Comp Picks Alters 2026 Draft Strategy, Dramatically

[imyourhuckleberry]

Drafting a winning team for profit. The Cardinal Way. On sale at your local Barnes and Noble in the clearance isle. The true definition of unrealized gains, draft picks. Takes years to get them to the majors and productive (if they ever produce at all) then when they hit arbitration you sell them to a contender and start all over again. Sell the base on this perpetual "rebuilding" and pocket the cash. So smart only a billionaire would do it.

How much did they win the last decade with the midmarket FA “splurge” strategy?

Well... Cherry picking the time length doesn't look great. They did make the playoffs in 2022 and if not for the blow up of their closer Helsley, they in all almost assuredly would've have won game one. But this model did produce two World champions and numerous playoff games. But you go ahead with your story.

Cherry-picking? A decade isn’t cherry-picking. It’s an era

Mo was around longer than a decade. Dewitt has owned the team longer than a decade. A decade is only an increment of time. Funny how people will cherry pick an increment and infer a conclusion based on it. It's not honest though.

Most of the success prior to the last decade was centered around an all-world, once-in-a-generation player who was drafted and developed, a future HoF catcher who was also drafted and developed, a reclamation project FA pitcher who didn't even pitch for them the first year, another pitcher acquired as a minor leaguer, a CF acquired in his prime by having the minor league depth to be able to trade and a multi time all-star 3B who was also acquired because they had the minor league pieces needed to acquire him.

So, basically, they built a consistent winner by drafting and developing elite talent, acquiring minor league talent to develop and use in trades, trading for elite talent with accumulated minor league depth and some free agents to fill in the missing pieces. Does that sound like a familiar plan?

You might have missed the part where they had to pay that talent. And still, right or wrong, they let Pujols (your once in a generation talent) walk. Over pocket change. All those others had to be paid. They didn't gut the team when they lost. Imagine that, you proved my point for me. Thank you.

Hardly.

They locked Pujols up early and thru his best years at a very team friendly price. Turns out, it was the right decision to let him leave. Accidentally correct, but correct nonetheless.

The initial Carpenter signing was for pennies and he was extended at another team friendly price.

They had years of cost control over Wainwright and Molina who were also both signed to team friendly deals when the time came.

Edmonds and Rolen had cost certainty as they were already under contract when they traded away minor league depth to acquire them.

Maybe you're forgetting the shape the team was in in the late 90s. Other than the 1996 blip, they were exceedingly mediocre. Fortunately, they had a strong few years of draft and development feeding the major league roster (aka cardinal devil magic) and even more minor league depth which allowed them to to trade for all-stars. The cost certainty of the ML roster allowed them to then sign some key free agents. This is the very same model they're working toward now. Only they're starting from a much deeper hole than they were in at the turn the century.

[CCard]

Drafting a winning team for profit. The Cardinal Way. On sale at your local Barnes and Noble in the clearance isle. The true definition of unrealized gains, draft picks. Takes years to get them to the majors and productive (if they ever produce at all) then when they hit arbitration you sell them to a contender and start all over again. Sell the base on this perpetual "rebuilding" and pocket the cash. So smart only a billionaire would do it.

How much did they win the last decade with the midmarket FA “splurge” strategy?

Well... Cherry picking the time length doesn't look great. They did make the playoffs in 2022 and if not for the blow up of their closer Helsley, they in all almost assuredly would've have won game one. But this model did produce two World champions and numerous playoff games. But you go ahead with your story.

Cherry-picking? A decade isn’t cherry-picking. It’s an era

Mo was around longer than a decade. Dewitt has owned the team longer than a decade. A decade is only an increment of time. Funny how people will cherry pick an increment and infer a conclusion based on it. It's not honest though.

Most of the success prior to the last decade was centered around an all-world, once-in-a-generation player who was drafted and developed, a future HoF catcher who was also drafted and developed, a reclamation project FA pitcher who didn't even pitch for them the first year, another pitcher acquired as a minor leaguer, a CF acquired in his prime by having the minor league depth to be able to trade and a multi time all-star 3B who was also acquired because they had the minor league pieces needed to acquire him.

So, basically, they built a consistent winner by drafting and developing elite talent, acquiring minor league talent to develop and use in trades, trading for elite talent with accumulated minor league depth and some free agents to fill in the missing pieces. Does that sound like a familiar plan?

