St. Louis Cardinals
Day One
Round 1, Overall 19 – Nolan Gorman, 3B, Arizona HS
Round 1s, Overall 43 – Griffin Roberts, RHP, Wake Forest
Round 2s, Overall 75 – Luken Baker, 1B, TCU
Gorman had some of the most prodigious power in the high school class in this draft. He will need to work on his body to stay at 3B long-term, but the power is real and could be impactful to a Cardinals lineup (and farm system) currently without a lot of big power. Baker is another that could be a major steal at the 75th pick, as he has been one of the best hitters in college baseball when healthy, but he’s had a number of crazy injuries over his college career that kept him off the field.
Day Two
Round 3, Overall 95 – Mateo Gil, SS, Texas HS
Round 4, Overall 123 – Steven Gingery, LHP, Texas Tech
Round 5, Overall 153 – Nick Dunn, 2B, Maryland
Round 6, Overall 183 – Juan Gonzalez, RHP, Fresno State
Round 7, Overall 213 – Brendan Donovan, 3B, South Alabama
Round 8, Overall 243 – Lars Nootbaar, OF, Southern California
Round 9, Overall 273 – Matt Duce, C, Dallas Baptist
Round 10, Overall 303 – Kevin Woodall, 1B, Coastal Carolina
The Cardinals grabbed some guys who were going to be fairly tough signs on the first day, so they were heavy on the college side on the second day of the 2018 MLB draft. They did grab a potential gem with Gingery, who had Tommy John early in the season and missed most of the year, but he had a good argument among the top lefties in the entire college class before his injury and could be a big piece once he returns healthy.
Day Three
Round 11, Overall 333 – Chris Holba, RHP, East Carolina
Round 12, Overall 363 – Francisco Justo, RHP, Monroe JuCo
Round 13, Overall 393 – Colin Schmid, LHP, Appalachian State
Round 14, Overall 423 – Brandon Riley, 2B, North Carolina
Round 15, Overall 453 – Mike Brettell, RHP, Central Michigan
Round 16, Overall 483 – Evan Sisk, LHP, College of Charleston
Round 17, Overall 513 – Kyle Leahy, RHP, Colorado Mesa
Round 18, Overall 543 – Cole Aker, RHP, Tampa
Round 19, Overall 573 – Josh Shaw, 2B, St. John’s
Round 20, Overall 603 – Parker Kelly, RHP, Oregon
Round 21, Overall 633 – Michael Perri, SS, San Francisco
Round 22, Overall 663 – Kevin Vargas, SS, Puerto Rico HS
Round 23, Overall 693 – Michael Baird, RHP, Southern Illinois
Round 24, Overall 723 – Eli Kraus, LHP, Kent State
Round 25, Overall 753 – Troy Montemayor, RHP, Baylor
Round 26, Overall 783 – Connor Coward, RHP, Virginia Tech
Round 27, Overall 813 – Perry Deliavalle, RHP, Seton Hill
Round 28, Overall 843 – Justin Toerner, OF, Cal State Northridge
Round 29, Overall 873 – Alerick Soularie, OF, San Jacinto JuCo
Round 30, Overall 903 – Kendrick Calilao, OF, Florida HS
Round 31, Overall 933 – Ty Cohen, RHP, Florida Tech
Round 32, Overall 963 – Brandon Purcell, C, Georgia College & State
Round 33, Overall 993 – Chris Rivera, RHP, Long Beach State
Round 34, Overall 1023 – Benito Santiago, C, Tennessee
Round 35, Overall 1053 – Liam Sabino, 3B, Pittsburgh
Round 36, Overall 1083 – Cole Kreuter, 3B, UC Irvine
Round 37, Overall 1113 – Christian Caudle, C, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Round 38, Overall 1143 – Jaden Hill, RHP, Arkansas HS
Round 39, Overall 1173 – Zach Gahagan, 3B, North Carolina
Round 40, Overall 1203 – Andrew Warner, OF, Columbia
The Cardinals stuck primarily with college picks in the third day of the MLB draft, though they do have two very intriguing high school picks if they can get either to sign. Their 22nd round pick, Kevin Vargas from Puerto Rico, was one of the top prospects from the island coming into the spring, but many felt he stagnated in his final season, leading to a fall down draft boards. He could be a very intriguing guy to bring in the system if the Cardinals can sign him away from Florida International. The other intriguing high schooler also is committed in the state of Florida, but to the Gators. Outfielder Kendrick Calilao doesn’t have a standout speed or power tool, but his contact ability is one of the best in the entire class, and if the Cardinals can keep him from Gainesville, he has received comparisons to Mark Kotsay.
Overall Outlook
The Cardinals went for the big bats with two of their three first day picks and also grabbed a very high floor arm with their third selection. Balancing out the next two days to keep money available to sign those first-day guys along with inking a few of the upside plays of day 3 will be a balancing act, but this is a very solid grouping overall.