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Cardinals draft one of the MLB Draft's best pure hitters with first-round pick

The first draft pick of Chaim Bloom's regime.
Jul 13, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announces the pick for the St. Louis Cardinals during the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Jul 13, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announces the pick for the St. Louis Cardinals during the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's now official: With the 13th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals have selected high school outfielder Trevor Condon out of Etowah, Georgia.

Condon, 18, is committed to the University of Tennessee and is seen as one of the best pure hitters in the draft with elite speed and fielding tools. If Condon's power can develop over time, he could end up becoming a true five-tool outfielder with top-end upside.

At the plate, his above-average contact skills and great feel for the barrel make him difficult to strike out. His speed and defense give him a real chance to stick in center field long-term. He adds another high-upside prospect to the Cardinals' farm system and a guy who is even drawing comparisons to Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Selecting a prep player, Condon is likely a long ways away from making an impact at the Major League level, but the Cardinals are betting on the upside he may offer. If they can hit big on this 13th pick, it can go a long way toward helping continue to revamp this farm system for the long-term. The Cardinals are a bit thin on outfield prospects as well.

You can follow along with our live analysis of every pick the Cardinals make today on the Dealin' the Cards Draft Livestream, as well as continued pieces over here on Redbird Rants.

The Cardinals have six more picks during Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft

Speaking of today's picks, the Cardinals have a ton of ammunition to attack the rest of Day 1 of this year's MLB Draft.

The Cardinals entered today with the most selections of Day 1 in this year's MLB Draft, seven, giving them ultimate flexibility to go after prospects of all different profiles throughout today's draft. They also have the fifth-highest bonus pool allotment to go alongside those picks.

Since 2020, the Cardinals have selected Jordan Walker, Michael McGreevy, Cooper Hjerpe, Chase Davis, JJ Wetherholt, and Liam Doyle with their first-round picks, so they have a pretty darn good track record as of late toward the top of the draft.

This may end up being Randy Flores' final draft with the Cardinals, as the Los Angeles Angels recently brought in former Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to lead a search for their next general manager, and Flores is seen as an early favorite for that job. He's done a fantastic job of running the Cardinals' drafts over the last decade.

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