You might have missed the part where they had to pay that talent. And still, right or wrong, they let Pujols (your once in a generation talent) walk. Over pocket change. All those others had to be paid. They didn't gut the team when they lost. Imagine that, you proved my point for me. Thank you.

Hardly.

They locked Pujols up early and thru his best years at a very team friendly price. Turns out, it was the right decision to let him leave. Accidentally correct, but correct nonetheless.

The initial Carpenter signing was for pennies and he was extended at another team friendly price.

They had years of cost control over Wainwright and Molina who were also both signed to team friendly deals when the time came.

Edmonds and Rolen had cost certainty as they were already under contract when they traded away minor league depth to acquire them.

Maybe you're forgetting the shape the team was in in the late 90s. Other than the 1996 blip, they were exceedingly mediocre. Fortunately, they had a strong few years of draft and development feeding the major league roster (aka cardinal devil magic) and even more minor league depth which allowed them to to trade for all-stars. The cost certainty of the ML roster allowed them to then sign some key free agents. This is the very same model they're working toward now. Only they're starting from a much deeper hole than they were in at the turn the century.

Their resurgence came with a couple of other things. A hall of fame manager and pitching coach (they spent money on). Also Acquiring Edmonds, Rolen, Reggie Sanders helped also. That 3 high priced talent pieces alone. Jeff Suppan, Carpenter and Waino made a pretty good combo. But they did cost money. Pujols team friendly? The largest contract at the time I believe. Then Matt Holliday had a pretty big contract. It's not going to change. You have to spend to win. Sure homegrown talent helps, no doubt, but money wins. Right now there is now justification for gutting the payroll other than putting bucks in the pocket of a billionaire. And we have to suffer through it because of that.

[CCard]

Mo was around longer than a decade. Dewitt has owned the team longer than a decade. A decade is only an increment of time. Funny how people will cherry pick an increment and infer a conclusion based on it. It's not honest though.

Yes, that is why I think DeWitt has been a great owner overall and that Mo is not as bad as some people around here act like he is. Do you feel the same way? What are you saying, though? Just because it has ONLY been a decade since they really did anything that they should stick with running things how they were? The game passes people by. It passed Walt Jocketty and TLR by. You have to move on.

And look at how things were ran when they did win a lot. They did it with a base of homegrown players (mainly Pujols, let's be honest) that made it possible to bring in free agents and make trades for some guys with higher salaries. Which is exactly what they are trying to get back to. But they are not a team, and have never been a team, that can just throw money at a problem and hope it goes away. They needed to restart and that is what they are doing. And most of the successful teams currently have rebuilt over the years.

There's no excuse you can make for the payroll being gutted like this. None.

That is correct.
STL could easily rebuild AND keep payroll well above $100M.

Well above $150 million at least. They should be nearer to $200 million.

[CCard]

Mo was around longer than a decade. Dewitt has owned the team longer than a decade. A decade is only an increment of time. Funny how people will cherry pick an increment and infer a conclusion based on it. It's not honest though.

Yes, that is why I think DeWitt has been a great owner overall and that Mo is not as bad as some people around here act like he is. Do you feel the same way? What are you saying, though? Just because it has ONLY been a decade since they really did anything that they should stick with running things how they were? The game passes people by. It passed Walt Jocketty and TLR by. You have to move on.

And look at how things were ran when they did win a lot. They did it with a base of homegrown players (mainly Pujols, let's be honest) that made it possible to bring in free agents and make trades for some guys with higher salaries. Which is exactly what they are trying to get back to. But they are not a team, and have never been a team, that can just throw money at a problem and hope it goes away. They needed to restart and that is what they are doing. And most of the successful teams currently have rebuilt over the years.

There's no excuse you can make for the payroll being gutted like this. None.

which of the players traded were going to help win another championship?

Your best pitcher, Gray and your best offensive threat, Contreras. Now Donovan can be added to the pile. Imagine putting a few elite players with these and you can see the playoffs within reach.

[BleedingBleu]

Drafting a winning team for profit. The Cardinal Way. On sale at your local Barnes and Noble in the clearance isle. The true definition of unrealized gains, draft picks. Takes years to get them to the majors and productive (if they ever produce at all) then when they hit arbitration you sell them to a contender and start all over again. Sell the base on this perpetual "rebuilding" and pocket the cash. So smart only a billionaire would do it.

