Evaluating the St. Louis Cardinals’ draft classes (2005-2014)

2005 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Colby Rasmus, OF (20.2)

(Round 1, Pick 28)

Colby Rasmus was drafted out of high school and considered a can’t-miss, five-tool talent. His power, speed and defensive acumen made him the Cardinals’ most hyped position player prospect since Albert Pujols. Seen as a no-doubt center fielder who would compete for Gold Gloves and be a threat to steal bases as well, Rasmus broke out in Double-A in 2007, hitting 29 home runs and hitting .275. He performed well in his rookie season with the Cardinals, hitting .251 with 12 long balls and stepped up in 2010 and hit .276 with 23 home runs.

Trouble was brewing in the clubhouse, though, as reports indicated a rift between him and manager Tony La Russa. Word got out that Rasmus had requested a trade in 2010 because of what he believed to be playing time limitations, possibly as a result of the uneasiness with La Russa.

He was granted a trade a year later when he was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays in a giant move near the deadline. Rasmus hit only .234 in four seasons with Toronto. In July of 2013, while playing with the Tampa Bay Rays, Rasmus decided to step away from baseball, citing a lack of passion. He returned the next year to play for the Baltimore Orioles, but in July, he chose to leave baseball again, this time for good.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Jaime Garcia, LHP (10.7); Mitchell Boggs, RHP (0.4); Tyler Greene, 2B/SS/3B (-0.4); Bryan Anderson, C (-0.5); Nick Stavinoha, OF (-1.3)

2006 MLB draft

Top pick: Adam Ottavino, RHP (13.0)

(Round 1, Pick 30)

The America East Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2005 for Northeastern University, Adam Ottavino really opened eyes when he pitched a 14-strikeout no-hitter against offensive powerhouse James Madison University. The Cardinals grabbed him with the final pick of the first round, and he made his major league debut in 2010, starting three games and pitching two out of the bullpen, but he had growing pains, pitching to an 8.46 ERA in 22.1 innings. Part of this was likely due to a sore shoulder that cost Ottavino much of the season after he was demoted back to Memphis.

The Cardinals decided to cut bait with Ottavino before the 2012 season, and the Colorado Rockies claimed him off waivers. It proved to be an excellent deal for the Rockies, as Ottavino blossomed as a reliever. In seven years with the Rockies, he had a 3.41 ERA and an impressive 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He was briefly the Rockies’ closer in 2015, but he was shut down on May 4 when he required Tommy John surgery.

Ottavino signed with the New York Yankees in 2019, and they traded him to the rival Boston Red Sox in 2021. He currently pitches for the New York Mets.

WAR leader: Tommy Pham, OF (16.7)

(Round 16, Pick 496)

Tommy Pham was a feel-good story for the St. Louis Cardinals in his breakout 2017 season. He spent nine years in the minor leagues, fighting injuries and inconsistency along with vision issues caused by keratoconus before finally getting his chance in St. Louis in 2014. After he hit only .226 in 2016 and struggled with strikeouts, whiffing 117 times in 444 at-bats, he looked like a reserve outfielder at best. But he was a different beast in 2017, hitting .306 with 23 home runs and seizing the starting center field job for 2018.

In a shocking move at the 2018 trade deadline, the Cardinals sent Pham to the Tampa Bay Rays. Theories spawned about possible tension with the front office; many believed Pham’s open and honest personality might not have jibed with “The Cardinal Way.” He turned in two solid seasons with the Rays, who traded him to the San Diego Padres after the 2019 season.

