[Thegreyghost]

Just looking at Spotrac and the current cardinals 26 man roster is making around $32-33 million

[Thegreyghost]

I think Fred Bird currently makes more than any of tonight’s starting players

[Thegreyghost]

Hopefully the more prospects you have then some will break through…they are definitely gonna need arms both bullpen and rotation if there is a next season as I think it’s pretty apparent DeWitt is not going to be adding much to payroll anytime soon …I would expect the Cardinals payroll to be similar or a mirror to what the Brewers is going forward.

While prospects in trades don’t always workout there are some that do…I seem to remember the Cardinals picking up Marcel Ozuna from the Marlins for 3 prospects….Magnus Sierra, Zac Gallen and Sandy Alcantra….The Cardinals still have not recovered from the starting pitching prospects they gave up in this trade, and have been short on top of the rotation Starting pitchers ever since the trade

[Thegreyghost]

They probably don’t need the cash as their on field payroll is probably around $50-55 million for the year since they save about $5 mill on May/Romero’s remaining salary and $1 Million on Nootbar

Though Ferguson may cancel out the Nootbar savings

• This reply was modified 2 days, 16 hours ago by Thegreyghost.

[Thegreyghost]

Sando Santana should have some pretty good walk to the mound music when he makes it to the Majors.

There is unlikely to be a 2027 and I will take prospects for players that would not be contributing in 2028.

• This reply was modified 2 days, 18 hours ago by Thegreyghost.

[Thegreyghost]

While I would not have drafted a DH where they did…you might be able to make a case that Ferraro might be one of the best bats in their entire Farm system right now.

This also could be b/c I hate the DH…and don’t value it as much as I probably should.

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 5 days ago by Thegreyghost.

[Thegreyghost]

The McDaniel guy on ESPN.com had the Cardinals as his favorite draft class as well

One big thought: If it wasn’t clear yet, this is probably my favorite draft class out of all 30, even acknowledging that it’s easy to look good with extra picks. I’ve written a number of times about how much I like CF Trevor Condon (first round). He’s just the kind of player I want to bet on, even if he won’t light up a workout.

Let’s run through the other guys I liked for where they were drafted. RHP Tegan Kuhns (comp round) needs a tweak to his breaking ball but could be a midrotation starter in short order. RHP Dawson Montesa (second round) has solid-average stuff headlined by a heater up to 98 mph and will be a starter if he can improve his fastball command one notch. RF Caden Ferraro didn’t play in the field a ton this spring, but wowed teams with his athletic testing in predraft workouts after raking all season. SS Dee Kennedy (fourth round) has tons of secondary skills (patience, pull/lift to get to power, speed) and fits up the middle, so I can live with some swing-and-miss. RHP Jacob Haley (11th round) showed above-average stuff in limited innings this spring.

[Thegreyghost]

Cardinals 20th round pick #594….is MLB’s 84th ranked player Kollin Ritchie, Okla. State OF …had 31 HR’s, 4th in NCAA this year…he is a Junior….if they saved some money this could be where it goes.

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 3 days ago by Thegreyghost.

[Thegreyghost]

The Royals got a really good prospect in the 9th round Camden Johnson 3B/SS out of Oklahoma

[Thegreyghost]

9th round….Jayden Lobliner C from Univ Of San Diego….was at Kansas State before transferring to SD…hit.297 was WCC defensive player of the year in 2025

Last 3 picks will just have to see…think they save some $ with them for their higher picks but that is just a guess

[Thegreyghost]

Luke Harrison was the #3and sometimes #2 starter at Texas this year…16 starts 6-4 4.10 ERA…this may be a save some money pick since they have so many to sign as he is a grad student.

[Thegreyghost]

Derek Schaefer pitched at Tennessee on their national championship team before transferring to ASU.