How much did they win the last decade with the midmarket FA “splurge” strategy?

Well... Cherry picking the time length doesn't look great. They did make the playoffs in 2022 and if not for the blow up of their closer Helsley, they in all almost assuredly would've have won game one. But this model did produce two World champions and numerous playoff games. But you go ahead with your story.

Cherry-picking? A decade isn’t cherry-picking. It’s an era

Mo was around longer than a decade. Dewitt has owned the team longer than a decade. A decade is only an increment of time. Funny how people will cherry pick an increment and infer a conclusion based on it. It's not honest though.

Most of the success prior to the last decade was centered around an all-world, once-in-a-generation player who was drafted and developed, a future HoF catcher who was also drafted and developed, a reclamation project FA pitcher who didn't even pitch for them the first year, another pitcher acquired as a minor leaguer, a CF acquired in his prime by having the minor league depth to be able to trade and a multi time all-star 3B who was also acquired because they had the minor league pieces needed to acquire him.

So, basically, they built a consistent winner by drafting and developing elite talent, acquiring minor league talent to develop and use in trades, trading for elite talent with accumulated minor league depth and some free agents to fill in the missing pieces. Does that sound like a familiar plan?

You might have missed the part where they had to pay that talent. And still, right or wrong, they let Pujols (your once in a generation talent) walk. Over pocket change. All those others had to be paid. They didn't gut the team when they lost. Imagine that, you proved my point for me. Thank you.

Hardly.

They locked Pujols up early and thru his best years at a very team friendly price. Turns out, it was the right decision to let him leave. Accidentally correct, but correct nonetheless.

The initial Carpenter signing was for pennies and he was extended at another team friendly price.

They had years of cost control over Wainwright and Molina who were also both signed to team friendly deals when the time came.

Edmonds and Rolen had cost certainty as they were already under contract when they traded away minor league depth to acquire them.

Maybe you're forgetting the shape the team was in in the late 90s. Other than the 1996 blip, they were exceedingly mediocre. Fortunately, they had a strong few years of draft and development feeding the major league roster (aka cardinal devil magic) and even more minor league depth which allowed them to to trade for all-stars. The cost certainty of the ML roster allowed them to then sign some key free agents. This is the very same model they're working toward now. Only they're starting from a much deeper hole than they were in at the turn the century.

Their resurgence came with a couple of other things. A hall of fame manager and pitching coach (they spent money on). Also Acquiring Edmonds, Rolen, Reggie Sanders helped also. That 3 high priced talent pieces alone. Jeff Suppan, Carpenter and Waino made a pretty good combo. But they did cost money. Pujols team friendly? The largest contract at the time I believe. Then Matt Holliday had a pretty big contract. It's not going to change. You have to spend to win. Sure homegrown talent helps, no doubt, but money wins. Right now there is now justification for gutting the payroll other than putting bucks in the pocket of a billionaire. And we have to suffer through it because of that.

Cool, now contrast that to the last decade w/Mo.

Jockety brought in LaRussa + Duncan. McGwire, Edmonds, Rolen, Carpenter, Suppan, Clark, Wainwright, Molina.

Mo brought in Matheny + Maddux, later Marmol + ?, Fowler, Goldschmidt, Arenado… Mikolas?

[Adam2]

The risks though with HS.

Jordan Walker
Jack Flaherty

Whether you like Flaherty or not, he is an overwhelming success. He's had a very nice career and made millions upon millions.

[CCard]

Drafting a winning team for profit. The Cardinal Way. On sale at your local Barnes and Noble in the clearance isle. The true definition of unrealized gains, draft picks. Takes years to get them to the majors and productive (if they ever produce at all) then when they hit arbitration you sell them to a contender and start all over again. Sell the base on this perpetual "rebuilding" and pocket the cash. So smart only a billionaire would do it.

How much did they win the last decade with the midmarket FA “splurge” strategy?

Well... Cherry picking the time length doesn't look great. They did make the playoffs in 2022 and if not for the blow up of their closer Helsley, they in all almost assuredly would've have won game one. But this model did produce two World champions and numerous playoff games. But you go ahead with your story.

