Checking in on under-the-radar 2024 Cardinals draft picks

Standouts from Rounds 5-11

Braden Davis, LHP (Round 5)

Left-hander Braden Davis put together a solid college career as a shutdown reliever at Sam Houston State before heading to Oklahoma for his junior year, where he became a starter for the Sooners. The move to the rotation did not have a negative effect on his stuff, as he went 9-4 with an 11.45 K/9 rate in a career-high 92 innings.

That performance was enough for the Cardinals to take the lefty in the fifth round, and they are attempting to see if he can maintain his effectiveness as a starter. With the Palm Beach Cardinals, Davis is adjusting to professional hitters and is turning a corner after an up-and-down start to the 2025 season. After not pitching into the fifth inning in any of his first seven appearances, Davis has pitched five full innings in each of his past two starts while giving up two total hits and striking out 13 hitters. Command was a question for the left-hander, but outside of an eight-walk performance on May 6, he has been more effective in the zone.

With a 3.75 ERA through 36 innings, it is possible that Davis can stick around as a starter if he can continue to command the strike zone. He has always shown the ability to strike hitters out and has done that with Palm Beach, totaling 46 punch-outs in his nine appearances.

Josh Kross, C/1B (Round 6)

The Cardinals grabbed Josh Kross out of Cincinnati in the sixth round of the draft and have to be thrilled with their selection. Kross played both catcher and first base for the Bearcats, and his huge power numbers (19 homers and 14 doubles) in 57 games made him a name to watch after heading to the Cardinals organization.

An issue for Kross is that the Cardinals have four catchers all ranked in their top-30 prospect lists, so his ability to play first base effectively may create a launching pad for Kross to jump to the next level. Currently, the Cardinals' first base options are 32-year-old Willson Contreras, Quad-A player Luken Baker, and a few players who can play first at the other levels of the minors. If the big switch-hitter is able to put up offensive numbers like he has so far this year, the Cardinals will make a spot for him, which would most likely be at first base.

Last season, Kross had a 23-game sample at Single-A and showed a solid offensive approach, but he has taken off this year with a more aggressive swing. In 2024, Kross walked 15 times in 94 plate appearances but only had six extra-base hits and a .216 average. In 2025, though, he has become more of a threat at the plate and has hit eight homers, 10 doubles, and three triples in 162 plate appearances while only walking 10 times. This new approach has created some more strikeouts, but his K rate is still at an acceptable 21%. Earlier this year, Kross hit for the cycle while also tallying six RBIs and was named the Player of the Week.

Jon Jon Gazdar, IF (Round 11)

After a career full of accolades at Austin Peay, Jon Jon Gazdar was selected by the Cardinals with the 321st overall pick. Gazdar was coming off of a season where he was named to multiple All-Conference, All-Region, and All-American teams while leading the Atlantic Sun with a .405 batting average and a conference-high 92 hits.

When he made his debut in Single-A in 2024, Gazdar continued to put the ball in play, with a minuscule 7% K-rate and a .357 on-base percentage. Despite popping 13 homers at Austin Peay in his draft year, Gazdar is still looking for his first professional home run. In 2025, the Cardinals promoted the infielder to High-A Peoria, where he has started to see more time at short than at third base, even though he had never played shortstop professionally before this year. The defensive returns are solid, as he has yet to make an error in 14 games, and the position change has not affected his hitting.

Through 34 games, Gazdar is hitting .309 with a .394 on-base-percentage and has logged 10 steals while only getting caught once. He has tallied seven doubles and a triple and has driven in 14 runs. Gazdar has been hitting primarily from the leadoff spot and looks poised to fill that role for the extent of his pro career.