Evaluating the St. Louis Cardinals’ draft classes (1985-2004)

1985 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Joe Magrane, LHP (12.0)

(Round 1, Pick 18)

Joe Magrane led the major leagues in ERA in 1988, his second year in The Show. While he only won five games and lost nine, his sparkling 2.18 ERA was much more representative of how he performed. Another strong season in 1989 saw him finish fourth in Cy Young Award voting. but he went 10-17 in a less productive 1990 season. An injury forcing Magrane to miss the 1991 season curtailed his promising career, and he retired at age 31 in 1996 after playing for the California Angels and Chicago White Sox. He is now a color commentator for MLB Network.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Tim Jones, SS/2B/3B (0.1); Howard Hilton, RHP (0.1); Ray Stephens, C (-0.5); Steve Peters, LHP (-1.2)

1986 MLB draft

Top pick: Luis Alicea, 2B/3B (11.9)

(Round 1, Pick 23)

Luis Alicea made his debut in 1988 and hit .212 in 297 at-bats. He returned to the minor leagues and didn’t see time with the big-league club again until 1991. In 1992, Alicea began to find a hitting stroke, batting .245, and he continued to be a consistent hitter for most of his career, amassing a career .260 average. The Cardinals traded Alicea to the Boston Red Sox after the 1994 season, but they claimed him back off waivers the next year. Alicea wrapped up his career with the Kansas City Royals in 2002.

WAR leader: Todd Zeile, 3B/1B/C (19.3)

(Round 2-supplemental, Pick 55)

Consistency was at the center of Todd Zeile’s game, and the 11 teams he played for all knew what they were getting from the infielder. In his seven years with the Cardinals, Zeile hit .267 and 75 home runs. Originally a catcher, Zeile transitioned to third base in 1991 to give Tom Pagnozzi a spot behind the plate. He had trouble adjusting defensively to the position, committing a league-leading 25 errors in 1991, but he hit decently.

In 1995, the Cardinals traded him to the Chicago Cubs, beginning a nomadic journey that would take him all over the U.S. (and Canada). At the time of his retirement in 2004, Zeile had collected, coincidentally, 2,004 hits. He was one team shy of tying for the MLB record for number of teams played for by one person.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Mike Perez, RHP (2.1); Larry Carter, RHP (0.1); Mark Grater, RHP (0.1); Bien Figueroa, SS/2B (-0.2)

1987 MLB draft

Top pick: Cris Carpenter, RHP (2.4)

(Round 1, Pick 14)

Not to be confused with more recent Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, Cris Carpenter spent less than a season in the minor leagues before arriving on the major league stage. He dominated in his second start, pitching a complete game, giving up four hits and one run. His final season in St. Louis was his best, as he pitched to a 2.97 ERA out of the bullpen. The Florida Marlins then took Carpenter in the 1993 expansion draft, and after playing four more nondescript seasons, including one season back with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in 1995, he retired.

WAR leader: Ray Lankford, OF (38.2)

(Round 3, Pick 72)

Willie McGee’s heir in center field, Ray Lankford finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1991, a year where he led the major leagues in triples. Lankford was a fast runner and a solid fielder, and he made the All-Star team in 1997, hitting .295 that year.

In the memorable season of 1998, highlighted by the Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run record chase, Lankford usually batted one spot ahead of McGwire and reached base often to let McGwire do his damage. At the time of his retirement in 2004, Lankford was third all-time among Cardinals in home runs (238) and fifth in stolen bases (268), and he remains the only member of the Cardinals’ 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases club. He was inducted into the 2018 class of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Jeremy Hernandez, RHP (1.9); Rod Brewer, 1B/OF (-0.5); Tim Sherrill, LHP (-0.6)

1988 MLB draft

Top pick: John Ericks, RHP (0.0)

(Round 1, Pick 22)

John Ericks dominated A-ball in his first year as a pro, leading the minor leagues in strikeouts with 211 in 167.1 innings and achieving a microscopic 2.04 ERA. However, he failed to replicate those stats, and the Cardinals released him after the season in 1992. Ericks signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and finally made his major league debut at age 27 in 1995. He spent parts of three seasons with the Pirates and had an ERA of 4.78.

