5 prospects MLB mock drafts have the Cardinals selecting with the 5th overall pick

RHP Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma (Keith Law)

This may be a name that even the most plugged-in Cardinals fans are not familiar with, but it's the one that Keith Law has the Cardinals taking in his latest mock draft over on The Athletic.

After what was a solid freshman campaign for Witherspoon in which he posted a 3.71 ERA and 10.1 K/9 in 17 games (11 starts), the right-hander has come out blazing in 2025, posting a 2.13 ERA and 100 strikeouts across 72 innings in just 12 starts. Witherspoon is one of the most dynamic starting pitchers in college baseball right now and someone I could easily see the Cardinals wanting to add to their farm system in the MLB Draft.

One of the reasons Witherspoon has put himself into the conversation to be a top-five pick has been the addition of a curveball to his arsenal this year. In 2024, his slider was his go-to breaking ball, and while that's a legit pitch for him, the curveball addition has allowed him to keep batters even more off balance and increase his swings and misses.

Standing at 6'2, Witherspoon has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can touch 99 MPH when he's at full effort, and the pitch has the kind of life in the zone needed to get batters out at the next level. Baseball America has his fastball and slider both ranked at 60-grade pitches on the 20/80 scale, his slider sitting in the mid-to-high 80s and generating a ton of whiffs. His change-up projects to be an average pitch at the moment, but it would give him a five-pitch mix with another plus offering in his cutter.

While command was a huge issue for Witherspoon as a freshman (4.5 BB/9), he's cut that in half this year (2.1 BB/9), and continued improvement in this area will increase his chances of sticking as a starting pitcher. At just 20 years old, there's a lot to dream on for the right-hander, and considering you can never have enough pitching, the Cardinals would be wise to consider him at number five.