St. Louis Cardinals insider provides unexpected projection for the 2025 Major League Baseball draft
Wrecking Ball in the Draft
Catch this hot goss about the St. Louis Cardinals is getting ready to rip it up in the 2025 MLB Draft! They're sitting pretty with the fifth overall pick, marking their second year in a row in the top seven - a first for Cardinals' history.
Last year, they made a kill grab of utility infielder JJ Wetherholt, a top-tier hitting prospect who fell right into their lap. This year, they won't get as lucky, with Ethan Holliday, son of the legendary Matt Holliday, being the top pick consensus. With Holliday out, the next best options are Liam Doyle, Kade Anderson, and Jamie Arnold on the pitching side, and SS Eli Willits or SS Aiva Arquette for position players.
Now, guess who's getting linked to Eli Willits? That's right, insiders are whispering that the Cardinals got their eyes on the Oklahoma-bred shortstop. Willits is a solid player with plus speed, a strong arm, and a good hit tool, making him a prime target for the fifth pick.
Not so fast, says Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He thinks the Cardinals will snag a position player with that juicy pick again. Goold argues that the team wants to stockpile hitters - after all, their last two top seven picks, JJ Wetherholt and JD Drew, are doing swimmingly as prospects. But what about pitching talent? The Cardinals are already thin on pitching depth, and a solid draft pick could make a world of difference.
Goold got feisty in a recent chat, defending his stance by stating, "The Cardinals see the fifth as an opportunity to land an impact hitter ... They recognize that the chance of drafting that high in the draft is to score a hitter they rarely have access to." Stellar logic, but do they really need another middle infielder when they've already got Masyn Winn, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese, and JJ Wetherholt lined up?
If a pitcher like Jamie Arnold or Kade Anderson is still on the table at the fifth pick, the Cardinals might want to take that chance. The demand for starting pitchers is going through the roof, especially in free agency, so grabbing one before they become too costly could pay off bigtime.
But wait, there's a caveat - if Ethan Holliday looks too good to pass up, the Cardinals might take the plunge and draft him instead - just sayin'!
The Cardinals, with their fifth pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, might consider drafting a pitcher like Jamie Arnold or Kade Anderson to alleviate their thin pitching depth, given the skyrocketing demand for starting pitchers, especially in free agency. However, if Ethan Holliday, the consensus top pick, is still on the table and looks too promising to pass up, the Cardinals might opt for him instead.