WAR leader: Brian Jordan, OF (32.9)

(Round 1-supplemental, Pick 29)

One of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, Brian Jordan had to be lured away from a football commitment, and he played three seasons for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons before focusing on baseball. He broke out offensively in 1995, hitting .296 with 22 home runs, and he hit .304 over the next three years.

His all-out style of play in the outfield endeared him to fans, but it also led to injuries that cost him many games. Jordan was granted free agency after 1998 and signed with the Atlanta Braves, where he made his sole All-Star appearance in 1999, when he hit .283.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Rheal Cormier, LHP (9.5); Mark Clark, RHP (5.9); Joe Hall, OF (0.2)

1989 MLB draft

Top pick: Paul Coleman, OF (N/A)

(Round 1, Pick 6)

Paul Coleman’s prodigious power in high school never materialized in the pros, as he hit only 19 home runs in 1,161 at-bats in his minor league career. Double-A was as high as Coleman climbed, reaching Arkansas in 1993. He hit .244 there, then temporarily ended his career. He later played one year of independent baseball in 1996.

WAR leader: Bill Hurst, RHP (0.1)

(Round 20, Pick 510)

The 1989 draft wasn’t a successful one for the Cardinals, as Hurst was the only player they drafted who put up positive WAR. After three seasons between Rookie ball and A-ball, the Cardinals released him in 1992, and he went unclaimed until 1995, when the Florida Marlins signed him. His only major league exposure came in 1996, where he pitched two innings for the Marlins, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out one.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Tripp Cromer, SS/2B (-0.5); Mike Milchin, LHP (-0.6); Frank Cimorelli, RHP (-0.6); Steve Dixon, LHP (-0.8)

1990 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Donovan Osborne, LHP (5.4)

(Round 1, Pick 13)

Donovan Osborne placed fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1992 and had his best year in 1996, where he had 3.53 ERA and won 13 games. The Cardinals released him after a rough 1999 where he struggled to a 5.52 ERA, and he didn’t play baseball again until latching on with the Chicago Cubs in 2002. After one more year outside of baseball, Osborne pitched 17.2 innings with the New York Yankees in 2004, where he would make his last major league appearance.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Terry Bradshaw, OF (0.1); Scott Baker, LHP (-0.1); Marc Ronan, C (-0.2); Duff Brumley, RHP (-0.2); Aaron Holbert, 2B/1B (-0.4); Tom Urbani, LHP (-0.5)

1991 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Dmitri Young, LF/1B/3B (12.2)

(Round 1, Pick 4)

After winning several awards in the minor leagues, Dmitri Young was promoted to the big leagues at the end of the 1996 season. He played only one full season with the Cardinals because of positional logjams, hitting .258, so the team traded him to the Cincinnati Reds after the 1997 season.

Young flourished in Cincinnati, hitting .304 in his four seasons there, although his All-Star appearances would have to wait until 2003 and 2007, when he was with the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals, respectively. Young played as the designated hitter for most of his five seasons in Detroit, as weight problems that he faced throughout his career left him a liability on defense. Young retired after the 2008 season with a career .292 average.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Allen Watson, LHP (2.7); John Frascatore, RHP (2.6); Mike DiFelice, C (0.5); Rigo Beltran, LHP (0.5); DaRond Stovall, OF (-0.3); Brian Barber, RHP (-0.6); Allen Battle, OF (-0.6); Mike Busby, RHP (-0.9); Doug Creek, LHP (-1.1); John Mabry, OF/1B (-2.3)

1992 MLB draft

Top pick: Sean Lowe, RHP (1.7)

(Round 1, Pick 15)

Sean Lowe was clobbered during his two years in St. Louis to the tune of a 10.72 ERA in 22.2 innings. The Cardinals traded him to the Chicago White Sox before the 1999 season, where he performed better over two and a half seasons with an ERA of 4.08. After a trade to Pittsburgh in mid 2002, Lowe’s troubles from St. Louis resurfaced, and he retired in 2003.