Cherry-picking? A decade isn’t cherry-picking. It’s an era

Mo was around longer than a decade. Dewitt has owned the team longer than a decade. A decade is only an increment of time. Funny how people will cherry pick an increment and infer a conclusion based on it. It's not honest though.

Most of the success prior to the last decade was centered around an all-world, once-in-a-generation player who was drafted and developed, a future HoF catcher who was also drafted and developed, a reclamation project FA pitcher who didn't even pitch for them the first year, another pitcher acquired as a minor leaguer, a CF acquired in his prime by having the minor league depth to be able to trade and a multi time all-star 3B who was also acquired because they had the minor league pieces needed to acquire him.

So, basically, they built a consistent winner by drafting and developing elite talent, acquiring minor league talent to develop and use in trades, trading for elite talent with accumulated minor league depth and some free agents to fill in the missing pieces. Does that sound like a familiar plan?

You might have missed the part where they had to pay that talent. And still, right or wrong, they let Pujols (your once in a generation talent) walk. Over pocket change. All those others had to be paid. They didn't gut the team when they lost. Imagine that, you proved my point for me. Thank you.

Hardly.

They locked Pujols up early and thru his best years at a very team friendly price. Turns out, it was the right decision to let him leave. Accidentally correct, but correct nonetheless.

The initial Carpenter signing was for pennies and he was extended at another team friendly price.

They had years of cost control over Wainwright and Molina who were also both signed to team friendly deals when the time came.

Edmonds and Rolen had cost certainty as they were already under contract when they traded away minor league depth to acquire them.

Maybe you're forgetting the shape the team was in in the late 90s. Other than the 1996 blip, they were exceedingly mediocre. Fortunately, they had a strong few years of draft and development feeding the major league roster (aka cardinal devil magic) and even more minor league depth which allowed them to to trade for all-stars. The cost certainty of the ML roster allowed them to then sign some key free agents. This is the very same model they're working toward now. Only they're starting from a much deeper hole than they were in at the turn the century.

Their resurgence came with a couple of other things. A hall of fame manager and pitching coach (they spent money on). Also Acquiring Edmonds, Rolen, Reggie Sanders helped also. That 3 high priced talent pieces alone. Jeff Suppan, Carpenter and Waino made a pretty good combo. But they did cost money. Pujols team friendly? The largest contract at the time I believe. Then Matt Holliday had a pretty big contract. It's not going to change. You have to spend to win. Sure homegrown talent helps, no doubt, but money wins. Right now there is now justification for gutting the payroll other than putting bucks in the pocket of a billionaire. And we have to suffer through it because of that.

Cool, now contrast that to the last decade w/Mo.

Jockety brought in LaRussa + Duncan. McGwire, Edmonds, Rolen, Carpenter, Suppan, Clark, Wainwright, Molina.

Mo brought in Matheny + Maddux, later Marmol + ?, Fowler, Goldschmidt, Arenado… Mikolas?

I was okay with Matheny (he actually had a winning record I believe). Marmol is probably okayish. Fowler at the time seemed like a good idea for an offensively starved team. Goldschimdt and Arenado were no brainers until they fell off a cliff inexplicably, age I guess. Mikolas was a bust and even though he showed good early on, he turned into a whipping boy on the mound. I never was a fan of Maddux as pitching coach but then he won in Texas. Depends on your pitchers I guess. Jocketty was a great GM but he didn't do anything in Cincy. So, there has to be ability plus luck.

[woofy25]

The risks though with HS.

Jordan Walker
Jack Flaherty

Flaherty is going to have 10 years of service time at 32. Fewer than 10% make it to 10 years. He has top 5 Cy Young season and has a 3.80 career ERA (3.57 w/ STL) with a SO9 of 10. Probably not the best example.

Careful on Walker, they'll be 50 games into the season before he turns 24.

[rockondlouie]

Bloom just mentioned in his press conference how the Donovan deal would not have happened without the inclusion of the added draft picks.
They were important part of the trade.

I don't know if the average Cardinals fan realizes how important this was, D. Gould said on 101.1 that it was Bloom's strong contacts w/TB that helped make it happen.

That added money is HUGE!

