We’ve often maintained the position around these Internet mean streets that we don’t give much of a rip about MiLB baseball.
Unless they’re helping the St. Louis Cardinals win baseball games… they’re not helping the St. Louis Cardinals win baseball games.
See ya when you make it to the show. We’ll write stupid things about you too when you get here.
That being said, it doesn’t hurt to take a little peek at what’s happening on the farm from time to time, right? The MLB draft has recently been completed, so how’d the Cardinals do?
I scoured the internet and tried to synthesize the top 5 Cardinals picks as best as possible. You know, in case it comes up in conversation or something.
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The First 5 STL Cards Picks – 2015 Draft:
RD1 (23rd overall) – OF Nick Plummer, Brother Rice HS, Lathrup Village MI
The Cardinals have moved quick on Plummer, signing him to a 2.124M bonus, the recommended slot bonus for this pick. He’s projected at a corner OF spot if he makes it to the MLB level. He batted .500 with only 10 strikeouts in 2015, despite playing in a HS league that starts the count at 1-1 (side note… ugh).
This 2015 draft class lacked elite hitting talent. Plummer is widely regarded as one of the best hitting prospects in the class, but think more Matt Carpenter than Oscar Taveras. Some have even gone so far as to comp him to JD Drew (sans the arm). He will not be the HR slugger that the Cardinals covet, however. He’s 5-10 and 195ish LBS. He’s faster than he looks.
CB A (39th overall) – SP Jacob Woodford, Plant HS, Tampa FL
The Cardinals took a flyer on Woodford. He’s a big kid (6-5, 210) with room to grow. He’s already throwing in the low 90’s with the stamina to go deep into games. Hell, he even kind of looks like a young Adam Wainwright.
But his breaking stuff isn’t quite there. He’s committed to the University of Florida and unless the Cardinals want to overpay, he’s likely to attend college with the upside of being a top 10 pick in 3 years. Minor League Ball blog had Woodford as the 67th overall prospect, so maybe the Cardinals know something we don’t about his signability.
RD2 (66th overall) – 3B Bryce Denton, Ravenwood HS, Brentwood TN
The good news? Denton is already a huge Cardinals fan!
https://twitter.com/brycedenton25/status/608423584399273984
The bad news? He’s seriously considering going to Vanderbilt. He told The Tennessean that he “has two plan A’s” and is “just working with (his) advisor” to determine the best path forward.
The 17 year-old IF prospect has a strong arm and a speedy swing. He hit .464 his senior season while also posting a 6-0 record as a pitcher.
RD 3 (100th overall) – OF Harrison Bader, University of Florida, Bronxville NY
Bader has been a standout player for the Florida Gators the past 3 seasons. The NY Post reports on what a MLB scout said about Bader:
“The guy has performed for three straight years in the SEC as a middle-of-the-lineup bat,” the scout said. “He’s a true grinder. He’s got that New York, Boston ‘I’m going to play as hard as I can attitude.’
He made a list of college OF to watch where his fielding was shouted out. However… he was also called a ‘tweener’.
Yes. The Cardinals drafted ‘The Cardinals Way’.
SUP (105th overall) – SP Jordan Hicks, Cypress Creek HS, Houston TX
Not to be confused with the Philadelphia Eagles 3rd round NFL Draft selection with the same name – different Jordan Hicks, in case you were Googling along and got excited at pics that made Gio Stanton look frail.
Here’s the analysis from VEB:
I’ll be honest: I don’t know a damned thing about Jordan Hicks.
He throws hard, apparently; he seems to sit in the 92-93 range and hit 96.
I don’t like the delivery much at all from this one bit of video I can find.
I kind of hate this pick.
Hicks, for what it’s worth, knows that he’s got some work to do. Asked about being drafted: “Never in a million years,” Hicks said. “It’s always been my dream, but I never thought it would come true.”
So it appears Hicks has some raw talent, but projecting where he ends up or if he makes it to the MLB level is pretty much a craps roll.
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Of course, many of the other 40+ picks that the Cardinals had over the 2 day draft will be working their butts off to make it to the show over the next several years.
Guys that never had a chance, according to scouts, will be the same guys we’re pulling for to beat the Cubs. Highly coveted guys (like some of the ones above) will be nothing more than footnotes to a baseball franchise steeped in lore.
Let’s wish all of them good luck as they start their professional baseball journey.
Photo: Grantland
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