5 prospects the Cardinals will consider drafting in the MLB draft tonight

#1A - JJ Wetherholt (West Virginia)

There are some within the industry who believe JJ Wetherholt may go number one overall to the Cleveland Guardians tonight. So needless to say, if a talent like that is available at number seven, the Cardinals should be all over him.

Wetherholt was seen by most in the industry as the best player in this draft prior to the college baseball season. Honestly, Wetherholt's play on the field did not really do anything to hurt his stock, but a hamstring injury has caused people to wonder if he may fall in this draft.

Wetherholt suffered a grade three hamstring injury early on in the season this year, causing him to miss the next 24 games for West Virginia. Where concerns start to raise even more is that his hamstring concerns actually began the summer prior during the Cape Cod league, so it is unclear how serious of an issue his hamstring will be moving forward.

Still, Wetherholt was incredible when he was on the field in 2024, slashing .331/.472/.589 with eight home runs and 30 RBI in just 36 games played. The season prior, Wetherholt has a 1.304 OPS in 55 games, posting an insane .449 batting average and wowing scouts with his elite bat tool.

Most scouting outlets have Wetherholt's bat at a 65 grade or higher boasting above-average power, arm, fielding, and plus speed. There is some risk that Wetherholt will be a second baseman long-term, but there are a lot of people who feel like he can handle shortstop at the MLB level long-term.

Adding a left-handed bat like Wetherholt to the farm system would be an A+ haul. For as much as we talk about how badly the Cardinals need starting pitching, most of their exciting prospects right now are actually arms. Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews are clearly their top two prospects right now and are getting closer and closer to MLB-ready, while arms like Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, and Gordon Graceffo have a long of promise as well. That's not even to mention guys like Ian Bedell, Sem Robberse, Adam Kloffenstein, Michael McGreevy, Zack Showalter, Max Rajcic, Edwin Nunez, or Chen-Wei Lin.

On the position player side of things, after Thomas Saggese and Chase Davis, there is quite a drop. Catchers Jimmy Crooks III and Leonardo Bernal are really intriguing, but Wetherholt would clearly be the best-position player prospect in their system upon being drafted, and probably the best prospect in the entire organization.

Remember, they do not need to draft for need, but the point is, I'd actually argue they are weaker when it comes to position players as things currently stand. Regardless, if Wetherholt is on the board at number seven, he's the best talent available, and I expect the Cardinals would leap at the chance to take him.

#2 - Chase Burns (Wake Forest)

Chase Burns seems to be the dream pick for most Cardinals fans, and I completely understand why. No one in the Cardinals' farm system can touch the kind of stuff that Burns has.

In 100 innings for Wake Forest this year (16 starts), Burns posted a 2.70 ERA while striking out 191 batters. You read that right. Burns struck out 17.2 batters per nine innings throughout the season this year.

Most scouts believe Burns has two plus-plus pitches, with some even grading both his fastball and his slider as 80-grade pitches. Burns' fastball consistently surpasses 100 MPH in his starts, and the amount of IVB on his fastball is off the charts. If you just watch a compilation of his fastballs, you'll see that it's just different.

His slider is nasty as well, sitting in the upper 80s, and is nearly unhittable when he locates it well. Both his curveball and his changeup can end up being really quality pitches as well, so it is hard to understand why the Cardinals (or frankly, any other team) would pass on him.

That's the first problem - it is hard to imagine him falling to number seven overall. The Reds, Rockies, and Royals seem like his most likely landing spots, but if he did fall to number seven, the only player that the Cardinals should consider drafting over Burns is Wetherholt.

I highly doubt both players would be available at number seven, and there it is probably more likely that both are gone within the first six picks anyway. But there is for sure a chance, especially in the case of Wetherholt, and I believe both of these guys are at the very top of the Cardinals' board right now.

Burns' ceiling is a front-line starter, and while no one should be putting Paul Skenes pressure on him, he could be a fast riser in the system with how good his stuff is. If the Cardinals are able to pick Burns, I think you'll have a very happy fanbase on your hands.

#3 - Hagen Smith (Arkansas)

The second-best college arm in this year's first-year player draft is Arkansas' Hagen Smith. While he won't be quite as flashy as Burns is, there are various scouts who put him on par with Burns or even rate him higher as a prospect.

The big lefty was even better than Burns at striking out batters and preventing runs in 2024, posting a 17.3 K/9 and 2.04 ERA. He did throw fewer innings than Burns though, which is notable.

Like Burns, there are teams above the Cardinals who could end up being destinations for Smith, but I would guess it is more likely that Smith is available at number seven than either Wetherholt or Burns.

Let's get into Smith's profile. Like Burns, his fastball and slider both grade out as plus-plus pitches, and he has a splitter and cutter that could end up being significant pitches as well. Smith mostly operates in the upper 90s with his fastball, but he is also able to touch 100 MPH from time to time. Smith has some trouble maintaining his velocity deep into starts, but even in the later innings, he's pumping mid-90s heaters.

His slider is incredibly deceptive with his low-three-quarters slot crossfire approach. We've seen how good someone like Quinn Mathews can be with an upper-90s fastball, wipe-out slider, and deceptive arm slot, and Smith could be an even better version of that. Smith's ceiling also seems to be that of a front-line starter, but there are some who believe he has some reliever risk or could end up being more of a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher.