Pham was often dinged up with injuries throughout his professional career, but the one to trump all others was a stab wound in his lower back that he suffered outside of a strip club in October 2020, requiring 200 stitches. He hit a meager .229 in 2021 and signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds before the 2022 season. They traded him at the deadline to the Boston Red Sox.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Jon Jay, OF (12.1); Luke Gregerson, RHP (6.4); Allen Craig, OF/1B (5.7); Chris Perez, RHP (4.7); David Carpenter, RHP (2.0); Shane Robinson, OF (1.3); Jon Edwards, RHP (0.3); Mark Hamilton, 1B/OF (-0.3); P.J. Walters, RHP (-2.3)

2007 MLB draft

Top pick: Pete Kozma, SS/2B/3B (-0.5)

(Round 1, Pick 18)

Pete Kozma was drafted to be the Cardinals’ shortstop of the future, but while the glove was always there, he never hit enough to contribute as a regular. He didn’t scorch the ball in the minor leagues, with his best year being 2010 in Double-A, where he hit .243 with 13 home runs. Even after scuffling in Triple-A, hitting only .214, Kozma was promoted to the major leagues in 2011. His most prominent year was 2013, his only year as the Cardinals’ everyday shortstop, where he had 410 at-bats but hit .217. The Cardinals decided after the season that he was not what they were looking for at the position, and they signed Jhonny Peralta to be the starter.

Kozma spent most of 2014 back in Memphis, and after the 2015 season, he became a free agent and signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. He played sparingly for a few other teams who hoped they could unearth some of his undiscovered offensive potential, After a brief stint with the Oakland Athletics, Kozma signed with the American Association’s Kansas City Monarchs in 2022.

WAR leader: Daniel Descalso, 2B/3B (0.4)

(Round 3, Pick 112)

Daniel Descalso carried a similar toolset to Pete Kozma, although he ended up a slightly better hitter and a less skilled defender. After hitting a mind-boggling .397 in his junior year at UC Davis, Descalso signed with the Cardinals as their third-round pick and debuted with the major league squad in 2010. The next year, he played mostly at third base in the place of an injured David Freese, and he hit .264 in 326 at-bats.

He wasn’t able to replicate that success in his next three seasons with the Cardinals, hitting a combined .234. Descalso signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies, where he served as a backup infielder. He also played with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs, and he spent his last season for the Minnesota Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Steven Hill, 1B/C (0.1); C.J. Fick, RHP (0.0); Andrew Brown, OF (-0.2); Brian Broderick, RHP (-0.2); Jess Todd, RHP (-0.4); Adron Chambers, OF (-0.4); Clayton Mortensen, RHP (-0.5); Michael Blazek, RHP (-0.5); Tony Cruz, C (-2.9)

2008 MLB draft

Top pick: Brett Wallace, 1B/3B (-0.2)

(Round 1, Pick 13)

Brett Wallace won the Triple Crown twice in his time at Arizona State University, and while he played third base in college, his rotund body necessitated a move to first base. The Cardinals saw the writing on the wall, and since they had Albert Pujols entrenched at that position, they traded Wallace to the Oakland Athletics in the Matt Holliday deal near the 2009 trade deadline. He didn’t last long with Oakland either, as they traded Wallce to the Toronto Blue Jays. He continued to put up gaudy numbers in the minor leagues, consistently hitting around .300, and he was traded yet again in December 2009 to the Houston Astros.

It was with the Astros where Wallace spent most of his career, but his minor league success never carried over. He hit .242 in four seasons with the Astros, who designated him for assignment before the 2014 season. He played in the minor leagues for the Baltimore Orioles for a year before resurfacing in the big leagues with the San Diego Padres. Wallace hit only .189 in 2016, and he retired after the season.

WAR leader: Lance Lynn, RHP (29.0)

(Round 1-supplemental, Pick 39)

Lance Lynn blazed through the Cardinals farm system after setting single-season and career strikeout records at Ole Miss. He played at three levels in 2009 and won the system’s Pitcher of the Year Award, and he was in the major leagues in 2011. In 2012, Lynn made the All-Star team and was a durable and effective starter for the next five seasons with the Cardinals. They let him walk as a free agent after 2017.

