2025 Day 1 Picks

After Liam Doyle the best of the rest of night one!

The St. Louis Cardinals were the beneficiaries of the randomness of the MLB draft. Most pundits had Kade Anderson of LSU and Liam Doyle of Tennesse going 1-2 to start the draft. However, the Washington Nationals zagged away from that plan and went with Oklahoma Prep Shortstop Eli Willits. The Los Angeles Angels selected UC Santa Barbara Righty Tyler Bremner at 2 and with the worst kept secret of Ethan Holliday at 4. It meant the Cardinals were going to have the opportunity to draft a talent they might not have expected at number 5. After Liam Doyle at pick 5 the Cardinals continued to amass talent for their growing farm system. Lets take a quick look at the best of the rest of night 1!

Ryan Mitchell OF Houston HS (Germantown, Tenn.) (Round 2 – Pick 55)

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

(according to MLB Pipeline)

Mitchell, played this season as a SS but the arm leaves a lot to be desired at that defensive position. He is however, considered a very high upside athlete with raw tools and an advanced ability to control the strike zone. The power is projectable for his 6-2 frame at only 185 lbs. The thinking would be he could achieve at least league average power, with added strength program and diet, with the hit tool being the carrying trait and an ability for his athleticism to play CF. This is an upside selection that will require time for the body to develop.

Tanner Franklin RHP Tennessee (Comp Round B – Pick 72)

Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

(according to MLB Pipeline)

Franklin has a monstrous frame at 6’5 225 lbs. Along with fellow Tennesse teammate, Liam Doyle, the Cardinals drafted a big exploding fastball that not only can touch triple digits but has good life to the pitch that will allow it to play up at the next level. He also features a low 90’s cutter and has a slider and changeup in his arsenal that the Cardinals will likely try to see if they can make him a starter and if not, he has the floor of high-end reliever at the highest level.

Jack Gurevitch 1B San Diego (Round 3 – Pick 89)

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 45 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45

(According to MLB Pipeline)

At 6’0 215 lbs., Gurevitch, is a little undersized but has a KNACK for punishing fastballs. The book on him is that he struggles with breaking stuff and he will absolutely have to clean that up to produce at the next level. Gurevitch came into this season with kind of fringe average power but showed an uptick in that department that made scouts believe there might be more in the tank going forward. “He gets very high marks for his toughness, leadership and overall makeup, which might give teams more confidence he’ll maximize his tools.” Clearly they see him as a potential future clubhouse leader and that’s something I’ve been made aware of that is a focus for the new regime of leadership – get the best players with the highest character possible.

Tomorrow the MLB Draft will kick off day 2 of its selections and you can follow along that coverage at MLB.com starting at 10:30 AM CDT. The Cardinals added some big fastballs and some big upside and character/swagger to their system today which Cardinals fans should be excited about with the haul, overall.