Cardinals News: 7 notable players who were drafted 7th overall

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For the first time in 26 years, the St. Louis Cardinals were granted a draft pick in the top seven of Major League Baseball's amateur draft that was held this past weekend. With that pick, they chose shortstop JJ Wetherholt out of West Virginia University.

Wetherholt has been touted as one of the best pure hitters in this year's draft, and the fact that the Cardinals were lucky enough to have him fall into their lap is impressive. Wetherholt will slot into the top of the organization's prospect list, and he should be a key piece for the team going forward. Wetherholt may fall short, meet, or exceed the successes on these players by the end of his career, but it's a good exercise to see what past draft picks at this slot have accomplished.

I wanted to take a look back at seven of the best players who were drafted seventh overall since 1980. For the sake of numerical constancy, I found seven players who were drafted seventh overall and finished with great careers -- or are at least on their way to great careers currently. One player on this list is a Hall of Famer, another had a strong case for being in the Hall of Fame, and at least one current player is forging a path to join baseball's greatest in memory.

Frank Thomas

Frank Thomas was drafted seventh in the 1989 draft by the Chicago White Sox. He was chosen as a first baseman out of Auburn University. Thomas, 21 at the time of the draft, was drafted after his junior year of college; he finished his college career with a .382 batting average, 49 home runs, and 205 runs batted in. He was also elected to the All-SEC First Team on three separate occasions.

Thomas, obviously, was touted highly out of college. His professional career didn't disappoint. The Hall of Famer would go on to play for 19 seasons, win Most Valuable Player twice, be nominated to attend five All-Star Games, win a batting title, and bring home four Silver Slugger trophies. He accumulated 73.8 bWAR across his career, and he was able to retire with his batting average above the prestigious .300 mark.

Most of Thomas's career was played with the Chicago White Sox, but he also made stops in Oakland and Toronto in his final few seasons. Altogether, Frank Thomas is in rarified air among seventh overall picks in baseball history.

Prince Fielder

The Milwaukee Brewers chose Prince Fielder seventh overall in the 2002 MLB Draft out of Eau Gallie High School in Florida. The Canadian-born first baseman debuted 3 years later in 2005 against the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Fielder retired halfway through the 2016 season while playing in his 12th campaign.

A legacy player of Cecil Fielder, Prince had name recognition as a prep player. During his senior year at Eau Gallie High School, Fielder batted .524, and he smacked 10 home runs. Perfect Game listed him as the 47th overall prospect the year he was drafted. An initial commitment to play college ball at Arizona State was foregone after Fielder was drafted seventh overall.

For a time, Fielder was one of the best first basemen in baseball. He led all of baseball in 2009 with 141 runs batted in, and he led the league in walks with 114 in 2010. Prince Fielder finished top-13 in MVP voting five times throughout his career, and he finished as high as third in 2007. He retired a three-time Silver Slugger and a six-time All-Star with two Home Run Derby Championships to boot.

Fielder would go on to finish his career with 23.8 bWAR, and a slash line of .283/.382/.506 for an OPS+ of 134. He was an elite offensive player who was quite durable throughout his career, playing at least 157 games in 9 of his 12 seasons, though in his rookie year he had a late start. Fielder was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Nick Markakis

Nick Markakis was actually drafted three separate times in three consecutive years. He was first chosen in the 35th round of the 2001 draft by the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds tried again to persuade the left-handed outfielder to join them when they chose him in the 23rd round of the 2002 draft. However, Markakis eventually was drafted seventh overall in 2003 by the Baltimore Orioles, and he elected to join the organization.

Markakis was both a pitcher and a fielder at Young Harris College. Throughout his two seasons, Markakis was able to hold a .442 batting average; he also hit a single-season home run record of 21 home runs. On the pitching side of the game, Markakis finished with a 23-3 record and 258 strikeouts across two seasons.

After being drafted seventh overall in 2003, Markakis took 3 years to rise to the majors, and he made his MLB debut on April 3, 2006, also against Tampa Bay. Nick was primarily known for his defense, though he was able to finish his 15-year career with a .781 OPS. He won 3 Gold Gloves, and he was even a Silver Slugger in 2018 with the Atlanta Braves. Markakis had only one All-Star appearance during his career.

Nick Markakis's career is evidence that a player can still be very good for a team even without the accolades of his peers on this list. He provided solid offensive output while being a plus defender throughout his career in right field. He would finish his career with 33.6 bWAR, and a slash line of .288/.357/.423 for an OPS+ of 109.

Troy Tulowitzki

One of the most decorated players on this list, Troy Tulowitzki was drafted seventh overall in the 2005 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. He would make his debut just over a year later on August 30, 2006, against the New York Mets. Prior to being drafted, Tulo played college baseball at California State University in Long Beach, CA.

In three seasons at Long Beach State, Tulowitzki would hit 20 home runs, have 117 RBIs, and slash .310/.382/.491. Defense was his calling card, and Baseball America ranked him as the best defensive shortstop in the Big West Conference in 2005. He was voted to the All-Big West first team in 2004, and he even plated for the United States collegiate national team in 2004.

Troy Tulowitzki would finish his career with 44.5 bWAR, 225 career home runs, 780 runs batted in, and 57 stolen bases. His .290/.361/.495 slash line was good for a 118 OPS+ across 13 total seasons. The bulk of Tulowitzki's career was spent in Colorado with the team that drafted him, but he did spend some time in Toronto and New York toward the end of his career.

