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

#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.