Cardinals Draft Situation

As the draft quickly approaches (is it really this Thursday?), it appears as if very few teams have dropped major hints at who they will choose. The Cardinals are no exception. Even though Jeff Luhnow (the Vice President, Amateur Scouting & Player Development) has hinted at going to a college starting pitcher such as Christian Friedrich or Shooter Hunt, Luhnow has been known to “draft outside the box”. A good example of this would be last year, when he chose Pete Kozma, a prep SS from Oklahoma, who at the time was thought of as a major overdraft, although he did have a stellar April, with a line of 341/421/583.

As some of you Cardinal fans may know, for the past several years, the middle infield has been somewhat of a revolving door, ever since the days of Fernando Viña (2B) and “The Wiz” (SS). This should be their emphasis in the draft. Here are several players who I think that they should take a good long look at.

Jemile Weeks (College) - The Miami University SS is having somewhat of a down year, after hitting .352 last season. Although, he is someone who people think can rise very quickly. The younger brother of Rickie might be able to stabilize ½ of the middle infield until Kozma becomes his double play partner in two years or so.

Casey Kelly (HS) - Kelly, another talented SS, has promise not only as a SS, but as a closer. I don’t see the Cards calling him come draft day (unless he drops to their supplemental pick), because their draft room seems to refrain from choosing high school players, even though they drafted Kozma last year.

Honorable Mention- Harold Martinez (HS), whose status has fallen quite a bit this year, and, as mentioned before, Luhnow tends to refrain from picking high school players.

There are two schools of thought come draft day. They are 1) draft for need and 2) draft the best available player. There are many players who play positions that seem to be locked up in the Cardinal’s lineup for years to come. For example, unless they choose a first basemen and pull a LaPorta on us and switch him to the outfield, don’t look for the Redbirds to pick Pujols’s heir in the first round with a player such as Brett Wallace. The same goes for catcher. With the exception of Brett Lawrie, who plays third base as well as catcher, the system seems fine with the best defensive catcher in the game and a sweet swingin’ prospect at AAA. Some players whose talent and signability might just be too overwhelming to pass up, might just force the draft room to think long and hard before making the call to Selig.

Tim Melville (HS) - A local high school pitcher with outstanding stuff may be worth the dough. He is thought to be the best high school pitcher in this year’s hitter-heavy draft. Although it looks like the team will draft a college pitcher/middle infielder, as high of a reward Melville can be, the risk may very well be worth it. The good thing is that, because his stock has slightly fallen and he lives in the area, he may not cost as much as was estimated at the beginning of the season.

Aaron Hicks (HS) - The prep outfielder may also be a player to good to pass up. Hicks can also throw the high heat as a pitcher, and if he can live up to the 5 tool potential and if he is around at pick #13, then he would be a nice addition to the growing farm system. Both Hicks and Kelly are stuck with the same dilemma: scouts see them as future pitchers, but they both prefer hitting to pitching. Oh well, it seems hard to go wrong with Hicks at either position.

Zach Collier (HS) - The same goes for Collier as it did for Hicks. Collier has 5 tool potential, but is in high school, so it will take some time for him to develop and may not be a sure bet to make it to The Bigs.

Like I said before, I think that the Cardinals will draft a college pitcher, such as Hunt, Friedrich, or Perry, even if they are not the best players on the board. Who knows, like last year, they may surprise and could pick a prep player with tools. Even though it looks as if they will draft a college pitcher, they really need to solidify the middle infield by selecting someone such as Weeks or Kelly. As it is, it seems as if the Redbirds are in a stage where they are trying to incorporate younger players and a player who could rocket through the system and contribute within a year or so such as Weeks or maybe even Friedrich would be most beneficial to the birds. Anybody have any other players who they think they would like to hear called by the Cardinals come draft day?