Think he is a relief pitcher

[Thegreyghost]

https://athletics.setonhill.edu/sports/baseball/roster/owen-henne/7693

Hit 401….competition would be questionable

[Thegreyghost]

Cal Randal was a reliever at UCLA…has a huge fastball 100 MPH….control is questionable

[Thegreyghost]

Like Kennedy quite a bit a lot of upside with him

MLB recap sums him up pretty good

Kennedy may be the most improved player in NCAA Division I this season. After batting .209 as a freshman at Texas in 2024 and topping the Big 12 Conference with 79 strikeouts in 2025 at Kansas State, he had LASIK surgery. Better vision has led to increased frequency and quality of contact, allowing him to earn Cape Cod League all-star honors last summer and eclipse the Wildcats’ single-season home run record with 20 this spring. Now that he’s seeing the ball so much better, Kennedy is chasing fewer pitches and controlling the strike zone. While the right-handed hitter still will fish for some curveballs out of the zone, he has gone from being helpless against curves and sliders to crushing them. He’s pulling balls in the air much more frequently than in the past, hitting them harder and generating plus raw power seemingly with just a flick of his wrist. Kennedy offers plenty of athleticism to go with his improved offensive profile. He shows solid speed out of the batter’s box and even more quickness once he accelerates. A second baseman as a freshman and third baseman as a sophomore, he has upgraded his actions and lateral range at shortstop, where he displays solid arm strength.

[Thegreyghost]

Not a fan of drafting a DH type player in the first 3 -4 rounds, but no doubt Ferraro can hit maybe as good as anyone in this draft.. but I don’t see him anything but a DH.

[Thegreyghost]

Montessa is interesting…he pitched at Adelphi then transferred to West Va. and wasn’t great during the regular season, but he was outstanding in there Regional College World Series games that I saw.

[Thegreyghost]

3rd U Tenn. pitcher selected by Cardinals in last 2 years

[Thegreyghost]

Well at least on somewhat right track with a College Pitcher

Kuhns turned down seven-figure overtures from multiple big league clubs in the 2024 Draft before ultimately going unselected. He tired down the stretch of his freshman season at Tennessee before looking spectacular in three Cape Cod League starts last summer. One of the top sophomore-eligible pitching prospects in the 2026 crop, he’s making a push for the first round by heating up after a slow start. Kuhns spins the ball very well, producing good carry on a fastball that parks at 93-96 mph and peaks at 98 and downer break on an upper-70s curveball. Both are plus offerings and they can become more formidable if they add more power as he continues to fill out his 6-foot-3 frame. He has struggled to find a reliable third pitch, scrapping his upper-80s cutter while still struggling to land his mid-80s changeup or low-80s slider for strikes. Kuhns has the ingredients to pitch in the front half of a rotation. He’s doing a better of job of repeating his athletic delivery as he gets stronger, which also could help him develop a more dependable third option. He battled his control and command for much of his freshman season but pounded the zone on the Cape and has continued to do so this spring.

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 4 days ago by Thegreyghost.

[Thegreyghost]

I could see Dietz or the USC pitcher at 32 if still there

[Thegreyghost]

Don’t know much about HS players this year…ESPN projected Condon at 14 and MLB had him at 13

Seems like there is some question on his power and moving to wood bats if he will hit for power

MLB writeup —

Condon’s combination of pure hit tool and 70-grade speed made him one of the more interesting prep hitters in the class. The left-handed hitter had been committed to Tennessee, but he’s not making it to campus.

———-
Curiel would have been my pick if he was there but he wasn’t….then Gracia…who was also gone

From an Organization standpoint the Cardinals do not have a lot of OF prospects that can hit, so this makes sense position wise as well as he can play CF with his speed.

[Thegreyghost]

Worst case Scenario: Mozeliak has put together an investor group and he is buying the team and installing himself as GM.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by Thegreyghost.

[Thegreyghost]

The only thing Svanson needs to locate is a bus ticket back to Memphis

[Thegreyghost]

Not sure the fascination w/ Roycroft….he has shown countless times he cannot get major league hitters out….Racjic has had a couple of bumpy outings at Memphis lately but he is a clear upgrade.

[Thegreyghost]

Would be nice if the Blue Jays fell out of the wild card next few weeks and they could go get Gausman….that would help the rotation and the bullpen as they could drop one of Leahy or Liberatore to the pen.

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