WAR leader: T.J. Mathews, RHP (4.8)

(Round 36, Pick 1,007)

T.J. Mathews had a 2.53 ERA in four years out of the bullpen with the Cardinals, including 2001, when the Cardinals re-signed after trading him to the Oakland Athletics in the Mark McGwire deal in 1997. He also vultured eight saves for the Cardinals in 1995 and 1996. He signed with several other teams after the Cardinals made him a free agent in 2001, but he only appeared in the major leagues for the Houston Astros for 18.1 innings in 2002.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Joe McEwing, OF/2B/SS (0.8); Steve Montgomery, RHP (0.6); Keith Johns, 2B (0.0); Mike Gulan, 3B (-0.3); Kirk Bullinger, RHP (-1.0); Scarborough Green, OF (-1.1); Brady Raggio, RHP (-1.5)

1993 MLB draft

Top pick: Alan Benes, RHP (1.3)

(Round 1, Pick 16)

Alan Benes joined the Cardinals during the September roster expansion in 1995. He and his brother Andy pitched on the same team in four different seasons when they were with the Cardinals. Alan Benes had his best year in 1997, pitching to a 2.89 ERA in 161.2 innings.

An arm injury that kept him out in 1998 affected him for the rest of his career, and Benes became a free agent after working mostly out of the bullpen from 1999 to 2001. The Chicago Cubs tried to give him an opportunity to start again, but the results weren’t there, and Benes retired in 2006 after trying to come back with the Cardinals.

WAR leader: Eli Marrero, C/OF/1B (4.9)

(Round 3, Pick 88)

A catcher for most of his first five seasons with the Cardinals and the game-caller for the Cardinals’ most recent no-hitter, Eli Marrero transitioned to the outfield after losing his job behind the plate to Mike Matheny while undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer in 2000.

The Cardinals traded him to the Atlanta Braves in December 2003 for Jason Marquis and prospect Adam Wainwright. Marrero had the best season of his career in Atlanta in 2004, hitting .320. He never came close to those highs again as he was traded to Kansas City and spent time with several other teams before retiring in 2007.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Jay Witasick, RHP (2.6); Jeff Berblinger, 2B (-0.2); Armando Almanza, LHP (-0.5)

1994 MLB draft

Top pick: Bret Wagner, LHP (N/A)

(Round 1, Pick 19)

Bret Wagner had a 2.08 ERA in Low-A and High-A in 1994 and a 2.42 ERA the next year. Wagner was traded to the Oakland Athletics before the 1996 season and reached Double-A, starting 27 games and going 8-8. Injuries derailed the rest of his career, though, and he retired in 1997.

WAR leader: Placido Polanco, 2B/3B/SS (41.9)

(Round 19, Pick 530)

A two-time All-Star, Placido Polanco also won three Gold Glove Awards and one Silver Slugger. He became the Cardinals’ everyday third baseman in 2001, a year where he hit .307. Around the 2002 trade deadline, Polanco was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies while the Cardinals acquired Scott Rolen.

Polanco’s finest year was 2007 with the Detroit Tigers, where he set a record for second basemen with 141 consecutive single-season games without an error. On top of that, he batted a career-high .341. Polanco received two votes for the Hall of Fame in 2019, so he dropped off the ballot in his first year of eligibility.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Blake Stein, RHP (2.7); Curtis King, RHP (0.8); Keith Glauber, RHP (0.3); Keith McDonald, C (0.2); Carl Dale, RHP (-0.4); Jose Leon, 1B/3B (-0.7)

1995 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Matt Morris, RHP (20.4)

(Round 1, Pick 12)

The Cardinals drafted Matt Morris out of college with the hope that he could find some control, and for the most part, he did that when he arrived in the major leagues. Morris finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Scott Rolen in 1997 with his 3.19 ERA, and after missing 1999 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and pitching out of the bullpen in 2000, Morris pitched a complete season in 2001 and notched a major league-leading 22 wins along with a career-best 3.16 ERA. He was an All-Star in 2001 and 2002.

The Cardinals let Morris walk in free agency after 2005, and he pitched for parts of three more seasons with the San Francisco Giants, where he battled injuries, and with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Chris Richard, OF/1B (1.8); Matt DeWitt, RHP (0.2); Kerry Robinson, OF (-0.5); Britt Reames, RHP (-0.8)

1996 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Braden Looper, RHP (8.2)

(Round 1, Pick 3)

Braden Looper’s career was contrary to the usual pitching prospect. Drafted and developed purely as a reliever, Looper became a full-time starter late in his career, at age 32, and had never started a game in the majors before that. With the Cardinals in 1998, Looper pitched only 3.1 innings at the beginning of the season before being sent down and later traded to the Florida Marlins for Edgar Renteria.

