The Cardinals stuck to a theme of selecting college players during Day 2 of Major League Baseball’s draft, as they used all eight of their picks on Monday to take players with NCAA Division I backgrounds.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ, which used its first-round pick (21st overall) on University of Arizona outfielder Chase Davis on Sunday night, added Boston College outfielder Travis Honeyman in the third round and Stanford University left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews in the fourth to begin Rounds 3-10.
It is the second consecutive year the Cardinals have used their first nine picks on college players.
“The board zigged and zagged all over the place,†Cardinals scouting director Randy Flores said. “And that’s ultimately where we wound up. And there are times that I wish that you guys were able to see candidly how close it got from an outfielder to an infielder or from a high school player to a college player.
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“Obviously, you hear it said, and I have no new way to say it, but it was kind of the best-player-available (choice) given where we were on our draft board. It was not something intentional to seek outfielders or to seek pitching in spots we did. But there were some parameters.â€
The Cardinals entered the draft with the fourth-lowest bonus pool among the 30 MLB clubs and without a second-round pick. That was forfeited to the Cubs after ºüÀêÊÓƵ signed Willson Contreras, who had received a qualifying offer from Chicago.
The combination of the lower bonus pool and loss of the pick led to a “lack of flexibility†at taking a high-school player on Day 2 considering the likelihood of paying above a pick’s slot value to get him to sign.
When the 90th pick came around, they saw a chance to be “opportunistic.â€
At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Honeyman struck out 43 times in 339 career at-bat while at Boston College. The 21-year-old appeared in 14 games and started just once as a freshman in 2021. During his 2022 and 2023 seasons, as a full-time player, he produced a .317 average, hit 24 doubles, 12 home runs and drove in 49 runs.
A shoulder injury limited him to 39 games this past spring and cut his season short. By the end of April, he was batting .304, and his limited number of games led to his availability when the Cardinals’ spot came up in the third round. They gauged all factors including the risks and “upside†with Honeyman.
“When you do that, what you really have to bear down on is what type of player, what type of makeup, what type of work ethic (he has) because the rehab road is a lonely road,†Flores said. “It’s a hard road. In the recon that we did, we came out of it very confident that Honeyman is willing to put in the work, and when he is that it will be well worth the wait.â€
The Cardinals also chose University of Miami outfielder Zach Levenson (fifth round) and UC Irvine outfielder Caden Kendle (10th round) as their only position players on Day 2.
Mathews went 25-10 with a 4.10 ERA in four seasons at Stanford. The 21-year-old lefty went from a bullpen role in 2022 that kept him to 99 innings to a starter’s role this spring. He posted a 3.75 ERA, struck out 158 batters and walked 40 in 124⅔ innings with the opportunity.
Matthews led Division I pitchers in innings and was second in strikeouts. The only other player ahead of him was Paul Skenes — a Louisiana State University standout and this year’s top pick.
Matthews made headlines during the NCAA playoffs when he threw 156 pitches and stuck out 16 batters in a nine-inning complete game that led Stanford to a 8-3 win over Texas in the super regionals.
“This is someone who’s fearless and who loves the big moment and who really just progressed each year,†Flores said. “It seems like he’s just very very up for any challenge. You have a player who ... was in the bullpen and then wants the challenge of starting and then wants the challenge of the ball in the biggest moments for as long as he can. … Our scouts really had a lot of things that they thought were intriguing along with our analysts and really think that his arsenal bodes well for pro ball.â€
Along with Mathews, the Cardinals used picks on the University of Maryland righty Jason Savacool (sixth round), UCLA righty Charles Harrison (seventh round), Fresno State lefty Ixan Henderson and Virginia Tech righty Christian Worley.
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Missouri State University outfielder Spencer Nivens was drafted in the fifth round by the Kansas City Royals. Nivens, a Columbia, Missouri, native, played two seasons with Missouri State.
Right-handers Jake Eddington and Hayden Minton joined Nivens as MSU products drafted. Eddington, a Doniphan, Missouri, native, was taken in the seventh round by the Phillies. Minton was selected in the ninth round by the Tigers.
• University of Missouri righty Zach Franklin, who spent his final collegiate season in Columbia, was drafted in the 10th round by the White Sox.
• Avery Owusu-Asiedu, an outfielder from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, was picked by the Phillies in the ninth round.
• CBC’s Nazzan Zanetello was selected by the Red Sox in the second round (50th overall), making him the first high school player from ºüÀêÊÓƵ taken
• Belleville East right-hander Zander Mueth joined him as a draftee when he was taken 67th by the Pirates with a competitive balance pick.
The draft concludes Tuesday with Rounds 11-20.