Who will the Cardinals pick in MLB draft to join JJ Wetherholt at top of farm system?

The 2025 MLB Draft is just days away, and the St. Louis Cardinals have the opportunity to select a true difference-maker for their farm system on Sunday night.

While this draft lacks a true top-end star talent like a Paul Skenes or Bryce Harper, what this crop of amateur prospects does present is a variety of directions the Cardinals could go in to bolster their farm system and the future of their organization as they transition from the John Mozeliak era to Chaim Bloom's leadership.

The Cardinals hold the fifth overall pick in this year's MLB Draft, the first time they've had that selection in a draft since they picked J.D. Drew fifth overall in the 1998 MLB Draft. Last year was the first time the Cardinals had picked in the top ten of a draft since 1998, as well, and they drafted top prospect JJ Wetherholt.

Wetherholt, as you may know, has lit the world on fire since entering the Cardinals system and just received a promotion to Triple-A. While Wetherholt has Cardinals fans pumped about the future, whoever the Cardinals select in the first round on Sunday will likely slot in right behind him on their top prospects list and join Wetherholt in representing the next wave of Cardinals talent.

That begs the question - who are the Cardinals considering drafting at number five overall?

The Cardinals will be able to add a top talent to their farm system in the 2025 MLB Draft

As things currently stand, there is very little consensus on who the Cardinals will select with their first-round pick on Sunday. There are two profiles of players that seem to have risen to the top of teams' draft boards that many expect the Cardinals to consider, with that big, and that is either a high school shortstop or a collegiate left-handed pitcher

Most experts expect high school shortstop Ethan Holliday (son of Matt Holliday) and the 2025 College World Series Most Outstanding Player, left-handed Kade Anderson out of LSU, to be off the board by the time the Cardinals select at number five. The Nationals, Angels, Mariners, and Rockies all select ahead of the Cardinals on Sunday.

When it comes to college pitchers, the Cardinals have been long linked to Florida State University left-hander Jamie Arnold, who, like Wetherholt, was the consensus favorite to go first overall in their year's draft prior to his final collegiate season. While Wetherholt fell in the draft due to concerns about a hamstring injury he had that season, Arnold was just as dynamic a pitcher in 2025 as he was in 2024, but other names have surpassed him among the scouting community as a whole.

Other college arms to watch would include left-hander Liam Doyle out of the University of Tennessee and right-hander Tyler Bremmer out of UC Santa Barbara.

When it comes to the high school shortstops, there are a wider list of names connected to the Cardinals, and each present a different profile and outlook long-term if the Cardinals selected them.

Eli Willits, son of former MLB outfielder Reggie Willits, has been linked heavily to the Cardinals and is the youngest player in the entire class, as he does not turn 18 until December. Willits has drawn a lot of comparisons to Tommy Edman for his profile as a switch-hitter and ability to do almost everything well. He's the third-ranked prospect in the class according to Baseball America and 55-grade hit, field, and arm tools to go along with 50 power and 60 speed. For someone who is just 17 years old, Willits may offer one of the safer floors as a prospect due to virtually no holes in his game while still being able to dream about potential upside.

Speaking of comps to Cardinals, Billy Carlson, the ninth-ranked prospect in the class according to Baseball America, is another high school shortstop who has drawn comparisons to Masyn Winn for his plus-plus arm and fielding tools as well as throwing in the high-90s off the mound. Technically a two-way prospect, most expect Carlson to become a full-time shortstop for whoever drafts him. Carlson is expected to have a 50-grade hit tool, but will need to grow into his bigger frame to have more than 45-grade power. If Carlson does mature physically and continues to develop as a hitter, he may end up being the highest upside player in the class.

Lastly, JoJo Parker is another high school shortstop who boasts the best power of the trio, batting from the left side of the plate. His sweet left-handed swing would give the Cardinals some pop to dream on, and he also projects to have 50 to 55 graded tools across the board.

With so many options, who is the likely pick at number five overall for the Cardinals?

These are the 2 players the Cardinals are most likely to select with the 5th overall pick

Depending on how the board falls on Sunday night, Jamie Arnold and Eli Willits appear to be the two names most likely to be drafted by the Cardinals with their fifth overall pick.

There is a scenario where both of them are off the board, which would then make any of Parker, Carlson, Bremmer, or Doyle possible options for the Cardinals. The club could also prefer to select someone on an under-slot deal since they have three other picks in the top 100, which would allow them to potentially target another high-end player with the extra slot pool money they have later on.

If both Arnold and Willits are on the board at number five, it's anyone's guess as to who would be the selection there. Both make a ton of sense for the Cardinals.

The only wild card that would change the Cardinals' process here, and it is highly unlikely, is if one of Anderson or Holliday fell to them at number five. No one in the industry expects either of those prospects to make it past the fourth overall pick, though, so it would be shocking to have one of them available for the Cardinals to select.

Stay tuned for a lot of draft coverage in the last few days leading up to the draft, live reactions on day one of the draft night Sunday night, and follow-up coverage once it's all said and done. If you're looking to hear some real-time analysis about the Cardinals' draft on Sunday, we are hosting an MLB Draft livestream on Sunday night to cover all of the Cardinals' draft picks with special guest experts on the MLB draft and Cardinals system over on the Dealin' the Cards YouTube channel.