The St. Louis Cardinals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri. They play in the National League Central division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Cardinals have selected 77 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
Of the 77 players picked in the first round by St. Louis, 39 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 30 of them were right-handed, while nine were left-handed. Eight outfielders, ten third basemen, six shortstops, six first basemen, five catchers, and two second basemen were taken as well. The team also drafted one player, Leron Lee (1966), who played as an infielder. 16 of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, and Texas and Arizona follow with seven and six players. The Cardinals have not drafted any players from their home state of Missouri.
Three of the Cardinals' draft picks have won World Series rings with the team. Braden Looper (1996) and Chris Duncan (1999) were both members of the major league roster when the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series. Lance Lynn was with the 2011 World Series winners. None of the Cardinals' first-round picks have won the Cy Young Award. Todd Worrell (1982) is the only first-round pick of the Cardinals to earn the MLB Rookie of the Year award with the team, winning it in 1986, with 2026 rookie 2nd baseman JJ Wetherholt on track to be the 2nd. The Cardinals have never held the first overall pick in the draft, and have only held a top five pick three times. The highest pick the Cardinals have held was the third overall pick, which they used on Looper in 1996.
The Cardinals have made 18 selections in the supplemental round of the draft and 27 compensatory picks since the institution of the First-Year Player Draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. As the Cardinals have signed all of their first-round picks, they have never been awarded a supplementary pick under this provision.
Key Year Each year links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball draft. Position Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play Pick Indicates the number of the pick† Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame* Player did not sign with the Cardinals § Indicates a supplemental pick '06 Player was a member of the Cardinals' 2006 championship team '11 Player was a member of the Cardinals' 2011 championship team
Picks
YearNamePosition School (location)Pick Ref1965Right-handed pitcherDelta State University(Cleveland, Mississippi)1966InfielderGrant High School(Sacramento, California)1967†CatcherSouthfield High School(Southfield, Michigan)1968OutfielderRoth High School(Dayton, Ohio)1969Left-handed pitcherRoyal Oak High School(Covina, California)1970Right-handed pitcherEmma Sansom High School(Gadsden, Alabama)1971First basemanArchbishop Molloy High School(Hollis, New York)1972Right-handed pitcherAlhambra High School(Alhambra, California)1973Third basemanGracemont High School(Gracemont, Oklahoma)1974ShortstopSanta Ana Valley High School(Santa Ana, California)1975Left-handed pitcherGaylord High School(Gaylord, Michigan)1976First basemanWoodward High School(Cincinnati, Ohio)1977CatcherFlorida State University(Tallahassee, Florida)1978First basemanGonzalez Tate High School(Pensacola, Florida)1979OutfielderNew Hartford High School(New Hartford, New York)1980Right-handed pitcherHomer L. Ferguson High School(Newport News, Virginia)1981ShortstopSan Diego State University(San Diego, California)1982Right-handed pitcherBiola University(La Mirada, California)1983Third basemanBradley University(Peoria, Illinois)1984Right-handed pitcherBradley University(Peoria, Illinois)1985Left-handed pitcherUniversity of Arizona(Tucson, Arizona)1986Second basemanFlorida State University(Tallahassee, Florida)1987Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Georgia(Athens, Georgia)1988Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign(Urbana, Illinois)Right-handed pitcherVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University(Blacksburg, Virginia)OutfielderUniversity of Richmond(Richmond, Virginia)§1989OutfielderFrankston High School(Frankston, Texas)1990Left-handed pitcherUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas(Paradise, Nevada)ShortstopDavid Starr Jordan High School(Long Beach, California)CatcherUniversity of California, Los Angeles(Los Angeles, California)§1991Third basemanRio Mesa High School(Camarillo, California)Left-handed pitcherNew York Institute of Technology(Brooklyn, New York)Right-handed pitcherDr. Phillips High School(Orlando, Florida)Right-handed pitcherDavid Starr Jordan High School(Long Beach, California)§Third basemanUniversity of California, Berkeley(Berkeley, California)§1992Right-handed pitcherArizona State University(Tempe, Arizona)1993Right-handed pitcherCreighton University(Omaha, Nebraska)1994Left-handed pitcherWake Forest University(Winston-Salem, North Carolina)1995Right-handed pitcherSeton Hall University(South Orange, New Jersey)Third basemanSt. Mary High School(Paducah, Kentucky)§1996 '06Right-handed pitcherWichita State University(Wichita, Kansas)1997ShortstopCalifornia State University, Northridge(Northridge, California)1998OutfielderFlorida State University(Tallahassee, Florida)First basemanBradshaw High School(Dewey, Arizona)§1999Right-handed pitcherTexas A&M University(College Station, Texas)Right-handed pitcherFlorida State University(Tallahassee, Florida)§ '06First basemanCanyon del Oro High School(Tucson, Arizona)§2000OutfielderVista