How the 2023 MLB Draft Affects Louisville's 2024 Roster

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the last 17 years, the MLB Draft has been a testament to what Dan McDonnell has built at Louisville. Entering the 2023 iteration of the draft, out of the 108 former Cardinals to sign professional contracts after being chosen in the draft, 87 of them had come under his watch.

Following the conclusion of the 2023 MLB Draft, four more Louisville baseball were given the opportunity to begin a professional career. This was the least amount of Cardinals drafted through 20 rounds since 2015, mainly stemming from the fact that Louisville had a down 2023 campaign in which they missed the NCAA Tournament.

Like every year, the draft has major ramifications on Louisville's roster for the proceeding season, and this year is no exemption. So how has it been impacted for their 2024 campaign?

Out of the four players drafted, two were position players and two were pitchers. Louisville's run scoring ability does take a hit with shortstop Christian Knapczyk departing, considering he was one of the best leadoff men in the ACC. Potentially losing catcher Jack Payton impacts the lineup in the biggest way considering his prowess hitting for both contact and power.

I say "potentially" because it's not a 100 percent guarantee that he's gone. Viewed as a third/fourth round prospect ahead of the draft, he fell all the way to the 11th round. In theory, he could come back for another season to try and improve his draft stock.

But the reason he fell so far is because scouts were not sold on his defensive ability as a catcher. With Louisville adding transfer Luke Napleton, who was one of the best catchers in all of Division II last season, if Payton did come back, he would likely make the transition to outfield. Time will tell what he decides.

Over on the pitching staff, both the starting rotation and bullpen will be losing their top arm in Ryan Hawks and Tate Kuehner, respectively. If there's a silver lining here, it's that McDonnell won't have to replace multiple high caliber options from either the rotation or the pen.

But of course, that's not to say Louisville has been left without quality talent. The Cardinals are in line to return a whopping eight regular starters in the field, with five of them - Logan Beard, J.T. Benson, Eddie King Jr., Ryan McCoy and Isaac Humphrey - posting an OPS of .800 or above. They will collectively have to improve their approach at the plate, considering that the offense was the primary catalyst for Louisville's slide in the second half of the season (just a .280 batting average for the season and only .238 in ACC play), but they have an entire summer and fall to work on this.

As maligned as the pitching was in the eyes of the fanbase at times last season, from a statistical standpoint, it was actually Louisville's strongest unit, as their 4.39 staff ERA was good for 24th in all of D1. On top of that, they retain several good arms.

While there are questions about who precisely will crack the starting rotation, Carson Liggett should slide into the Friday night starter role after a stellar 2023 campaign. Reliever Kaleb Corbett was able to have a bounce back season and could return to being the go-to closer, Riley Phillips looked dominant at times as both a starter and reliever and is a prime candidate to jump into the weekend rotation, and Greg Farone is back - although he will have to work on his command after a down second half of 2023. Even Evan Webster, who was Louisville's most reliable and consistent relief arm all season, has the opportunity to take advantage of a COVID year despite being a senior.

The biggest development from the 2023 MLB Draft was that, for the first time since 2015, Louisville did not have a single high school signee drafted. That's not because they don't have commitments from elite talent, either. Left-handed pitcher Colton Hartman, catcher Zion Rose and right-hander pitcher Parker Detmers are all top-150 prospects according to Perfect Game, and all three were projected as top-five round picks.

As it currently stands, Louisville will be bringing in the No. 21 recruiting class in the country. That number will surely rise once rankings are updated after high school signees are removed.

Louisville might have missed out on the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but there is reason to believe that they can return to the Big Dance in 2024. The team as a whole will have to work on becoming more consistant, but they have a plethora of experienced veterans, and are getting a talent infusion through both the high schools ranks and the transfer portal. If this team *doesn't* return to the NCAAs, something went very wrong.

(Photo of Dan McDonnell: Marty Pearl - Special to Courier Journal)

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