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Baseball America ranks Cardinals pick as a favorite selection in the MLB Draft

Despite middling college numbers, the Oklahoma pitcher has starter potential
ByScott Plaza|
Fans fill the stands during the Bedlam baseball game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
Fans fill the stands during the Bedlam baseball game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, May 20, 2023. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals appeared to have great success in the 2025 MLB Draft that took place Sunday and Monday. According to multiple outlets, St. Louis received great value and took advantage of their fifth overall selection.

Keith Law mentioned the Cardinals' day one selections as his favorite, while Prospects Live graded their choices an A- and Bleacher Report gave them a B+ for their overall picks. The picks made by the Cardinals signaled that Chaim Bloom is leading the charge for next year, and it appears that he was able to find nice value with the hitters selected as well as with the 12 college arms they chose.

4th-round pick Cade Crossland ranks among Baseball America's favorite selections of the 2025 MLB Draft

After selecting two hitters and two pitchers in day one of the draft, the Cardinals leaned towards the pitching side in the second day. With their first pick of the day and the 120th overall selection, St. Louis selected lefty Cade Crossland from Oklahoma University. Even though he came in ranked as the 173rd-best prospect by Baseball America and the 207th-rated player by MLB.com, Baseball America still loves this pick for the Cardinals.

Each outlet ranks Crossland's changeup as a 60-grade (out of 80) pitch, and Baseball America felt that it was one of the best offspeed offerings in the draft. The lefty touts a low-90s fastball and has some conflicting reports on his breaking ball as Fangraphs and Baseball America rank his curveball as a 45-grade pitch, while MLB.com only mentions a slider, and ESPN believes his curveball and slider combo is above-average. After starting his college career in the junior college ranks, Crossland transferred to Oklahoma, where he slotted into the starting rotation.

No matter the source, they all say that the numbers from his 2025 season at Oklahoma do not tell the whole story. Crossland put up a 6.32 ERA but posted a solid 26.6% strikeout rate and reached 98 mph with his fastball. Where the sources again disagree is how to grade the southpaw's command of the strike zone. He walked 10.4% of batters this season, which is by no means great, and FanGraphs punished him for it, giving his command of the zone a 30-grade. MLB was more favorable with Crossland, giving him a 45-grade, but once again, Baseball America was high on the lefty, giving him a 50-grade for his command while also calling him a "solid-strike thrower". ESPN believes that he had third-round talent and that his four-pitch mix was not fully unlocked while pitching in college. They believe that Crossland can add some extra velocity while also working to upgrade his full arsenal.

Regardless of his command rating, Crossland is viewed as a potential starter with a middle-of-the-rotation projection. He has solid arm side movement on all of his pitches and, according to the experts, has an easy and repeatable motion, which bodes well for durability while not having to make big tweaks to his mechanics.

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