debuts to start next year. Hope Mo doesn’t include either if them in a trade, the “throw-in” that the Ray’s will invariably ask for when the Cards inquire about Zach Eflin!
Now that Weatherholt has signed for only slightly above slot, not the $7.5 to 8 million some outlets were speculating, the Cards remaining hyper-risk averse draft strategy makes even less sense!! All the LOW ceiling picks were assumed to be necessary to meet Weatherholt’s price. Now that it’s been found to not be the case-at all, why not take some chances on higher upside picks? Seriously, this is really bothering me!!
The Cards system is filled with utility infielders, 4th or 5th outfielders and 5th starter/swingman types, along with a boatload of AAAA players (& that’s their Top 30 list)! This year’s draft has literally one player who could be an impact player at the MLB level…one. I don’t need to wait 4-5 years for the benefit of hindsight perspective. It’s a 100% fact right now. Jack Findlay is a soft throwing lefty (shocker) coming off TJ surgery & who is almost 22 (as a junior). Why did he command $175K over slot? Was he going to go back to college next year & hope to boost his stock, on what would presumably be a strict innings limit & get more than $150K? The ghost of Steven Gingery wants to know…
I for one cannot wait to see what they wind up paying Weatherholt! It seems that the Cards punted on any upside talent in order to save money for one player. I still don’t get how Weatherholt had all that much leverage to demand sooooo much overshot? What if the Cards draft him & offer him slot money-only? Does he opt out of the draft & head back to school, coming out again next year, risking injury & as a senior sign-with NO leverage? Even if WVU (or more likely LSU) gives him $500K in NIL money for the year, he likely would lose much more money than that by delaying the start of his pro career by a year-entering free agency a year older.
Baseball, far more than any other sport, is a game of failure. If it’s me drafting players, I would be taking as many bold chances as possible in search of greatness! I’m not a draft expert-at all, but I’ve heard many times that, players should all have at least one MLB “carrying” tool, the thing that an org can build upon & maybe extract more. The Cards seem to think that grit/trying hard is a carrying tool. Grit should be a separator-all things being equal, not the lone reason a player is drafted. In any draft, 80-90% of the players will never see AAA, let alone MLB. If that’s true, why not aim a little higher & dare to fail big, instead of trying to mitigate risk (i.e. trying to fail small). I’ll spare you all the added words & just say that quote from Teddy Roosevelt about failing while daring greatly comes to mind. The Cards rarely, if ever, are willing to be bold & possibly risk failing greatly…