No, it really isn't.
Look at the results of the 2020 MLB draft, nearly 6 years ago, as an example.
Of the top 100 picks, exactly 3 have appeared in an MLB all-star game.
Crochet (#11)
Crow-Armstrong (#19)
Westburg (#30)
At least 1/3 of those 100 picks have never made it to MLB or have already arrived and been released.
Another 1/3 or more will never have productive MLB careers.
That's simply the reality of how MLB drafts work.
Let's look at some names STL fans should be familiar with.
Walker (#21) and currently struggling to stay in MLB.
Winn (#54) is very good MLB defensive SS.
Hence (#63) complete waste of a pick so far.
Burleson (#70) starting 1b with slightly below average production for the position but remaining upside.
Prater (#93) out of organized baseball
Roby (#86) never reached MLB, averaged 13 appearances per minor league season, currently out with TJ surgery until sometime in2027.
Jordan (#89) reached AAA in 2025.
7 of the top 89 picks were selected or later acquired by STL.
Exactly 2 of those 7 (Winn, Burleson) look like MLB starting players - and one of those 2 was a complete surprise to the Cardinals.
3 are huge question marks 5+ years later and the odds of success as a solid starting MLB player at this point are strongly against them.
2 are either out of baseball or derailed by multiple injuries.
For the Cardinals, that is a 29% success rate at finding a solid MLB starting player and a 0% success rate at finding a star player, from among the first 89 picks - and the 2020 draft was considered an unusually strong one for them.
And an added couple of million dollars would not have changed that one bit.
FACT is, the draft is, at best, a complete crapshoot every year outside of the top dozen or so picks.

Ha!

Better to keep silent than to post and show you missed the boat here melvin.

Using FAILED picks by MO & his GANG as your proof is super weak.

While the draft was certainly a cr ap shoot for Mo and his crowd, smart drafting is exactly the way this team will get back to being playoff relevant and exactly why Bloom (and his hires) was/were brought on board.

There's a new Sheriff in town mel, and his name is C. Bloom.......not Mo.

(And having the 2nd most bonus pool money will allow them to take some big shots that could payoff big time)

[Melville]

Bloom just mentioned in his press conference how the Donovan deal would not have happened without the inclusion of the added draft picks.
They were important part of the trade.

I don't know if the average Cardinals fan realizes how important this was, D. Gould said on 101.1 that it was Bloom's strong contacts w/TB that helped make it happen.

That added money is HUGE!

No, it really isn't.
Look at the results of the 2020 MLB draft, nearly 6 years ago, as an example.
Of the top 100 picks, exactly 3 have appeared in an MLB all-star game.
Crochet (#11)
Crow-Armstrong (#19)
Westburg (#30)
At least 1/3 of those 100 picks have never made it to MLB or have already arrived and been released.
Another 1/3 or more will never have productive MLB careers.
That's simply the reality of how MLB drafts work.
Let's look at some names STL fans should be familiar with.
Walker (#21) and currently struggling to stay in MLB.
Winn (#54) is very good MLB defensive SS.
Hence (#63) complete waste of a pick so far.
Burleson (#70) starting 1b with slightly below average production for the position but remaining upside.
Prater (#93) out of organized baseball
Roby (#86) never reached MLB, averaged 13 appearances per minor league season, currently out with TJ surgery until sometime in2027.
Jordan (#89) reached AAA in 2025.
7 of the top 89 picks were selected or later acquired by STL.
Exactly 2 of those 7 (Winn, Burleson) look like MLB starting players - and one of those 2 was a complete surprise to the Cardinals.
3 are huge question marks 5+ years later and the odds of success as a solid starting MLB player at this point are strongly against them.
2 are either out of baseball or derailed by multiple injuries.
For the Cardinals, that is a 29% success rate at finding a solid MLB starting player and a 0% success rate at finding a star player, from among the first 89 picks - and the 2020 draft was considered an unusually strong one for them.
And an added couple of million dollars would not have changed that one bit.
FACT is, the draft is, at best, a complete crapshoot every year outside of the top dozen or so picks.

Ha!

Better to keep silent than to post and show you missed the boat here melvin.

Using FAILED picks by MO & his GANG as your proof is super weak.

While the draft was certainly a cr ap shoot for Mo and his crowd, smart drafting is exactly the way this team will get back to being playoff relevant and exactly why Bloom (and his hires) was/were brought on board.