High School(Vista, California)Right-handed pitcherSouthwest Texas State University(San Marcos, Texas)2001Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Central Florida(Orlando, Florida)20022003CatcherMarina High School(Huntington Beach, California)2004Right-handed pitcherBoston College(Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts)2005OutfielderRussell County High School(Seale, Alabama)ShortstopGeorgia Institute of Technology(Atlanta, Georgia)Right-handed pitcherBaylor University(Waco, Texas)§Right-handed pitcherWellington Community High School(Wellington, Florida)§2006Right-handed pitcherNortheastern University(Boston, Massachusetts)Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Miami(Coral Gables, Florida)§2007ShortstopOwasso High School(Owasso, Oklahoma)Right-handed pitcherGonzaga University(Spokane, Washington)§2008First basemanArizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) '11Right-handed pitcherUniversity of Mississippi(Oxford, Mississippi)§2009Right-handed pitcherBrownwood High School(Brownwood, Texas)2010Third basemanUniversity of Arkansas(Fayetteville, Arkansas)Right-handed pitcherArizona State University(Tempe, Arizona)§Right-handed pitcherHenderson High School(Henderson, Texas)§2011Second basemanUniversity of Hawaii at Mānoa(Honolulu, Hawaii)2012Right-Handed pitcherTexas A&M University(College Station, Texas)OutfielderFlorida State University(Tallahassee, Florida)Third basemanStanford University(Palo Alto, California)§Third basemanSaint Mary's College of California(Moraga, California)§CatcherRockwall High School(Rockwall, Texas)§2013Left-Handed pitcherGonzaga University(Spokane, Washington)Left-Handed pitcherSt. Joseph Regional High School(Montvale, New Jersey)2014Right-handed pitcherFlorida State University(Tallahassee, Florida)Right-Handed pitcherHarvard-Westlake School(Los Angeles, California)§2015OutfielderBrother Rice High School(Bloomfield Township, Michigan)Right-Handed pitcherH.B. Plant High School(Tampa, Florida)§2016ShortstopInternational Baseball Academy(Ceiba, Puerto Rico)OutfielderElk Grove High School(Elk Grove, California)§Right-handed pitcherMississippi State University(Mississippi State, Mississippi)§20172018Third basemanSandra Day O'Connor High School(Phoenix, Arizona)2019Left-handed pitcherUniversity of Kentucky(Lexington, Kentucky)2020Third basemanDecatur High School(Decatur, Georgia)2021Right-handed pitcherUC Santa Barbara(Isla Vista, California)2022Left-handed pitcherOregon State University(Corvallis, Oregon)2023OutfielderUniversity of Arizona(Tucson, Arizona)2024ShortstopWest Virginia University(Morgantown, West Virginia)2025Liam DoyleLeft-handed pitcherUniversity of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee)2026Trevor CondonOutfielderEtowah High School(Etowah, Georgia)Tegan KuhnsRight-handed pitcherUniversity of Tennessee(Knoxville, Tennessee)§
See also St. Louis Cardinals minor league players
Footnotes Through the 2012 draft, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offered arbitration to a player but that player refused and subsequently signed with another team, the original team was able to receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent left in this way, his previous team received a supplemental pick and a compensatory pick from the team with which he signed. If a "Type B" free agent left in this way, his previous team received only a supplemental pick. Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts. However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player. The Cardinals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1988 from the New York Yankees for losing free agent Jack Clark. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1988 for losing free agent Jack Clark. The Cardinals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1990 from the Boston Red Sox for losing free agent Tony Peña. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1990 for losing free agent Tony Peña. The Cardinals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1991 from the Toronto Blue Jays for losing free agent Ken Dayley. The Cardinals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1991 from the New York Mets for losing free agent Vince Coleman. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1991 for losing free agent Vince Coleman. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1991 for losing free agent Ken Dayley. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1995 for losing free agent Gregg Jefferies. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1998 for losing free agent Dennis Eckersley. The Cardinals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1999 from the Atlanta Braves for losing free agent Brian Jordan. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent Brian Jordan. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1999 for losing free agent Delino DeShields. The Cardinals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2000 from the Texas Rangers for losing free agent Darren Oliver. The Cardinals lost their first-round pick in 2002 to the Oakland Athletics as compensation for signing free agent Jason Isringhausen. The Cardinals gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2005 from the Boston Red Sox for losing free agent Édgar Rentería. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2005 for losing free agent Édgar Rentería. The Cardinals gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2005 for losing free agent Mike Matheny.