Cardinals Predicted To Bring Phenom Shortstop To St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals didn’t have the season they wanted to have in 2024, but there is one positive thing they took away from it.

St. Louis will make its first selection in 2025 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft with the No. 5 overall pick in the first round. Last year, the Cardinals used their first-round pick to select infielder JJ Wetherholt. Who will they land this summer?

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel shared his first mock draft of the season on Wednesday and predicted that high school shortstop Eli Willits will drop to the Cardinals at No. 5.

"5. St. Louis Cardinals," McDaniel said. "Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (Oklahoma). Top 150 rank: 2. In this scenario, I think this pick will come down to Willits and Arnold, with JoJo Parker and Billy Carlson among the viable choices on the periphery.

"In the past, St. Louis has leaned heavily into reliable college starters, but Willits is quite similar to St. Louis 2024 first-rounder JJ Wetherholt."

The Cardinals have some shortstop talent in the organization, but you can never have too much. Willits is ranked at the No. 2 overall prospect in the class, per ESPN. If you can get a guy out of high school like that, you absolutely do. Shortstop is one of the most difficult defensive positions out there. There have been plenty of guys transition to other positions afterward. This would be a very solid move.