The Cardinals are one day from adding another wave of talent, and the No. 13 pick is the one that will set the tone for everything else that follows.
Saturday brings the start of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, and St. Louis enters it with a full hand.
The Cardinals’ draft stash got a boost from the deal that sent Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners, a move that brought back the No. 68 and No. 72 picks in Competitive Balance Round B. That gives the organization plenty of room to maneuver after its first selection at No. 13 overall.
What happens there is anybody’s guess. That’s the nature of the MLB Draft, where the first pick or two may offer a clue, but after that the board can get wild in a hurry. Slot values only make it trickier, since clubs sometimes pass on a player they like simply to spread the money around and set up later picks.
For the Cardinals, the decision should come back to the same two places: starting pitching or third base. St.
Louis spent the offseason moving veterans for pitching prospects, and the logic is simple enough - you can never have too much starting pitching. If a starter fits the board, that’s the cleanest path.
If not, a third baseman with some punch would also check a major box.
Two names stand out as last-minute fits: Coastal Carolina right-hander Cameron Flukey and Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese.
Flukey brings the kind of frame teams dream on. He’s 6'6'', ranked No. 15 overall by MLB.com, and owns a 60-grade fastball that has touched the upper-90s.
This year, he appeared in seven games and posted a 4.13 ERA. In 2025, he logged a 3.19 ERA across 18 appearances.
At 21, he has the size, the velocity and the kind of ceiling that points toward a front-of-the-rotation future.
Reese offers a different kind of appeal, but one that fits just as neatly. He’s the No. 18 prospect in the class and just finished a big season at Mississippi State, where he played 62 games, hit .336, launched 24 homers and drove in 74 runs.
In 2025, he hit 21 home runs, knocked in 66 and batted .352. If the Cardinals want a third baseman with real pop, Reese makes a strong case.
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For the front office, the timing matters as much as the talent. The extension buys out multiple years of Wetherholts free agency and keeps him in St. Louis well beyond his initial contract window, a clear bet that his value will only keep climbing from here. With the Cardinals already seeing real production from him, the move gives the club cost certainty and a centerpiece to plan around, even if the full financial shape of the agreement is still the part everyone will be talking about. [Read more 🡒]