Jim Callis has the Birds down from Wallace.
13. ST. LOUIS. Despite their emphasis on statistical analysis, the Cardinals have shown that they’re not afraid to take high schoolers in the first round, having grabbed Colby Rasmus and Pete Kozma in the last three years. They brought in Florida prep shortstop/righthander Casey Kelly for a workout, and they wouldn’t be afraid to buy him away from a scholarship to play quarterback at Tennessee. But getting a pure hitter the caliber of Wallace is just too attractive. If they go for a pitcher, Friedrich, hard-throwing Arizona righthander Ryan Perry and Hunt are candidates.
Projected Pick: BRETT WALLACE, 3b/1b, Arizona State.
Jonathan Mayo gets off his Ryan Perry kick, and puts the Cards down for Friedrich-
13. St. Louis Cardinals: Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky
The Cardinals have been in on much of the same names as listed above, with guys like Ryan Perry also in the mix. It was looking like they were going for the next-best lefty starter in the draft class in Friedrich when push came to shove.
Last projection: Perry
EDIT: Jonathan Mayo has updated his pick for the Cardinals in his blog and no longer believes it will be Friedrich
13 — St. Louis — Could be Brett Wallace or Aaron Hicks, though Friedrich still in the mix
Keith Law agrees with Mayo.
13. St. Louis — Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky
Gordon Beckham’s absolute floor is here. The Cardinals have also been sitting on Andrew Cashner, but seem to be leaning toward a starter over a reliever.
I now am of the persuasion G Beck has to be Luhnow’s “back flip” guy.
Patrick Ebert goes off the beaten path and predicts high school pitcher Ethan Martin.
13. St. Louis Cardinals: Ethan Martin, RHP, Stephens County HS (GA)
The Cardinals the past several years have alternated between college pitchers and high school bats with their first pick, but they buck that trend here taking the first high school pitcher off the board.
That would be a shock, especially considering he has Hicks and Casey Kelly going later, two players we know the Cardinals have taken a serious look at.
UPDATE: The guys from Saberscouting.com finishes up their mock draft, and Kiley goes as far as to predict the sandwich round. He has the Cards down for RHP Zach Putnam, Michigan.
Another little tidbit, OF L.J. Hoes of St. Johns HS in DC did work out for the Cardinals. Hoes is ranked by BA as the # 137. He could be under consideration for the 3rd or 4th round, but he has high bonus demands.
Filed under: 2008 MLB draft
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I still think Crow is the “backflip” guy, although in truth I would bet that there are really several guys that would be “backflip” guys if they inexplicably made it to #13. But I think the guy that actually has a chance to fall to us is Crow.
i would be happy with either one of those picks. of course i would love crow or beckham, but if not friedrich and wallace are not bad consolation prizes.
pgcrosschecker.com has had two mocks this morning with us taking melville in one and martin in the other. they seem to be hearing high school pitcher which is completely different from what anyone else is saying.
according to the poster on cards talk the back flip guy is buster posey, and luhnow has the ok from dewitt to take both posey and crow.
Wow! If Posey or Crow falls to the Cardinals they have gotten incredibly lucky. I think the backflip guy is Crow. The Cards would have to open the wallet to get either Posey or Crow but with last year’s backlash over Porcello, there is no way they would fail to sign either of them.
Do you see any reasonable scenario that Posey actually gets to #13? I guess (like I said in the DFR last night) there is always someone that drops beyond what anyone thought.
fgc, i admit i have some inward doubts that guy is who he claims to be. not saying it is impossible, i guess the proof of the pudding…if we could get posey or crow, i might do a backflip myself.
if posey doesn’t go 1 (he isn’t) i think there are only 2 other reasonable spots before our pick. the giants (i doubt they pay) and the nationals. the nationals could be staring at crow and posey, and they can only take one. if they take posey, i think it is very likely the rangers will grab crow, but if they take crow, posey could fall b/c the astros and athletics won’t take him and the rangers have a ton of catching depth in their organization.
i have doubts as well, but i don’t see any problem passing along the rumor.
are we setting ourselves up for disappointment by thinking crow or beckham may fall to us? the tempered expectations were doing wonders for me. now that i have hopes of crow or beckham, a friedrich pick may leave me wanting more.
no problems at all, obviously. Didn’t mean that. ’tis the time for rumors! Just some of his comments seem pretty far-fetched, that’s all. I just have a tough time DeWitt would sign off on any draftee for $12, but I suppose JD Drew is precedence there, sorta.
I would be delighted if they end up with Wallace. I have heard scouts say that he is the surest bet to hit in the major leagues. There is always a place for a good hitter, even if it is not readily apparent right now.
Not to be the Scrooge of draft day….but I still find it hard to believe the Cards are going to get involved with one of these 7 to 10M MLB contract guys.
I hope so…b/c I believe the draft is about talent, not signability.
I just am in the I will believe it, when I see it…group.
If Brett Wallace and Christian Friedrich are the backup plans..then its going to be a great day.
This is Luhnow’s first time in the top 15, and you don’t reach for a signability guy in the top half of the first round. . .you just don’t. You take an impact guy. This will be his signature pick. . .much like the Pirates brass are eager to wipe away the ugliness after they passed on Wieters and were blasted by their fan base, I think the Cards will opt for a guy in the “high rent’ district after getting some negative publicity of their own after the Kozma pick.
I really don’t see the cards goin after Posey. We have plenty of orginizational depth at catcher and Posey should be up soon. I was listening to Lunhow on the roll home with Bernie and he was talking about how much they factor in need while drafting. I think if you couple that with the price tag, that in the unlikely scenario Posey falls to us we too will pass on him. I hope I’m wrong because we should be taking the best available player and Posey’s upside by far exceeds Molina’s and Anderson’s.
hmmm…i’m stuck between a rock and a hard place…as my name indicates, i am a fan of the UT Vols….casey kelly is our QB of the future, so i hope he doesnt get taken high enough to pull him out of his scholarship…but if he does, i hope its by the cards…but i’d rather him go to school