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

LHP Jamie Arnold, Florida State (MLB Pipeline)

For a few months now, most mock drafts have had left-handed starter Jamie Arnold from Florida State going with the number one overall pick, and if he wasn't selected there, he was for sure gone before the Cardinals selected at number five. But a brand new mock draft from one of the biggest outlets regarding MLB draft coverage is changing that.

Jim Callis, who has been covering MiLB and the MLB Draft for MLB Pipeline for years now, mocked Arnold to the Cardinals at number five, seeing him as the third college arm off the board in his write-up, behind fellow lefties Liam Doyle (Tennessee) and Kade Anderson (LSU).

While that was certainly a surprise for me to see, nothing can be ruled out when you consider how front offices value players differently, as well as signing bonus implications. Getting Arnold at number five would be a huge win for the Cardinals, as he posted a 2.29 ERA in 10 starts this year while striking out 11.9 batters per nine, and that's coming off a 2024 campaign where he struck out 13.5 batters per nine while allowing just 35 runs in 105.2 innings of work.

Arnold, 21, is Baseball America's top-ranked prospect as of right now due to his power stuff from the left side and above-average command. Most scouts saw Arnold as the best pitcher in the ACC behind Chase Burns last year, who went second overall to the Cincinnati Reds in the 2024 MLB Draft. Arnold's fastball sits in the mid-to-upper 90s with crazy run on it, and his slider has been a wipeout pitch against both left-handed and right-handed hitters.

Arnold also appears to have a reworked splitter added to his arsenal this spring, one that he has been deadly at times and could make him even more of a force on the mound as he grows in his comfort with it.

Adding Arnold to the system alongside Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby, Cooper Hjerpe, and other intriguing arms would be another point in the Cardinals' direction as they work to change the narrative on their pitching development. While Mathews has established himself as one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the game through an incredible 2024 campaign, Arnold would represent a different tier of player, immediately becoming one of the best southpaw prospects in the game before even throwing a pitch in the minor leagues.