Grading the Cardinals’ Day 1 draft haul that has the industry buzzing

In the aftermath of Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft, one of the clearest winners around the industry seems to be the St. Louis Cardinals. They entered the draft with the most Day 1 selections of any team (seven), and how they would attack the draft was as intriguing of a storyline as any on Saturday. And boy, do they seem to have knocked it out of the park.

I'm going to go through each of their seven picks, give a brief breakdown of each selection, and assign grades to each pick as well as their Day 1 haul as a whole.

13th Overall Pick- OF Trevor Condon, Etowah HS (GA)

When the Cardinals were finally on the clock at pick 13, there were so many directions that the organization could have gone with that selection. They opted to take a prep player with some of the highest upside of any player selected on Day 1: outfielder Trevor Condon.

Condon, who has already drawn a ton of comparisons to Chicago Cubs star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, is an exciting center field prospect with elite speed and great defensive tools that will help him stick in center field, and he pairs that with a really good hit tool that had many scouts high on him entering the draft. On top of that, Condon has room to grow physically, and there is real belief that he can add more power to his profile, making him a potentially special outfield prospect.

Oh, and ESPN's Kiley McDaniel called Condon the "steal of the draft", comparing him to Detroit Tigers rookie sensation Kevin McGonigle.

With "safer" college bats on the board, the Cardinals opted to go with the upside high schooler, and it's hard to argue that they could have made a better pick with who was on the board.

Grade: A

32nd Overall Pick - RHP Tegan Kuhns, University of Tennessee

With how wide open this year's draft seemed to be, there was a wide belief that a team like the Cardinals would benefit from so many premium picks, because great talents would end up falling into their laps. That is exactly what happened with right-handed Tegan Kuhns.

Kuhns is now the third pitcher from the University of Tennessee that the Cardinals have drafted in the past two drafts, with his college teammates Liam Doyle and Tanner Franklin both being a part of the Cardinals' 2025 draft class. Many believed that Kuhns would end up being picked in the top half of the first round, but the Cardinals were somehow able to snag him at 32 overall.

Kuhns has an outlier fastball, the kind of profile the Cardinals have moved to targeting, and he has the potential for up to four-plus pitches in his arsenal. His stuff is already really good, but as Baseball America has noted, he pairs the exciting day-one talent with even more projectability.

Grade: A+

50th Overall Pick - SS Rocco Maniscalco, Oxford HS (AL)

Did anyone call for the next Masyn Winn? Well, the Cardinals may have just found one, and that is incredible value at pretty much any pick in the draft, let alone in the second round.

Rocco Maniscalco, who is the youngest player in the class at 17 and won't even turn 18 years old until next May, has a 70-grade arm and 60-grade hit tool, and has shown flashes of being able to develop some intriguing power as he grows into his frame and develops as a hitter. Considering how many gains the Cardinals hitting development group has seen as of late, I wouldn't be surprised to see Maniscalco outperform what scouts thought he could be at the plate.

And if he does that and pairs it with high-end defense at the shortstop position, this could end up being a home run pick for St. Louis. He's a risky prospect for sure, but like Winn, one that will pay major dividends if they figure out the bat.

Grade: A

68th Overall Pick - OF Andrew Williamson, Universtity of Central Florida

Andrew Williamson is an outfielder with a really nice left-handed swing that tapped into more power and better swing decisions during his final year with UCF. He has very intriguing upside at the plate and could even stick in center field long-term.

He turned 21 years old on draft day, and if he can continue to mash fastballs while getting better recognition on off-speed pitches, it is hard not to see a lot of potential in his bat.

Grade: A-

72nd Overall Pick - Dawson Montesa, University of West Virginia

If there are two schools the Cardinals seem to mine prospect talent from as of late, it's the University of Tennessee and the University of Virginia. While the Cardinals' two Mountaineers products are position players in JJ Wetherholt and Victor Scott II, Dawson Montesa has the potential to make his mark on the mound.

Montesa's numbers are not going to blow you away with a 5.38 ERA this past season, but it is his tools and arsenal on the mound that the Cardinals are going to go to work with and potentially turn him into a good professional pitcher. He is a strikeout machine on the mound who has a really nice fastball that sits in the mid-90s and touches 98 mph with solid ride, and both his curveball and slider project to be above-average pitches.

He is still just 20 years old and has room to add more velocity, and if he can clean up some of his command issues, he'll be another intriguing arm in the stable the Cardinals are building.

Grade: B+

86th Overall Pick - OF Caden Ferraro, Texas Tech University

Wowza! The Cardinals grabbed a bat in Caden Ferraro with their third-round pick, one that could actually fly through the system since St. Louis may not really care much about finding him a defensive home.

Ferraro has a great feel for the strike zone, making contact on over 90% of the pitches he sees in the zone and walking more than he strikes out, while also driving the ball with authority to all fields. He feels very Alec Burleson-esque as a prospect, someone who is going to hit, hit, and hit as he makes his way through the minor leagues, and his ability to add even more power as he goes could determine his upside.

He's likely a first baseman or designated hitter long-term, but if the Cardinals can help him land in a corner outfield spot, that'll only increase his potential value.

Grade: A

114th Overall Pick - SS Dee Kennedy, Kansas State University

This was a sneaky final selection for the Cardinals on Day 1, as Dee Kennedy is coming off a breakout junior season with the Wildcats and, if that continues, provides the Cardinals with real upside as a middle infielder, third baseman, or even corner outfielder.

In his final college season, Kennedy slashed .357/.461/.733 with 20 home runs and 17 doubles, all while cutting down his terrible strikeout rate to just 18.4%. Standing at 5'11, Kennedy is built for his size and has developed into a pull-flyball hitter who could use that strength to be a threat at the plate professionally. He's also a plus runner, so he can make noise on the basepaths when he's there as well.

Grade: A

Cardinals Day 1 Draft Grade: A

Looking at those grades, you'll know exactly why I gave the Cardinals an A. They entered Day 1 with the potential to make a lot of exciting selections, but they had to execute on that capital they compiled. Man, did they do just that.

Redbird Farmhands, who does incredible work on Cardinals prospects as well as draft coverage, posted his top 50 prospects prior to the draft, and the Cardinals ended up selecting five of his top 50 prospects with their seven picks. Aidan Gray, who also writes for Cardinalsprospects.com with Redbird Farmhands, also had four of the Cardinals' picks in his own top 50. That should tell you something about the kind of value the Cardinals brought in on Saturday.

Now it is time for the Cardinals player development group to go to work with these prospects they are bringing into the organization, but this scouting group deserves a round of applause for the kinds of talent they brought into the system this year.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow