The Cardinals will make their finals picks of the 2024 MLB draft on Tuesday as the first-year player draft enters rounds 11-20.Â
The Cardinals used their first round pick (seventh overall) on Sunday night to select West Virginia University infielder JJ Westerholt. They continued with the college theme by using Monday, which included rounds 3-10, to select eight players from the collegiate ranks.
Here's a look at each of the Cardinals' Day 3 picks:
Round 11, 321st overallÂ
SS Jon Jon Gazdar
Age: 22
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 5-foot-11, 180 pounds
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School: Austin Peay State University
Background: A native of Walnut Creek, California, Gazdar played in two seasons for Austin Peay State after one season at Chabot College — a community college in Hayward, California. He posted a .405/.443/.570 slash line in 113 games for the Governors. Gazdar was named the ASUN conference’s defensive player of the year, a second-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association, and earned first-team All-ASUN honors this past season with Austin Peay State. He started all 54 games for Austin Peay in 2024 and was charged with seven errors in 193 chances at shortstop. At the plate, Gazdar reached safely in 40 consecutive games from March 2 to May 12 and had a strikeout rate that was one of the best in the nation. The right-handed hitting shortstop struck out once every 16.9 at-bats, ranking him fifth in NCAA.
Round 12, 351st overall
OF Ian Petrutz
Age: 21
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±á±ð¾±²µ³ó³Ù/°Â±ð¾±²µ³ó³Ù:Ìý6-foot, 210 pounds
School: University of Alabama
Background: After spending the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Maryland, Petrutz impressed with his ability to make contact and reach base with the Crimson Tide. The left-handed hitting outfielder, who only started in left field this season, batted .321 with 14 doubles, six home runs and 40 RBIs this year. He also walked 30 times and had a team-high 20 hit by pitches, leading to a top-five on-base percentage in the Southeastern Conference (.447). noted Petrutz as a "conundrum for scouts" as he showcases impressive contact and hard-hit skills but has a swing that may not replicate the same success as he progresses down the line. Along with that analysis, they added that "he has to provide more offense because he's limited to left field with below-average speed and fringy arm strength."
Round 13, 381st overall
RHP Nolan Sparks
Age: 21
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Height/Weight: 5-foot-10, 195 pounds
School: University of Rochester
Background: In four seasons with the University of Rochester — a Division III program — Sparks posted a 3.06 ERA across 209 innings, struck out 248 batters, and kept opposing hitters to a .234 batting average. He went from a limited starter role as a freshman in 2021 to becoming a regular starter in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. After going 13-2 between his sophomore and junior seasons, Sparks held a 4-2 record, and a career-best 2.25 ERA across 10 starts as a senior in 2024. The 21-year-old right struck out 31.6% of the batters he faced his past spring while keeping them to a .201 average. He earned Liberty League pitcher of the year honors in 2023 and 2024. Sparks spent the past winter training at Tread Athletics — a facility in Charlotte, North Carolina also used by Cardinals Andre Pallante and Zack Thompson. While there, the D-III product improved his velocity from hovering mostly in the lower 90s to now averaging 95 mph and touching 96 mph.
Round 14, 411th overall
RHP Mason Burns
Age: 22
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 215 pounds
School: Western Kentucky
µþ²¹³¦°ì²µ°ù´Ç³Ü²Ô»å:ÌýA dominant senior reliever for the Hilltoppers, Mason Burns finished second nationally with 15 saves this season. He had a 3-3 record with a 4.00 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 13 walks in 35 innings. Burns had a stretch of 10 saves in 11 appearances from March 28 to April 28 and was selected as a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association stopper of the year finalist, an award given annually to the nation's top relief pitcher. The breakout season also earned Burns NCBWA All-American third-team honors. As a junior, Burns posted a 2.95 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 55 innings with four saves. Before Western Kentucky, the Bloomington, Illinois, native played two seasons at Illinois State. Burns features a lively fastball, which sits around 91-94 mph, alongside a breaking ball (80-82 mph) and changeup (82-83 mph), per Prep Baseball Report. Behind the success he showed at Western Kentucky, Burns profiles as a reliable relief pitcher with an intriguing slider to pair with his upstart fastball.
