The Cardinals Draft
The Cardinals got a ton of talent on draft day. They did what the Cardinals do, grabbing guys that are under valued, snagging players throughout the second day that were making people shake their head and just exclaim, “of course, the Cardinals!”
The Cardinals had 3 selections in the first 34 – 23, 33, and 34. They grabbed two of the best college pitchers in the nation, Dakota Hudson and Connor Jones, at picks 34 and 70, which is great value. They drafted injured Wichita State pitcher Sam Tewes, a likely 1st/2nd round pitcher before his injury, in the 8th round.
They did grab a number of “Cardinals type” of players in Minnesota oufielder Matt Fiedler, USC Jeremy Martinez, and North Carolina State C/3B Andrew Knizner in the second day.
Why do the Cardinals find themselves in this spot? Their selection at pick #23 – Delvin Perez, prep shortstop from Puerto Rico. Perez failed a PED test before the draft, and many felt that it was a poor message for Perez to go in the first round at all, let alone to a successful organization like the Cardinals.
Of course, this has led to some tremendous moments on Twitter, and if you follow the “Baseball’s Best Fans” Twitter account, you’ll see some of the outlandish ways that Cardinals fans have attempted to downplay the PED issue of Perez. It’s still a present issue, however, and that’s a big issue to me, so I could not in good conscience, no matter how much I liked the rest of what they did, put the Cardinals in the winner category.
Next: Coverage of Rounds 1 and 2 of the MLB Draft
So what do you think? Do you believe different teams should rank in my list? Do you disagree with my assessments? Comment below and join in the discussion!