St. Louis Cardinals’ MLB Draft Recap: Rounds 8-10

Here we are, ten rounds through the MLB Draft and this staff writer is still alive and ready for the next 30. The St. Louis Cardinals made nine picks today and the first six can be found here.

Pick 8 – Ian Oxnevad 6’4 200 lb LHP, Shorewood H.S. Shoreline, WA

The first word out of Jim Callis and Johnathon Mayo’s mouths was “pitchability”. Oxnevad doesn’t have lights out stuff by any means but he has that knack to use what he does have to pitch well and when I say well, I mean dominant. In 79 IP Oxnevad had a record of 11-0 with a 0.35 ERA, striking out 96 batters and only allowing 39 hits and 15 BB. All of this led to Oxnevad being named the player of the year for his local area.

Not only does Ian Oxnevad have three pretty good pitches (Fastball, Slider, Chageup). According to Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider he commands a very lethal pick off move as well.  I highly recommend you go check out that article for a more in depth review of who the Cardinals picked up in Oxnevad.

Live Feed

Motor City Bengals

Oxnevad has the makings of someone who could either be a lethal left-handed specialist out of the of bullpen or a solid middle of the rotation starter. Reading up on Oxnevad, it seems that something has clicked for him recently and he has became a dominant ace type pitcher for his team. His coach Wyatt Tonkin was quoted as saying, “You almost felt like, it’ll be all right,” when talking about when Oxnevad took the mound to HeraldNet writer Aaron Lommers. Sounds like every other ace you hear about.

Pick #9 – Andrew Brodbeck 5’10 185 lb 2B, Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL 

It took 12 picks for the Cardinals’ to go after a middle infielder in the draft, a little later than I would have waited but hey I am not the one calling the shots. They made sure they got the best of their pick that’s for sure. Given that Brodbeck came from a school in division II of the NCAA his numbers may not be as impressive as they would be if they came from a division I school.

“Would love to compare him to Matt Carpenter. Just a grinder who has a good feel for the game”

However, in four seasons of college ball, he totaled a .346 BA with 13 HR, 37 2B, 7 3B from the left side, while driving in 82, walking 90 times and only striking out 66 times. Another impressive stat, is his SB success rate, in 50 career attempts he was only caught stealing 9 times for an 82% success rate.

More from St Louis Cardinals News

• Cardinals Rumors: 3 pros and cons of signing Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Here is Willson Contreras’ first message for St. Louis fans
• How do the St. Louis Cardinals stack up with Willson Contreras?
• Cardinals: The insane asking price the Athletics had for Sean Murphy
• St. Louis Cardinals: Ask me anything with Josh Jacobs – 12/8

This has the chance to be a very intriguing pick for the Cardinals, despite the fact that it is a ninth round selection. Brodbeck has shown he has the ability to hit the ball and to hit the ball with authority. I really like that he is a college senior which is important because it means he will sign for slot money and will save the Cardinals money for all of these high school players they have drafted.

When asked about his player, Flagler College head coach David Barnett said, “Opie is a great teammate and great person. Very good student. Graduated with a 3.6 GPA. Team MVP last two years and All-Peach Belt conference 2^nd baseman this year.”, well if the Matt Carpenter comparison is true we may have gotten ourselves quite a player here in Brodbeck.

Pick #10 – Kep Brown 6’5 200 lb OF, Wando H.S. Mount Pleasant, S.C. 

I really want to get excited about this pick, I really do. Kep Brown is a tremendous talent that should have gone in the first round. However, he suffered a devastating injury this year tearing his achilles tendon (an injury we all know too well) which caused his stock to drop like a ton of bricks all the way to the 10th round. This is where the Cardinals have taken a flier on him. My hope here is that the Cardinals come up with an offer that he can’t refuse, more than he could get in an additional two to three years when he enters again.

If that happens and he forgoes his commitment to the University of Miami. Here’s what we can expect, a solid player with a dynamite ability to hit for power. The guy smashes baseballs in every BP and has a sweet smooth swing from the right side. Before his injuries (elbow and achilles) he was good for pull and center power but hadn’t quite learned to use that power to the opposite field quite yet. Like the majority of OF drafted by the team before him he likely profiles best as a LF. He is going to need some work to hit for better average in the minors and if he makes it all connect, he could become a really good hitter. Someone that could become a game changer in this system.

However, everything I read is saying that he is going to go ahead and honor the commitment to Miami. Maybe the Cardinals can shock the baseball world and get him to sign. I definitely hope this is the case.

That will do for day 2. I will have a day 3 recap tomorrow, it may be a bit on the brief side in the later rounds. Thanks for reading as usual!