As the league moves away from the fastball, Lynn continues to throw it more than almost any other pitcher. He has found success with this approach, even late in his career. In 2021 with the Chicago White Sox, his age-34 season, Lynn had the lowest ERA of his career at 2.69 and was an All-Star for the second time.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Kevin Siegrist, LHP (4.5); Sam Freeman, LHP (2.9); Shane Peterson, OF (1.0); Jermaine Curtis, OF (0.0); Mitch Harris, RHP (0.0); Eric Fornatero, RHP (-0.1); Xavier Scruggs, 1B/OF (-0.3); Alex Castellanos, OF (-0.6)

2009 MLB draft

Top pick: Shelby Miller, RHP (7.6)

(Round 1, Pick 19)

Few players have seen their careers nosedive as steeply and as quickly as Shelby Miller. The Cardinals eschewed their normal draft strategy of taking college pitchers early by grabbing Miller, a high school standout, with their first pick, and he proceeded to strike out an impressive number of minor leaguers, peaking at 12.1 per nine innings in 2010 at Single-A. He debuted as a September call-up in 2012 and made the postseason roster. The next year, on May 10, Miller gave up a single to start the game and then retired the next 27 batters, tying a Cardinals rookie record of 13 strikeouts. He was third in Rookie of the Year voting.

In 370 innings with the Cardinals in just over two seasons, Miller had an ERA of 3.33. After the death of Oscar Taveras left a hole in the outfield, the Cardinals traded Miller to the Atlanta Braves to acquire Jason Heyward. In one season with Atlanta in 2015, Miller was probably the unluckiest pitcher in the league, going 6-17 with a dismal 2.38 runs of support. Despite this, it was his best year statistically, with a 3.02 ERA.

2016 was when Miller’s career careened off the rails. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Dansby Swanson deal, and he went 3-12 with a ghastly 6.15 ERA in a season that included a demotion to Triple-A. He had Tommy John surgery in early 2017 and pitched disastrously in his return to Arizona in late June of 2018, giving up 19 earned runs in 16 innings. His stats since 2016 aren’t pretty: a 6-22 record and a 7.04 ERA. Baseball America called Miller the most talented pitcher the Cardinals had developed since Rick Ankiel. Now 31 years old, Miller needs to turn it around fast; otherwise, the Ankiel comparisons will appear more prescient than any fan would have expected.

WAR leader: Matt Carpenter, 3B/1B/2B (29.2)

(Round 13, Pick 399)

Matt Carpenter’s long college career (five years at Texas Christian University) and thus advanced age at the draft led many teams to be wary of taking him. The Cardinals took a chance in round 13, and they ended up being rewarded handsomely. Carpenter was the Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2010 when he hit .309 with 13 home runs.

He was seen as having a small window of opportunity to claim the third base job because of David Freese’s emergence in 2011 and prospect Zack Cox on the horizon. The Cardinals made Carpenter a utility player in 2012, and in 2013, he led the major leagues in runs, hits and doubles en route to a .318 average and a Silver Slugger Award.

From 2012 to 2016, Carpenter had a .286 average while playing at first base, second base and third base and usually leading off for the Cardinals. While he never had the traditional leadoff man’s speed, he had a superior batting eye and was a catalyst who frequently set other hitters up to drive him in. Carpenter was named an All-Star three times.

Carpenter began to struggle in 2019 after signing a two-year extension with the Cardinals. He hit .226, which was his last year hitting over the Mendoza line for the team. In 2020 and 2021, his combined average was .176. Carpenter’s struggles were mostly attributed to the increase in defensive shifts, which he had difficulty exploiting.

Carpenter became a free agent for the first time after 2021, and although the Texas Rangers never promoted him to the major leagues, Carpenter found new life in 2022 with the New York Yankees, hitting 15 home runs in only 128 at-bats. Unfortunately, Carpenter broke his foot on Aug. 8, potentially ending his season.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Joe Kelly, RHP (6.1); Trevor Rosenthal, RHP, (5.7); Matt Adams, 1B/OF (4.9); Travis Tartamella, C (0.0); Keith Butler, RHP (-0.1); David Washington, OF (-0.2); Robert Stock, RHP (-0.4); Ryan Jackson, 2B/SS/3B (-0.9)

2010 MLB draft

Top pick: Zack Cox, 3B (N/A)

(Round 1, Pick 25)

Zack Cox bet on himself when signed a major league contract for $3.2 million after the draft, which required him to be placed on the 40-man roster immediately. It forced the Cardinals push him aggressively through the minor leagues with the expectation that he would be in the majors within three years.