Tulowitzki received MVP votes in 6 seasons, he was voted to 5 All-Star Games, he has two Gold Glove awards, and he was a Silver Slugger twice. He retired in 2019; per the Hall of Fame rules, he will become eligible in 2025 to join baseball's most elite players in the history of the sport. He has a decent case to join the Hall, but it will be a close call in voting next year and in subsequent years. According to JAWS rankings, Tulowitski is right on the fringe of the leaderboard with Willie Wells, a Hall of Famer himself, just edging out Tulo.

Clayton Kershaw

Clayton Kershaw is undoubtedly the best player to ever play who was drafted seventh in the draft. Frank Thomas gives him a run for his money, but Kershaw's utter dominance in the regular season for a longer period of time places him a level above the Hall of Famer. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the southpaw seventh overall in the 2006 draft out of Highland Park High School in Dallas.

Kershaw's senior year was unfathomably great. He had a perfect 13-0 record with a 0.77 ERA. He struck out 139 batters in just 64 innings. Despite being a top-5 prospect among most scouts, Kershaw slid a bit in the draft behind players like Evan Longoria and Andrew Miller. Kershaw ranked as high as the #4 prospect in all of MLB in 2008, the same year he would make his debut.

Kershaw debuted almost 2 months into the season on May 25th, 2008 against the St. Louis Cardinals (ironic). He threw 6 innings, allowed 5 hits, struck out 7, and gave up 2 runs. Kershaw has yet to make an appearance in his 17th season this year, but he has a career 2.48 ERA, he's struck out 2,944 batters, and his 157 ERA+ places him amongst the greatest starters of his era.

Some fun #MLBDraft trivia:

The last #7 overall pick to debut AGAINST the #STLCards was Clayton Kershaw for the Los Angeles Dodgers (drafted 2006) on May 25th, 2008. He went 6 innings, struck out 7, and gave up 2 runs. #ForTheLou https://t.co/klvatCrqcf
— Thomas Gauvain (@thomasgauvain) July 15, 2024

Kershaw has 3 Cy Young trophies, a Most Valuable Player designation from 2014, a Triple Crown, a Gold Glove, and 10 All-Star Appearances. He had the best ERA in baseball 5 times during his career. When Kershaw retires, he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He's accrued 79.7 bWAR for his career, and it's likely Clayton will go at least two more seasons pitching since he's still 36.

Max Fried

Max Fried was another player who was drafted straight out of high school seventh overall. He was chosen in the 2012 draft by the San Diego Padres from Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, a hotbed of baseball talent. Players such as Lucas Giolito, Jack Flaherty, and Pete Crow-Armstrong also attended the high school. Fried ended up playing for the Atlanta Braves via a 2014 trade with the Padres that sent Justin Upton to San Diego.

As a high school senior, Max Fried started 12 games, he had an 8-2 record and a 2.02 ERA, and he struck out 105 batters in just 66 innings pitched. The southpaw was known for his height, athleticism, and two-plus pitches in his fastball and breaking ball. Choosing him at seven overall was an easy decision for the Padres.

Fried is in just his eighth season in the majors this year, but he already has a lengthy resume. He had a perfect 7-0 record in 2020, and he's led the league in shutouts twice (2021 and 2023). For his career, Fried has a 3.04 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.163 WHIP, and 792 strikeouts in 818 innings. Max Fried has accumulated 22.9 bWAR in just 8 seasons, two of which were partial seasons due to debuting in August in his rookie season (2017) and the COVID-shortened 2020 season. If he continues to pitch at a similar level, he could have a decent case to be a Hall of Famer someday.

Max Fried was pivotal in the Braves' pursuit of the World Series in 2021. He started 5 games, had a 2-2 record in the playoffs, and he finished with a 4.23 ERA and 29 strikeouts. He was an All-Star in 2022, and he was chosen to replace Ranger Suarez on this year's roster. He's a three-time Gold Glove recipient, and he also has a Silver Slugger Award on his resume.

Aaron Nola

Aaron Nola was initially drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 2011 MLB Draft, but he chose to forego that assignment and go to college at Louisiana State University for three years. He was later drafted seventh overall in 2014 by the Philadelphia Phillies. Nola has stayed with that organization ever since, and it seems like that he'll retire there after his most recent contract.

Nola threw 332 innings in his three years at LSU, and his ERA was sterling over the years, finishing at 1.47 in the 2014 season. He finished his college career with a 30-6 record while striking out 334 batters. The accolades list for the right-handed starter is extensive. He was the SEC pitcher of the year in 2013 and 2014 along with being First-Team All-SEC in 2014. He was voted the National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation in 2014 as well.

All of this success and recognition led to Aaron Nola being selected seventh overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2014 draft. He's been nothing but great for the Phillies since then. Nola is in his tenth season in Philadelphia, and while he doesn't have the award recognition he might be wanting, he has had plenty of success. Nola's 35.9 fWAR total ranks 5th among all starting pitchers since 2015, the year he debuted.

He has a career 3.70 ERA to go along with 1,698 strikeouts in 1,541.2 innings. He's seen Cy Young votes in three separate seasons, and he's finished as high as 3rd in the race. He had one All-Star appearance in 2018, and he even received some down-ballot MVP votes that year. Aaron Nola likely won't be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he can retire in a few years knowing he was one of the best pitchers of his time.

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