Looper eventually became a closer for the Marlins and later the New York Mets. The Cardinals signed Looper after the 2005 season to serve as a setup man, and in 2007, Looper became a starter and had a 4.94 ERA. He signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for 2009, where he pitched poorly and soon retired.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Stubby Clapp, 2B/LF (-0.1); Brent Butler, IF (-0.3)

1997 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Adam Kennedy, 2B (20.9)

(Round 1, Pick 20)

Adam Kennedy signed for the lowest bonus of any first-rounder in the 1997 draft ($650,000). After a promotion to St. Louis in August of 1999, Kennedy hit .255 in 102 at-bats. In 2000, the Cardinals traded him to the Anaheim Angels in the Jim Edmonds deal. He had his best season in 2002, a year in which he also hit three home runs in one postseason game in the ALCS. He hit .312 that year.

Kennedy returned to the Cardinals in 2007 and played parts of two seasons with them, hitting .252 in 618 at-bats. He played in the major leagues for four other teams before retiring in 2012.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Rick Ankiel, LHP/OF (9.1); Jason Karnuth, RHP (0.1); Justin Brunette, LHP (0.1); Jose Rodriguez, LHP (-0.5)

1998 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: J.D. Drew, OF (44.9)

(Round 1, Pick 5)

J.D. Drew was the subject of major league controversy before his professional career even began. The Philadelphia Phillies took him second overall in the 1997 draft despite warnings from his agent, Scott Boras, that Drew wouldn’t sign. Indeed, he turned down the Phillies’ offer and played with an independent league, leading Phillies fans to lambast Drew when he played against them.

The Cardinals selected Drew the next year, and he hit .282 in his six years with the Cardinals. He had trouble staying healthy, though, and he required trips to the disabled list every year with St. Louis. His lone year in Atlanta was also his best, as he hit .305 with 31 home runs. Injuries continued to dog Drew later in his career, keeping him from fulfilling the potential teams saw in him, but he still put together some productive seasons.

 Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Jack Wilson, SS (23.5); Les Walrond, LHP (0.7); Esix Snead, OF (0.2); Bud Smith, LHP (-0.3); Steve Stemle, RHP (-0.3); Chad Hutchinson, RHP (-0.5)

1999 MLB draft

Top pick: Chance Caple, RHP (N/A)

(Round 1, Pick 30)

Chance Caple struggled throughout the minor leagues and never advanced past High-A. He arrived out of Texas A&M with a 12-to-6 curveball, but injuries and ineffectiveness hindered his career. He missed 2001 with Tommy John surgery, then broke his finger while sitting in a dugout and being hit by a line drive. An elbow strain bothered him when he returned after six more weeks on the shelf, and he never found a rhythm in the pros, with a career 4.36 ERA.

WAR leader: Albert Pujols, 1B (99.4)

(Round 13, Pick 402)

What is there to say about Albert Pujols that hasn’t been repeated a million times? “The Machine” is one of the greatest players to ever don a Cardinals uniform. The accolades speak for themselves: 11-time All Star. Three-time MVP. Six-time Silver Slugger winner. Two-time Gold Glove winner. He’s fifth all-time in home runs. The Cardinals figured they had something special after Pujols won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2001, but his career has surpassed the imagination of even the wildest dreamer.

Pujols is spending his final season with the Cardinals after 10 years in Los Angeles with the Angels and Dodgers, as he returned to the team where he found by far his most success. From 2001 to 2011, Pujols had an eye-popping .328 batting average and 445 home runs. He became a more one-dimensional player as his career went on, and power was eventually his only carrying tool. But fans who saw Pujols in his prime witnessed a legend the likes of whom may never be seen again.

 Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Coco Crisp, OF (28.9); Chris Duncan, OF (2.8); Mike Crudale, RHP (1.7); Bo Hart, 2B (1.1); Ben Johnson, OF (0.2); Josh Pearce, RHP (-0.3); Jimmy Journell, RHP (-0.4)

2000 MLB draft

Top pick: Shaun Boyd, OF (N/A)

(Round 1, Pick 13)

A shortstop in high school, Shaun Boyd moved to second base and profiled as a potential leadoff hitter whose bat would make up for his defensive shortcomings. A pitch that hit his jaw ended his 2001 season in Single-A, but Boyd broke out in his return to that level in 2002, hitting .314. He eventually moved to the outfield in his search for a defensive home, and once he was promoted to Triple-A, he struggled at the plate as well, hitting .184 in 2006 and 2007 with Memphis and later Ottawa, the affiliate for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was out of the league shortly after and spent two seasons in independent baseball.

WAR leader: Yadier Molina, C (42.0)

(Round 4, Pick 113)

The development trajectory of Yadier Molina is well known by this point: Originally a defense-only catcher, his arm, receiving ability and blocking ability almost ensured that he would at least have a career in the major leagues as a backup. In 2007, his fourth year in the major leagues, Molina’s bat started to come around as he hit .275. From 2008 to 2013, Molina hit an even .300 and was the gold standard of catchers.

Molina led the major leagues in caught-stealing percentage four times and won nine Gold Glove and four Platinum Glove Awards, as well as one Silver Slugger. He also made 10 All-Star teams. The respect his arm gained around the league cannot be overstated: The Cardinals allowed the fewest stolen bases of any team in the major leagues from 2004 to 2022, and the numbers were not even close. For the most part, teams simply refused to run on Molina. His next stop is Cooperstown.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Chris Narveson, LHP (0.6); Tyler Johnson, LHP (0.4); John Gall, OF (-0.1); Carmen Cali, LHP (-0.4)

2001 MLB draft

Top pick: Justin Pope, RHP (N/A)

(Round 1, Pick 28)

Justin Pope broke Roger Clemens’ NCAA Division I record of consecutive scoreless innings with 38 in 2001 at the University of Central Florida. He fell to the end of the first round because of his diminutive stature (6 feet, 180 pounds) and lack of a standout pitch. After a nondescript professional debut in 2001, Pope pitched to a 1.38 ERA and an 8-1 record with Single-A Peoria.

In 2003, as Pope struggled to regain his form, the Cardinals traded him to the New York Yankees. There, he reached Triple-A and had an unsightly 6.44 ERA. Pope never cracked the Yankees’ major league roster and retired after a stint in Venezuelan winter ball in 2009. He is now a coach in the Miami Marlins organization.

WAR leader: Dan Haren, RHP (35.1)

(Round 2, Pick 72)

In one of the few trades the Cardinals undoubtedly regret in their run of prosperity throughout the 2000s, they shipped second-round pick Dan Haren and two other players to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Mark Mulder, who was rarely healthy for the Cardinals. To the Cardinals’ credit, Haren wasn’t exactly dominant in his two seasons with them in 2003 and 2004, with a 4.85 ERA in 118.2 innings.

However, Haren later became a three-time All-Star with Oakland and the Arizona Diamondbacks, starting the 2007 All-Star Game and holding a career-best 3.07 ERA that year. Always very good with control, Haren had a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.03, which is seventh in major league history. He closed out his career with the Miami Marlins in 2015.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Skip Schumaker, OF/2B (1.5); Terry Evans, OF (0.0); John Nelson, 1B (-0.2); Blake Hawksworth, RHP (-0.6); Joe Mather, OF/3B (-2.5)

2002 MLB draft

Top pick: Calvin Hayes, SS (N/A)

(Round 3, Pick 102)

The Cardinals didn’t have a first- or second-round pick in 2002, and they took Hayes with their first pick, which some teams saw as a reach. A player with speed as his calling card, Hayes had difficulty staying healthy, dealing with wrist and hamstring injuries in 2003 and 2004. He had defensive issues at shortstop, and while his aggressive approach at the plate worked in Rookie ball, where he hit .304, Hayes struggled to adjust after promotions and hit .216 in High-A, his highest level reached.