Round 15, 441st overall
RHP Sam Brodersen
Age: 22
Bat/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 200 pounds
School: Louisiana Tech
Background: A reliever throughout his collegiate career, Brodersen went 8-1 with a 3.05 ERA and stuck out 96 batters in 56 innings for a 40% strikeout rate from the Bulldogs’ bullpen this past spring. The 6-foot-1 righty’s efforts earned him First Team All-Conference USA honors. Before transferring to Louisiana Tech. Brodersen spent three seasons at Wingate University where he totaled 164 strikeouts across three years and won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2021. The righty threw five no-hit innings and struck out five in relief in the title-clinching win. Across four college seasons, Brodersen struck out 33.9% of the batters he faced and walked 13.4%. Brodersen averaged 93 mph with his fastball and had been able to get the pitch to the 96-97 mph range, per Baseball America’s scouting report of the righty. Brodersen’s slider sits in the mid-80s and has a “solid 10-4 shape†and has flashed spin rates around 2,600 rpm, the scouting report said. Because of the two-pitch combo and his “below-average†control, Brodersen profiles as a bullpen arm.Â
Round 16, 471st overall
3B Deniel Ortiz
Age: 19
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 230 pounds
School: Walters State Community College (TN)
µþ²¹³¦°ì²µ°ù´Ç³Ü²Ô»å:ÌýThe Caguas, Puerto Rico, native impressed with his ability to reach base and hit for contact. Ortiz stood out to scouts with his level swing path and line-drive contact earlier in his development, and he built upon that at Walters State Community College. In two seasons with the Senators, Ortiz slashed .387/.535/.771 with 34 home runs, 25 doubles and 116 RBIs. He also walked 91 times while striking out in 70 at-bats. As a member of the MLB Draft League this year, Ortiz slashed .321/.473/.429 with 17 runs scored. In 2023, Ortiz played for the Kingsport Axmen in the Appalachian League, where he drilled 10 home runs and added 30 RBIs in 43 games. The right-handed hitting third baseman signed with Tennessee Wesleyan University in June and will have the choice to continue his collegiate career there or sign with the Cardinals.Â
Round 17, 501st overall
RHP Brandt Thompson
Age: 22
Bat/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 5-foot-9, 180 pounds
School: Missouri State
Background: After spending two seasons pitching for North Iowa Area Community College, Thompson pitched in two seasons for the Bears and posted a 3.61 ERA across 34 games (33 starts). The 22-year-old native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota earned First-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in both of his seasons at Missouri State. While at Missouri State, Thompson struck out 159 batters over 162 innings and walked 49 for a 7% walk rate. After he limited hitters to four home runs in 83 1/3 innings in 2023, he allowed 13 home runs over 78 2/3 innings in 2024. He improved on his batting average allowed in his senior season, lowering it from .266 as a junior to .234 this past spring. His back-to-back season with First-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors made him the first Bear to do so. His 3.24 strikeout-to-walk rate was the ninth-best in MSU program history.
Round 18, 531st overall
SS Christian Martin
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±á±ð¾±²µ³ó³Ù/°Â±ð¾±²µ³ó³Ù:Ìý5-foot-10, 185 pounds
³§³¦³ó´Ç´Ç±ô:ÌýVirginia Tech
µþ²¹³¦°ì²µ°ù´Ç³Ü²Ô»å:ÌýA three-year player for Virginia Tech, Christian Martin slashed .321/.448/.482 with 106 runs scored, 10 home runs and 65 RBIs for the Hokies. He posted an on-base percentage north of .400 in each of his three seasons, displaying a strong left-handed approach at the plate. Martin competed in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer, posting a .182 average and .400 on-base percentage in a small sample size of eight games. However, he also appeared in the league last season, hitting to a .216 average with a .333 on-base percentage in 22 games. The Amherst, Virginia, native led his high school — Amherst County — in batting average, hits, home runs and stolen bases all four varsity seasons. Using a short, compact swing, Martin flashes quick hands and an ability to create contact, and he flashed that with 20 multi-hit games this season.Â
Round 19, 561st overall
SS Brendan Lawson
Age: 18
Bat/Throws: L/R
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 205-pounds
School: P27 Academy (Lexington, South Carolina)
Background: Lawson entered this year’s draft as the top-ranked Canadian prospect and ranked as the No. 132 overall draft-eligible player, per Baseball America. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Lawson moved to South Carolina to attend P27 Academy for the 2024 spring season. He is committed to the University of Florida. The 18-year-old has above-average bat speed and can produce extra-base hit power to all fields because of his ability with “sequencing the moving parts†of his swing to stay on time, per Baseball America’s scouting report of the Canadian-born teenager. Scouts believe Lawson’s ability to find extra-base hit power to all field could develop into plus raw power. His well-developed lower half raises some questions as to whether he may stick at shortstop, according to Baseball America's scouting report. He has above-average arm strength that is enough for shortstop, but his range and mobility could profile him as a third baseman down the line. He was limited this past spring because of a sinus infection and surgery, which lowered his draft profile.
Round 20, 591st overall
LHP Owen Rice
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±á±ð¾±²µ³ó³Ù/°Â±ð¾±²µ³ó³Ù:Ìý6-foot-6, 230 pounds
³§³¦³ó´Ç´Ç±ô:ÌýUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
µþ²¹³¦°ì²µ°ù´Ç³Ü²Ô»å:ÌýThe left-handed pitcher debuted at Milwaukee as a sophomore in 2023 following a season at McHenry Country College and has since pitched to a 5.89 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 42 walks in 44â…“ innings. Rice possesses a strong fastball that hovers in the low-90s but is still developing secondary pitches to complete his repertoire. He started 15 games for the Panthers, including 10 this past spring, compiling a 1-3 record. Rice has a lanky frame and can be deceptive with his delivery, making him a difficult matchup for left-handed hitters at times. The East Troy, Wisconsin, native is the Cardinals' final selection of the 2024 MLB draft.Â