Full details of Brendan Donovan trade now finalized after Cardinals drafting 2 upside prospects

When the St. Louis Cardinals traded away All-Star utility man Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners this winter, they got multiple intriguing prospects in return, but a major part of that package was the two Competitive Balance Draft selections they acquired, one from Seattle and one from the Tampa Bay Rays as part of that three-team deal. And now, the trade return is official after the Cardinals selected OF Andrew Williamson and RHP Dawson Montesa with the 68th and 72nd overall picks in the MLB Draft.

Williamson, who is an outfielder out of the University of Central Florida, was Baseball America's 48th-ranked prospect coming into the draft with immense power upside. He hits the baseball very hard and hit a career-best 16 home runs and walked 17.7% of the time during his junior season. He's a left-handed hitter and turns 21 today.

Montesa, 20, comes from West Virginia University and boasts a big fastball that sits in the mid-90s and gets up to 98 MPH. His changeup may play well off that fastball long-term, and both his curveball and slider seem to grade out as above-average pitches. He's extremely young for a college pitcher in this class, and his athleticism can help him continue to develop his movement, velocity, and command as he gets with the Cardinals pitching development group.

Andrew Williamson and Dawson Montesa are the capstones of Cardinals' Brendan Donovan trade

On top of these two exciting draft picks, the Cardinals were also able to acquire three additional prospects in the Donovan trade, including switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and outfielder Tai Peete from the Mariners, as well as outfielder Colton Ledbetter from the Rays.

Cijntje has had an up-and-down season thus far with the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, posting a 5.04 ERA in 17 starts while striking out 100 batters in just 80.1 innings of work. Cijntje is coming off two of the best starts of his season so far, allowing just three hits and striking out nine in six innings on the Fourth of July and striking out eight more while allowing two runs in six innings on July 10th. He's one of the top pitching prospects in the organization and boasts incredible upside.

Peete has flashed incredible upside when he's been on the field, but the problem for him this season has been injuries. In 30 games for High-A Peoria, Peete is slashing .273/.350/.523 with five home runs and 24 RBI, as well as five stolen bases, but he's back on the injured list again after missing over a month of baseball from late May to early June.

Ledbetter, 24, is with the Memphis Redbirds and has posted a respectable .244/.313/.393 slash line with seven home runs and 30 RBI in his first taste of Triple-A. A second-round pick by the Rays in 2023, Ledbetter can play all three outfield positions but likely profiles best in a corner. He may not have the upside of the other guys in this trade, but he is a valuable piece nonetheless.

We've been closely following Cijntje, Peete, and Ledbetter this year, and now we get to add Williamson and Montesa.

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