WAR leader: Kyle McClellan, RHP (2.5)

(Round 25, Pick 762)

After flopping as a starter in Rookie ball and Single-A and requiring two elbow surgeries, Kyle McClellan converted to a bullpen role and found immediate success. From 2008 to 2012, McClellan had a 3.69 ERA, mostly as a reliever but also starting a few games in 2011 after Adam Wainwright was lost for the season. He was a bullpen workhorse in August, appearing in 11 games and surrendering only two earned runs. However, he was not on the team’s postseason roster after fading down the stretch.

McClellan suffered a severe shoulder injury in July 2012, and the surgery ended his season and his time with the Cardinals. McClellan played in seven games with the Texas Rangers in 2013, which would be his last year.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Mike McCoy, OF/SS/2B (0.8); Brad Thompson, RHP (0.4); Reid Gorecki, OF (-0.3)

2003 MLB draft

Top pick: Daric Barton, 1B (8.9)

(Round 1, Pick 28)

Daric Barton began his career as a catcher, though few scouts believed he’d be able to stick behind the dish. The Cardinals were captivated by Barton’s bat and strong strike zone judgment, and they wooed him away from a commitment to Cal State Fullerton. Barton hit .313 in 90 games with Single-A Peoria before the Cardinals traded him to the Oakland Athletics in the Mark Mulder deal.

Oakland quickly had Barton abandon catching and moved him to first base, which would make it easier for his bat to develop. He routinely finished among the minor league leaders in walks, but while he maintained his elite eye at the plate, leading the league in walks in 2010, Barton never put up the power numbers teams expect at the cold corner: He hit only 30 home runs in his career, with his season high being 10 in 2010, and his career average was a mediocre .247. Barton became a free agent in 2014 and had three successful years in the Mexican League to close out his career.

WAR leader: Brendan Ryan, SS (15.1)

(Round 7, Pick 212)

Kicked off the baseball team after he won the NAIA World Series with Lewis-Clark State College, Brendan Ryan received most of the attention in his amateur and early pro years for his bat. He hit .322 in Single-A in 2004 and arrived in St. Louis after five solid years in the minor leagues. In his first three years with the Cardinals, Ryan hit .279, but he started to become more known for his exceptional defense once he solved some issues with focus on the field that led to errors.

Ryan was traded to the Seattle Mariners after the 2010 season, and he won a Fielding Bible Award in 2012 after placing second for the award in the previous two years. His offensive production sputtered after 2009: From 2010 to 2016, Ryan only hit .214, but his fielding excellence led him to receive major league time with the Mariners, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels before he called it quits after 2017.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Jason Motte, RHP (5.0); Stu Pomeranz, RHP (0.1); Matt Pagnozzi, C (0.1); Anthony Reyes, RHP (0.0); Dennis Dove, RHP (-0.2)

2004 MLB draft

Top pick: Chris Lambert, RHP (-0.8)

(Round 1, Pick 19)

A high school hockey player from cold-weather New Hampshire, Chris Lambert had less pitching experience than the typical first-round pick, but he was the Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year in his freshman year at Boston College. The Cardinals took him 19th overall despite a rocky junior season and hoped to iron out his shaky control. He walked 5.6 batters per nine innings in Single-A Peoria but had a 2.58 ERA, and he put up similar numbers in High-A. A promotion to Double-A didn’t go well, and he continued to have issues in Triple-A.

The Cardinals traded Lambert to the Detroit Tigers as the player to be named later for Mike Maroth in August 2007. The Tigers moved Lambert, then a bullpen arm, back to the rotation, and he debuted with them in 2008, pitching to a 5.66 ERA in 20.2 innings. His career went downhill from there, and Lambert retired in 2009 after a short stint with the Baltimore Orioles.

WAR leader: Jarrett Hoffpauir, 2B/3B, (0.4)

(Round 6, Pick 180)

The 2004 draft didn’t end up fruitful for the Cardinals, whose only positive WAR player was Jarrett Hoffpauir. A player adept at controlling the strike zone, he had a career .286 average in six seasons at Triple-A but received little playing time in the majors. In all of 16 plate appearances with the Cardinals, Hoffpauir hit .250. The Toronto Blue Jays selected him off waivers, but he hit only .206 in 34 at-bats. After minor league stops with the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals, Hoffpauir retired in 2012.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Mark Worrell, RHP (-0.8); Mike Parisi, RHP (-1.0)