St. Louis Cardinals: MLB Draft Preview Part 1

#3 OF/1B Alex Kirilloff 6’2″ 195 lbs

Age: 18

Hits/Throws: L/L

School: Plum High School (Pennsylvania)

Scout Grades: Hit: N/A

What do we know:

Oh my oh my what a tantalizing prospect we have here. Alex Kirilloff is the type of player that you don’t normally have fall in your lap at pick #23, but as of right now he is rated #27 on Baseball America’s Top 100 Draft Prospects. Kirilloff has good bat speed and good power for a kid his age. Not only that but he has a batting stance that looks comfortable and smooth.

Watching him swing the bat makes you wonder how this kid is just in high school. It is a smooth and polished swing that travels well through the zone and will help him advance through the minor leagues. Not only that, but Kirilloff is very athletic as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports he ran a 6.59 60-yard dash.

To boot, Kirilloff has played first, center field, and has pitched for his high school team. Kirilloff also has a fairly good arm from center and it should be something that would continue to get better. While the Cardinals have tons of outfield prospects in the system with Harrison Bader, Magneuris Sierra, Charlie Tilson, Anthony Garica, and more. You just cannot pass up on a player like Kirilloff in my opinion.

The talent and tools are there for Kirilloff to make the Cardinals very happy they took him. If they have to stick him at first and sacrifice his speed in doing so, then so be it.

The best way to sum up Kirilloff comes from Baseball Draft Report, “almost every scout has agreed that he’s an advanced hitter who happens to hit for power rather than the other way around”.

Red Baron pegs Kirilloff as being a bit of a Christian Yelich type player and that is a pretty good comparison for Kirilloff and a player that I would absolutely want to draft. However, he also points out that his father is a coach and a bit of a baseball “mechanics guru”, and that very well could shy teams away from drafting him. We all saw how that worked out with Colby Rasmus’ father Tony Rasmus.

We all saw how that worked out with Colby Rasmus’ father Tony Rasmus and nobody needs a repeat of that. That’s not saying that Dave Kirilloff is like that, but it is a situation worth thinking about.

Hopefully, the hometown Pirates pass up on Kirilloff and he can become a steal of a pick for the Cardinals.

Next: Reggie Lawson