There's a new Sheriff in town mel, and his name is C. Bloom.......not Mo.

(And having the 2nd most bonus pool money will allow them to take some big shots that could payoff big time)

Two of those currently failed picks from 2020 were made by other organizations - not Mo.
One by Bloom's former organization.
Fact is, unless a team has an extreme top level pick (top 10) the odds of landing a "star" are long.
Perfect example above - as all my examples are.
7 players picked in the top 89 in 2000 ended up in the STL organization.
2 solid players.
Other failed so far.
Zero stars.
That is the reality of how the draft works.
Fans need to understand that.

[butsir01]

Bloom just mentioned in his press conference how the Donovan deal would not have happened without the inclusion of the added draft picks.
They were important part of the trade.

I don't know if the average Cardinals fan realizes how important this was, D. Gould said on 101.1 that it was Bloom's strong contacts w/TB that helped make it happen.

That added money is HUGE!

No, it really isn't.
Look at the results of the 2020 MLB draft, nearly 6 years ago, as an example.
Of the top 100 picks, exactly 3 have appeared in an MLB all-star game.
Crochet (#11)
Crow-Armstrong (#19)
Westburg (#30)
At least 1/3 of those 100 picks have never made it to MLB or have already arrived and been released.
Another 1/3 or more will never have productive MLB careers.
That's simply the reality of how MLB drafts work.
Let's look at some names STL fans should be familiar with.
Walker (#21) and currently struggling to stay in MLB.
Winn (#54) is very good MLB defensive SS.
Hence (#63) complete waste of a pick so far.
Burleson (#70) starting 1b with slightly below average production for the position but remaining upside.
Prater (#93) out of organized baseball
Roby (#86) never reached MLB, averaged 13 appearances per minor league season, currently out with TJ surgery until sometime in2027.
Jordan (#89) reached AAA in 2025.
7 of the top 89 picks were selected or later acquired by STL.
Exactly 2 of those 7 (Winn, Burleson) look like MLB starting players - and one of those 2 was a complete surprise to the Cardinals.
3 are huge question marks 5+ years later and the odds of success as a solid starting MLB player at this point are strongly against them.
2 are either out of baseball or derailed by multiple injuries.
For the Cardinals, that is a 29% success rate at finding a solid MLB starting player and a 0% success rate at finding a star player, from among the first 89 picks - and the 2020 draft was considered an unusually strong one for them.
And an added couple of million dollars would not have changed that one bit.
FACT is, the draft is, at best, a complete crapshoot every year outside of the top dozen or so picks.

Facts do not lie, they just are. Thanks, Mel.

[Mulder42]

I would think that an new/improved player development program/infrastructure would help the younger prospects mature as better players than what we saw coming out of the 2020 draft. You can draft good young players all day long, but you still have to develop them, and that apparently wasn't going on in the Cardinals organization during the time of this 2020 draft.
Mo dropped the ball on that. Bloom is trying to pick it up and run it back.

[rockondlouie]

Bloom just mentioned in his press conference how the Donovan deal would not have happened without the inclusion of the added draft picks.
They were important part of the trade.

I don't know if the average Cardinals fan realizes how important this was, D. Gould said on 101.1 that it was Bloom's strong contacts w/TB that helped make it happen.

That added money is HUGE!

No, it really isn't.
Look at the results of the 2020 MLB draft, nearly 6 years ago, as an example.
Of the top 100 picks, exactly 3 have appeared in an MLB all-star game.
Crochet (#11)
Crow-Armstrong (#19)
Westburg (#30)
At least 1/3 of those 100 picks have never made it to MLB or have already arrived and been released.
Another 1/3 or more will never have productive MLB careers.
That's simply the reality of how MLB drafts work.
Let's look at some names STL fans should be familiar with.
Walker (#21) and currently struggling to stay in MLB.
Winn (#54) is very good MLB defensive SS.
Hence (#63) complete waste of a pick so far.
Burleson (#70) starting 1b with slightly below average production for the position but remaining upside.
Prater (#93) out of organized baseball
Roby (#86) never reached MLB, averaged 13 appearances per minor league season, currently out with TJ surgery until sometime in2027.
Jordan (#89) reached AAA in 2025.
7 of the top 89 picks were selected or later acquired by STL.
Exactly 2 of those 7 (Winn, Burleson) look like MLB starting players - and one of those 2 was a complete surprise to the Cardinals.
3 are huge question marks 5+ years later and the odds of success as a solid starting MLB player at this point are strongly against them.
2 are either out of baseball or derailed by multiple injuries.
For the Cardinals, that is a 29% success rate at finding a solid MLB starting player and a 0% success rate at finding a star player, from among the first 89 picks - and the 2020 draft was considered an unusually strong one for them.
And an added couple of million dollars would not have changed that one bit.
FACT is, the draft is, at best, a complete crapshoot every year outside of the top dozen or so picks.

