Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Projected Addition Would Add St. Louis' Next Star

What do the Cardinals have next?
Patrick McAvoy|
Mar 20, 2018; Jupiter, FL, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat with sunglasses sits on a glove in the dugout during a spring training game against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2018; Jupiter, FL, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat with sunglasses sits on a glove in the dugout during a spring training game against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

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Who will be the next big-name prospect to join the St. Louis Cardinals organization?

Last year, the Cardinals drafted JJ Wetherholt and he has lived up to the hype and is the club's No. 1 prospect and one of baseball's top overall prospects. The Cardinals took Wetherholt with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Now, the club will make its next first round pick at No. 5 in July.

Who could be the guy for the Cardinals?

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter predicted that lefty pitcher Jamie Arnold out of Florida State will be available at No. 5 and end up being the guy for St. Louis..

"No. 5. St. Louis Cardinals: LHP Jamie Arnold, Florida State," Reuter said. "Expect the Cardinals to pounce if any of the three top college arms slip out of the top-four picks, and in this case it's Arnold, who was a strong candidate to go No. 1 overall before a good-not-great junior season for the Seminoles.

"Despite falling a bit short of expectations, the power lefty still finished 8-2 with a 2.98 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and a 119-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 84.2 innings this spring. If the top three college pitchers are off the board, they could shift their focus to prep shortstops Eli Willits and JoJo Parker."

If the Cardinals could land a lefty pitcher with the upside like Arnold, that would be a fantastic idea. St. Louis has a lot of organizational depth in the middle infield, which has been a popular talking point in mock drafts. There have been plenty of mocks with St. Louis taking a high school shortstop. But, getting a lefty pitcher out of college would be a near-perfect move if it is Arnold.

More MLB: Cardinals Homegrown Star Approaching New Opportunity After Stunner

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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