The draft is coming up and it’s the Cardinals highest pick since JD Drew in 1998!
I am one of the least prospect savvy people frequenting this site, and am not privy to any information regarding minor league players, really. I can barely keep up with Major League Baseball Cardinals. But I don’t know what else to talk about right now. The current team remains a bit of a mystery, still gaining its true identity and some success. So I will take a shot at the topic of MLB Draft 2025. Let me lay some groundwork first.
The typical higher round draft pick will make the major leagues in about 4 years or so. Some rise up as quickly as only a couple of years, because hey, they’re a high draft pick… a pick which often goes to teams that need MLB players and talent on the field. They can take as long as 6 years to develop. But after that, if they haven’t made it by around 7 years in the minor leagues, they probably will never make it. And that is a failed draft pick.
Jordan Walker was fairly aggressively promoted, having been drafted in 2020 out of high school, in Stone Mountain, GA and landing in MLB in 2023. He was a first rounder, the 21st pick. That is typically around where the Cardinals are used to drafting in the 21st century, if not a slot or two higher than usual. But that trend has changed since the awful 2023 record was on the books. In 2024 the Cardinals drafted at 7th overall, which was a big change due to their almost totally consistent success. This year they get to draft even higher at #5, on some kind of fluke, or whatever. The devil magic might be back, or maybe it’s “just” lady luck.
For fans of JJ Wetherholt, next year would be even more of an aggressive promotion. So 2027 seems like more of a realistic window. Sure, we might see him as a September callup this year, but don’t let that make you think he will be a big factor in 2026 unless something BIG happens, like trading away Brendan Donovan (which is not going to happen). And it would be an unfairly aggressive promotion, especially after seeing Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker struggle with their quick tracks to the majors.
As has been discussed, this year’s draft is probably not the deepest talent pool. Coinciding not so nicely with the Cardinals highest draft pick in 27 years. But the Cardinals could still get a very exciting player. Maybe that’s why this is so fun to think about.
The St. Louis Cardinals have the fifth pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, which is scheduled to take place on July 13-14 in Atlanta. Some top candidates who could be available:
- Jamie Arnold: A left-handed pitcher from Florida State University, Arnold offers a compelling combination of upside and polish, with a full arsenal of pitches.
- Aiva Arquette: A shortstop from Oregon State University, Arquette is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound player with strong offensive potential. Although he might eventually move to third base due to his size, his offensive skills make him a strong option if he is somehow passed over.
- Ethan Holliday: An infielder from Stillwater, OK High School, Holliday would be an obvious pick for the Cardinals if he somehow falls to #5 and if they are willing to pony up. Big frame, big power potential, definitely an athlete.
- Seth Hernandez: A right-handed pitcher from Corona High School in California, Hernandez is another high-upside prospect with frontline starter potential. A bit risky, but why pass? He is one of the most high ceiling players in the draft.
- Eli Willits: A shortstop from Fort Cobb-Broxton (Oklahoma) High School, Willits is highly regarded for his tools, projection, and elite makeup. He is just 17 years old, which adds to his appeal as a long-term investment. This would be more of a slowburn pick, but if he is predicted to stick at shortstop, Winn will be here a while so a young player might not be a bad pick if you are not in a hurry to promote your top prospects. Plus he seems like more of a utility player and that is always valuable.
In fact, one site even mock drafts Eli Willits as a Cardinal pick. Will the Cardinals actually draft a high school middle infielder a year after JJ Wetherholt? Just maybe! But I don’t think they will go that route for Willits, especially if he requires a top 5 signing bonus.
ESPN (I didn’t know they still even covered baseball!) also mock drafts the Cardinals as the landing place for Willits. Not sure why but he seems to be a popular mock draft pick.
MLB.com mock drafts the Cardinals as being able to pick Jamie Arnold, which I think might make a bit more sense. It doesn’t seem like Seth Hernandez is going to fall to #5, and he’s not a college pitcher. MLB.com also has Aiva Arquette falling to #6, so that makes me wonder why the Cardinals wouldn’t pick him other than budget restraints.
