As with most years, the lead up to the Draft truly begins once the Major League season kicks off. This typically means around mid to late April the College and High School seasons (except in Iowa) are in full swing and most of the key names are starting to stand out. The top tier players have all been accounted for and rarely if ever are there surprises.
It would not be fair or even smart to say that Eli Willits came out of nowhere to now project as a bona fide Top-10 pick. The truth of the matter is that he is just young, like Really young and once he re-classified from the 2026 class, the 17-year old zoomed up boards for a number of reasons. And as luck would have it, St. Louis now has a choice to make with the No. 5 selection. Willits joins that other Oklahoma infielder who also has a big-league dad to give the Cardinals two chances for a repeat.
Yup, could have gone with Re-Pete to honor Kozma but since that is a Draft just about everyone would prefer to forget, let’s just move ahead. Before diving more into why Willits makes a ton of sense, it should be noted that this year’s class is very stacked with infielders and extremely weak on the grass. That’s not to say a move to the outfield is out of the question but since the Birds on the Bat have both middle infield spots seemingly locked up for the next decade, it needed to be said.
Depending on just how the board looks Sunday, the Cards will have their option of any number of top ranked prospects. If multiple lefties are taken in the first four, a pivot to the uber-athletic Willits certainly makes sense. He is more hit over power at this point but hardly shocking for the University of Oklahoma commit. The glove certainly plays, but it isn’t like Masyn or JJ will need to be looking over their shoulders anytime soon.
St. Louis can let the switch-hitter mature and cruise up the ranks as the next centerpiece of the organization. He appears to have every tool in spades and after living in the shadow (and backyard) of the top-rated prospect for over a year, 2025 certainly appears to be the time that Willits makes his game known. But what if the Cardinals don’t get a crack at him? Thankfully there are a number of options but the best one hails from the same state as another former first-round pick.
Coming in directly after Willits on the MLB rankings, Aiva Arquette joins Kolten Wong to form a dynamic duo from Hawaii that certainly would improve the fanbase out west. Whereas Wong was strictly a 2B option, Arquette is a 6’5″ shortstop that has the tools to play all over the dirt. He also has the college track record and success on the Cape with wood bats in his favor. Arquette profiles as the top right-handed hitter in this year’s draft class and true definition of taking the best player available.
Well, there you have it, six players for five spots. That seems easy enough, right? While there are sure to be a few curveballs before Sunday, the last two players to mention each deserve their own post but neither are likely to be making an appearance under the Arch after signing. Seth Hernandez is the 19-year old high school phenom who should be in the discussion after having one of the best seasons ever for a right-handed pitcher. But as that demographic becomes nearly extinct, the smart money is on St. Louis passing if available.
Rumblings of pre-draft deals are nothing new, and that certainly will continue right up until each selection is made. It is a forgone conclusion that NIL money has forever changed college athletics with baseball players learning quickly what they are worth at the next level. College sophomores that are draft eligible used to have all the leverage, but a new wrinkle has emerged. Ike Irish was not a name on the radar for the Cardinals until he didn’t turn in his medicals at the Pre-Draft workouts.
Why is that important you may be asking – simply follow the money…
Every team and each pick for the first ten rounds in the draft is slotted. Those values are predetermined and printed for everyone to see so there are no surprises. Teams are allowed to spend whatever they want but if they exceed certain thresholds, the penalties involve more than just money. No team wants to lose those valuable picks in future years, however, so that basically hard-caps the clubs. To bring this back to Irish and this year, all medicals are reviewed and as long as a major league team offers 75% of the slot value, they have met the qualifications.
Unless a player doesn’t submit their medical records as a certain catcher/outfielder out of Auburn recently did…
Is Irish taking a risk or becoming a possible trendsetter? Because this year isn’t as stacked (especially for college bats) as next years’ class, ultimately the No. 11 ranked Irish rolled the dice and gave every team picking at the top something else to factor. How important is it to say the Nationals with the first pick or the Pirates at number six to save money? Irish was never going to fall out of the first round but would he have made this decision unless his agent was given the thumbs up?
We are just four days away from getting those answers and more in what stacks up as an extremely important couple of days for St. Louis. The Cardinals have some important decisions to make before the end of the month, and they will also be overhauling a number of things once Chaim Bloom officially takes the big chair. Bloom’s fingerprints should be all over everything moving forward and can’t wait to see what’s next!