Ha!

Better to keep silent than to post and show you missed the boat here melvin.

Using FAILED picks by MO & his GANG as your proof is super weak.

While the draft was certainly a cr ap shoot for Mo and his crowd, smart drafting is exactly the way this team will get back to being playoff relevant and exactly why Bloom (and his hires) was/were brought on board.

There's a new Sheriff in town mel, and his name is C. Bloom.......not Mo.

(And having the 2nd most bonus pool money will allow them to take some big shots that could payoff big time)

Two of those currently failed picks from 2020 were made by other organizations - not Mo.
One by Bloom's former organization.
Fact is, unless a team has an extreme top level pick (top 10) the odds of landing a "star" are long.
Perfect example above - as all my examples are.
7 players picked in the top 89 in 2000 ended up in the STL organization.
2 solid players.
Other failed so far.
Zero stars.
That is the reality of how the draft works.
Fans need to understand that.

Wow, a whole two in your example....ok

The odds are indeed long mel which is why it's BETTER to have as many picks as you can and as much bonus money as you can to increase those odds.

Now if you want to tell me BDWJr is going to open his wallet and increase payroll to $250+M, then I'm all in on buying established major league stars over trying to find them via the draft!

But of course, that isn't happening and in fact he's sliced that payroll to under $100M.

That's why smart drafting is exactly the way this team will get back to being playoff relevant and exactly why Bloom (and his hires) was/were brought on board.

(BTW just for fun you said, "..unless a team has an extreme top level pick (top 10) the odds of landing a "star" are long... what round was Albert Pujols drafted in? )

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Nearly two decades the Cards didn't do it and they were one of the most successful teams in MLB. So no, they don't have to do it and most teams don't tank. Some though are perpetual tankers.

Unless you are a team in NY or LA, you have rebuilt. Even the Mets and Dodgers have rebuilt. So, I guess maybe I can narrow it down to the Yankees are the only successful team I can think of that hasn't had a rebuild of some sort.

You're talking about things that happened 20-30 years ago. Besides, the Cardinals rebuilt when DeWitt bought the team and how did that work out for them? I'd say pretty good. For a good two decades they were a model of a team who was successful due to drafting and developing. For the last decade they have totally failed doing that. So they can either continue to fail as they have done the last decade or they can decide to rebuild and get it right for hopefully another two decades.

[CCard]

Nearly two decades the Cards didn't do it and they were one of the most successful teams in MLB. So no, they don't have to do it and most teams don't tank. Some though are perpetual tankers.

Unless you are a team in NY or LA, you have rebuilt. Even the Mets and Dodgers have rebuilt. So, I guess maybe I can narrow it down to the Yankees are the only successful team I can think of that hasn't had a rebuild of some sort.

You're talking about things that happened 20-30 years ago. Besides, the Cardinals rebuilt when DeWitt bought the team and how did that work out for them? I'd say pretty good. For a good two decades they were a model of a team who was successful due to drafting and developing. For the last decade they have totally failed doing that. So they can either continue to fail as they have done the last decade or they can decide to rebuild and get it right for hopefully another two decades.

There's a big difference between what the Cards are doing and a "Rebuild". Gutting a teams payroll and getting rid of all it's top talent isn't a rebuild it's tanking. DeWitt didn't do that when he took over the team.

[Carp4Cy]

The risks though with HS.

Jordan Walker
Jack Flaherty

Whether you like Flaherty or not, he is an overwhelming success. He's had a very nice career and made millions upon millions.

I actually do like Jack. I just think that strategywise for a first round pick, Lance Lynn out of college had a greater impact on club success than Jack did.