For St. Louis, adding Smith would bolster their future starting pitching options even further, and like Burns, he should be a quick riser from within the system. While he may not be as fun of a pick as Burns is or quite have the ceiling he has, Smith may end up being the best pitcher in this draft.

#4 - Braden Montgomery (Texas A&M)

Here is where I am going to differ from a lot of mock drafts. The more digging I've done and the people I've talked to, the more I remain skeptical that the Cardinals will go with a high school prospect in the first round. It is certainly possible, but I have a hard time believing there won't be a college player on the board they value higher tonight.

Braden Montgomery is someone to watch if the Wetherholt and Burns are off the board when the Cardinals pick tonight. I could actually see the Cardinals pitching Montgomery over Smith if both are on the board, believe it or not. I lean toward Smith, but you'll see why the Cardinals may not be able to pass on Montgomery.

Montgomery boasts the tools that you dream on typically with high school players this high in the draft while also already putting up elite production at the collegiate level. Standing at 6'2, Montgomery is a switch-hitting outfielder with a cannon for an arm and plus power from his bat. His speed and fielding tools are both above-average as well, meaning that although he's likely to be a corner outfielder, he has the chance to become a center fielder as well.

His strikeout rate isn't the best which will be a concern for teams, but the quality of his contact is off the charts. Whenever he hits the ball, he hits it hard and far. Considering the Cardinals have targeted bats like Jordan Walker and Chase Davis in recent drafts, they may take another swing here with Montgomery.

Montgomery does have an injury concern of his own like Wetherholt, and it remains to be seen how teams will view that. Montgomery broke his ankle sliding into home toward the very end of the season, and while it was a clean break, it is still something that may end up hurting his draft stock.

As I've said with all of these guys, this all depends on how the board falls, but if the three names I listed above are gone and Montgomery is there, we could see the Cardinals select him.

#5 - Bryce Rainer (Harvard-Westlake High School)

Over the last few months, there has been more and more momentum from *some* scouting outlets that the Cardinals will draft high school prospect Bryce Rainer in the first round of this year's draft. Let's talk about Rainer the prospect first, and they why I feel that it is unlikely.

Rainer is a SS/RHP out of Harvard-Westlake High School in California and is committed to the University of Texas as of now. You may recognize his high school, as it's the same one that produced Jack Flaherty, Max Fried, Lucas Giolito, and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Rainer has upside as both a hitter and pitcher, but it's likely the Cardinals would be drafting him as a shortstop. His raw power and frame at 6'3 have scouts dreaming on if he can be one of the next elite hitting shortstops that we've seen in recent years. Rainer's hit tool seems to be up for debate amongst scouts, but most see it as an above-average tool long-term. He has elite arm talent as well, so even if he does not stick at shortstop, his arm will play at third base.

While every player has risk, Rainer will be firmly in that boom or bust class, but someone near the top 10 is going to take a chance on Rainer being an elite talent moving forward. The Cardinals would have to be very patient with him in order to maximize his potential, but if they believe he is the best player available, you make him the pick.

Here is why I don't see the Cardinals believing Rainer is the best player available. By all accounts, we should expect Travis Bazzana, Charlie Condon, and Jac Caglianone to go within the first six picks. I already mentioned four players above Rainer that the Cardinals would probably target over him, meaning, I don't think Rainer will be their "guy" when it is time to pick.

The one curveball situation where that could be the case is if Caglianone falls down the board. I haven't really seen anyone think the Cardinals would select him, so if Bazzana, Condon, Wetherholt, Burns, Smith, and Montgomery were all gone at pick six, then Rainer would be the pick.

Other names to watch

While those five names feel like the most likely candidates to be selected by the Cardinals at number seven, I'll offer some other names that we could watch out for.

I see no scenario where Travis Bazzana or Charlie Condon fall to the seventh pick, but if by some miracle they did, the Cardinals would likely select them. They seem to be the consensus two best players in this class at the moment. I also doubt Caglianone will be available at seven, but if he is, maybe St. Louis pulls the trigger.

Looking at other college bats, first baseman Nick Kurtz out of Wake Forest seems to be linked to the Cardinals by some in the industry, but whenever he is, it feels like they are making the arguement that he fills a "need" for them at first base long-term. First, Alec Burleson has clearly taken that mantle this season, and second, I doubt the Cardinals' draft for "need" here. Kurtz does have an awesome bat, but his first-base-only profile is a tough sell. I wouldn't be shocked if they picked him.

James Tibbs has shot up draft boards as a corner outfielder out of Florida State. All the left-handed bat does is hit, and the combination of a plus-hit tool and power tool could sway the Cardinals' to take him with an under-slot deal and target another talent later. But most people believe the later rounds of this draft are weaker than most years, so an under-slot deal seems odd to me.

If the Cardinals really wanted an arm and both Burns and Smith were gone, Trey Yesavage out of East Carolina seems to be the consensus third-best arm available tonight, and he himself ranked among the best arms in college this year when it comes to run prevention (2.02 ERA) and strikeouts (145). He doesn't have the insane stuff that Burns and Smith do, but he does boast three-plus pitches already.

Who do you think the Cardinals will select tonight? Let us know on the Draft Livestream or by comments on Facebook and X.