Cox didn’t quite develop as hoped, hitting .254 when he got to Triple-A Memphis, and because of his unique contract, the Cardinals knew they had only three chances to exercise his minor league options before having to pass him through waivers. The Cardinals made a smart decision: Rather than give him up for nothing by using that option, they traded him to the Miami Marlins for Edward Mujica.

Injuries hampered Cox the next year, where he hit .253 in Double-A Jacksonville. He was unclaimed off waivers in 2013 and returned there, hitting a more robust .269. Despite a better season in 2014 when he ascended to Triple-A, where he hit .282, he failed to build on it in 2015 and was out of baseball after 2017.

WAR leader: Greg Garcia, 2B/3B (3.1)

(Round 7, Pick 229)

Greg Garcia was pegged as a probable utility player early in his professional career, and that’s generally how he panned out. He was teammates with future Cardinal Kolten Wong at the University of Hawaii and in 2013 spent hit .271 in Memphis as he shared the shortstop job with Ryan Jackson. Garcia debuted in 2014, earning notability after being hit by a pitch to walk off the game.

In 2016, Garcia made the Cardinals’ opening day roster and hit .276 on the season. In 2017 and 2018, he was usually used off the bench and hit a combined .239. The San Diego Padres took him off waivers in November 2018, and he played in a career-high 134 games the next year and hit .248. The Padres didn’t re-sign him after 2020, and he signed with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, but eventually opted out of his contract both times.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Sam Tuivailala, RHP (1.9); Tyler Lyons, LHP (0.5); Cody Stanley, C (0.0); John Gast, LHP (0.0); Dean Kiekhefer, LHP (-0.1); Josh Lucas, RHP (-0.2); Tyrell Jenkins, RHP (-0.4); Colin Walsh, 3B/OF (-0.5)

2011 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Kolten Wong, 2B (21.5)

(Round 1, Pick 22)

Kolten Wong was a second baseman from the start of the draft, unlike many players who move from shortstop, and he was the first second baseman the Cardinals took in the first round since Luis Alicea in 1986. A light hitter and decent fielder in his early years with the Cardinals, Wong developed into a threat at the plate and an acrobat in the field in his later seasons.

He became the Cardinals’ fixture at the keystone in 2014 after they traded David Freese and moved Matt Carpenter to third base. From 2013 to 2016, Wong hit .248, but he found another gear in 2017, hitting .273 in the rest of his tenure with the Cardinals, ending after 2020.

Previously adequate on defense, Wong became outstanding in 2018, receiving his first Gold Glove nomination. He was equally excellent the next two years, and he won the award both times. The Cardinals didn’t re-sign Wong after 2020, and he joined the Milwaukee Brewers, where he hit .272 and showed more power than he ever had, with 14 home runs on the year, although his defense regressed notably in 2022.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Seth Maness, RHP (2.3); Sam Gaviglio, RHP (1.5); Nick Martini, OF (1.2); Ryan Sherriff, LHP (0.2); Charlie Tilson, OF (-1.6)

2012 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Michael Wacha, RHP (9.5)

(Round 1, Pick 19)

A quick riser through the minor leagues, Michael Wacha didn’t even spend two full seasons there before making his major league debut in 2013. He was excellent in his first game, giving up one run on two hits and striking out six in seven innings against the Kansas City Royals. After he received a bit more seasoning in Memphis, the Cardinals promoted him again in August. On Sept. 24, he pitched 8.2 no-hit innings before surrendering an infield hit.

Wacha missed some time in 2014 with an injury, but he started the 2015 season with a 7-0 record and was named to the All-Star team. Over the next three seasons, Wacha had a 4.27 ERA, which was inflated by his poor 2016 where he was battling an injury. His 2019 was a disappointment with a 4.76 ERA, and the New York Mets signed him as a free agent after the season. He struggled there and with the Tampa Bay Rays, with a 4-9 record and a 5.39 ERA, but 2022 has been a bit of a renaissance year for him.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Stephen Piscotty, OF (6.7); Patrick Wisdom, 3B/1B/0F (3.8); Carson Kelly, C (3.2); Kyle Barraclough, RHP (2.2); Tim Cooney, LHP (0.7); Rowan Wick, RHP (0.7); Alex Mejia, 3B/SS/2B (-0.1); Jacob Wilson, 3B/2B/OF (-0.1)

2013 MLB draft

Top pick/WAR leader: Marco Gonzales, LHP (9.3)

(Round 1, Pick 19)

While not an overpowering pitcher, Marco Gonzales had the best changeup in the 2013 draft, and the Cardinals hurried him to the major leagues after outstanding performances over three minor league levels in 2014. In his rookie year, Gonzales had a 4.15 ERA in 10 games, five of which he started. He was rarely healthy after that, though, and after pitching only one game in 2015 because of a shoulder injury that sidelined him for most of the season, he missed all of 2016 after requiring Tommy John surgery. The Cardinals traded him to the Seattle Mariners during the 2017 season for Tyler O’Neill.

Finally healthy with the Mariners, Gonzales hit his stride in 2018 and became a fixture in their rotation. He eclipsed the 200-inning mark in 2019, and from 2018 to 2021, Gonzales had a 3.88 ERA and went 46-30. In the abridged 2020 season, he led the American League in walks per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Luke Voit, 1B (5.7); Oscar Mercado, OF (2.7); Mike Mayers, RHP (1.0); Rob Kaminsky, LHP (-0.1)

2014 MLB draft

Top pick: Luke Weaver, RHP (1.6)

(Round 1, Pick 27)

Luke Weaver’s first significant season in St. Louis was a good one, as his 7-2 record and 3.88 ERA excited the Cardinals, but he stepped back mightily in 2018 to the tune of a 4.95 ERA. The Cardinals packaged him in the deal for Paul Goldschmidt after the 2018 season, and he bounced back with the Arizona Diamondbacks with 3.03 ERA until being removed from a game in late May. He didn’t pitch again until September 21.

Weaver didn’t match his success in the truncated 2020 season, as he limped to a woeful 1-9 record and a 6.58 ERA, and he was hurt again in 2021 after a slight rebound year. The Diamondbacks shipped Weaver to the Kansas City Royals at the 2022 trade deadline.

WAR leader: Jack Flaherty, RHP (9.2)

(Round 1, Pick 34)

Jack Flaherty has shown dominant stuff when healthy, but health remains the bugaboo for him, as multiple stints on the injured list have put his career at somewhat of a crossroads. He showed promise in 2018, whiffing 182 hitters in 151 innings, and his 2019 seemed to put him on the fast track to stardom. His second half was historic: From July 16 to the end of the season, his ERA was a minuscule 0.91, with an opposing batting average of .142. He had a good if somewhat unlucky 2020 stat-wise, where he struck out 49 in 40.1 innings and had an ERA of 4.91.

2021 was when the injuries started hitting Flaherty. He strained his oblique in May and missed two and a half months, and he missed another month after straining his shoulder. 2022 hasn’t been much better, as another shoulder injury took him out until June. After three shaky starts, he was placed on the injured list again after aggravating the shoulder.

Other signed draftees who made the major leagues

Austin Gomber, LHP (1.6); Daniel Ponce de Leon, RHP (0.4)

The Cardinals’ draft history, like that of every other team, is full of whiffs and missed opportunities, but they have also hit big at times, and I’d wager they’ve had more draft success than the average team, especially since the turn of the millennium. The “Cardinal Way,” whatever it is, seems to be working its magic just fine.