Cardinals Potential Next Star On Fast Track To MLB Debut

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted someone on Sunday who has a real chance of being a long-term piece in the starting rotation.

St. Louis landed lefty Liam Doyle with the No. 5 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft and this guy is someone fans should be on the look out for almost immediately. He obviously was considered to be one of the top overall prospects in the draft class. St. Louis got him and it may not take too long until Cardinals fans can see him in action in the big leagues. Baseball America's Geoff Pontes listed him among 12 prospects who could reach the majors in 2026.

"Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee," Pontes said. "The final of the three dominant college lefthanders at the top of the draft, Doyle is the most explosive and, in many evaluators’ eyes, the most volatile. Doyle is a high-energy lefthander who landed at Tennessee before his draft-eligible junior season. He differs from Anderson and Arnold in that he leans heavily into his plus-plus fastball, hardly utilizing his trio of secondaries. Doyle’s four-seam fastball sits 95-97 mph, touching 100 at peak in 2025 with around 18-19 inches of induced vertical break and 10-11 inches horizontal break. While his vertical approach angle isn’t as flat as Arnold’s sub-4 degree VAA, Doyle’s is in the 4.2 degree range, giving his fastball a trio of valuable traits.

"Doyle doesn’t generate much weak contact off his fastball and lacks versatility in his mix or ability to generate weak contact. He has a low-80s slider, cutter, and curveball, but none have much bat-missing upside. He does generate high rates of ground balls against his cutter and slider, however. The cutter, however, boasts a .128 batting average against, while his slider was hit to the tune of .286 with a .464 slugging percentage."

The Athletic's Katie Woo also weighed in and said Doyle projects as someone on the fast track to the big leagues.

"The Cardinals select LHP Liam Doyle out of Tennessee," Woo said. "He projects as a fast-track pitcher and is one of the most tantalizing arms in this year's draft class."

St. Louis got a potential future star.