Since this year seems really strong in shortstops, we should also talk about Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston and his .344 BA, .453 OBP, and .595 SLG. How can you pass that up if he’s available? Bonus? He combines offense and defense with some “leadership qualities” and dedication. If the Cardinals are trying to reset the Cardinal Way, this might be who they pick. Bleacher Report mock drafts Houston as a Cardinal pick.
What are the Cardinals truly lacking in? Power hitting. They could look to address that topic in 2025’s draft with a #5 pick.
- 1B Jared Jones out of LSU is well liked because of his consistent power and clutch hitting. He could draft high or maybe not until the 2nd round, but there’s some hype surrounding the guy with consistent OPS north of 1.000. I don’t think the Cardinals will select him but he should be mentioned if they are looking for power and that mythical clutchiness.
- 2B/MIF Gavin Kilen slugged .591 and could be a high pick this year. He was once drafted by the Red Sox but opted for college ball instead. I also don’t see the Cardinals picking him, but he is certainly a possibility.
- Outfielder Drew Burress might attract the Cardinals because of his all around athleticism. He can hit, has power, is fast, and is considered a good defender as well. He sounds toolsy enough to be drafted higher than expected and might not require a big signing bonus. In 2024 he OPS’d 1.333!
Or they could pick a dark horse candidate like outfielder James Quinn-Irons who produces a king hell exit velocity of 116.4 mph. Third baseman Kai Wagner out of Northern Colorado makes contact in the zone at a rate of 94.3% with a max exit velocity of over 110 mph while walking 14.6% of the time. Or they could pick first baseman Kade Snell who is almost impossible to strike out and produced a maximum exit velocity of 111.3 mph. I don’t think they will pick him, but we still like a guy who doesn’t strike out.
Voting
I have a feeling they will draft a pitcher, but that might just be the most obvious choice because of JJ Wetherholt. JJ now possesses an .810 OPS at AA and has been consistent at being above .800 OPS at both levels of minor league ball that he’s played at. He’s being listed as a 2B/SS/3B currently on baseball reference, but after seeing most of his time playing at shortstop he seems to have moved over to second base, possibly because of the success of Masyn Winn so far in 2025.
Album Hall of Fame
3rd Eye Foundation – ‘Little Lost Soul’ (released year 2000)
Floundering a bit this week, it feels like a very busy summer is about to hit after lots of stressful events and working as well as general skullduggery in the air. My 4th year in St Louis has just started (moved here in June ‘22) and while I have some St Louis -centric features I’d like to write after living here more than 3 years, that time has not quite come just yet. While I don’t really feel lost, I feel the world is a really dark and mysterious place sometimes. Mystical even. Especially these days.
So I bring to you one of my favorite electronic music artists of all time, one that flies under the radar. His name is Matt Elliott originally from England. He is perhaps more known for his folk/singer songwriter/classical guitar playing under his own name, but he started out with the project 3rd Eye Foundation. It is a rather experimental blend of 90s drum n bass music, off the deep end goth music, dubbed out jungle, and downtempo psychedelic material with a little sounds of the indescribable thrown in here and there. It’s a project I have always come back to over the years, after seeing him perform live at the Empty Bottle in the late 1990s performing his ‘Semtex’ era material (which I will also induct in my Album Hall of Fame at some point in time).
Not for the faint of heart, this type of music makes you feel like you are on several powerful psychedelic drugs at once after having a mental breakdown and confronting both your own inner demons as well as the world’s. But your own inner world is after all a part of the world, right? Maybe, maybe not, that’s the mystery of consciousness for you. Standout tracks on this wonderful nightmare of an album (or is it a religious experience?) are “What Is It With You”, “Half A Tiger”, and the epic “Goddam It You’ve Got To Be Kind”, but the whole album flows together like one magnificent masterpiece. You’ll travel through a lot of different genres, treated to instrumentals, samples of choirs, ethereal gothic vocals, and even some beatboxing on the last track.
For fans of adventurous music focusing on 90s drum n bass, proto-dubstep, bass music, psychedelic music, goth/dark sounding music, gospel, experimental, and strange genre combinations. Matt Elliott’s solo work has been compared to The Black Heart Procession and he was a part time member of bands like Flying Saucer Attack and Movietone around 30 years ago now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Elliott_(musician)
More recent material on bandcamp
As always, thanks for reading!