SB Nation St. Louis - 2012 MLB Draft: St. Louis Cardinals Complete Draft Class Signings

Michael Wacha, The St. Louis Cardinals' 2012 First-Rounder, Is Striking Out Everybody

2012-08-20T13:01:03Z

When he was drafted, Michael Wacha had thrown so many innings in college that it seemed the St. Louis Cardinals would just barely break the seal on the 21-year-old right-hander. They have used the kid gloves, as it's turned out, using him as a pre-scheduled middle reliever between the Gulf Coast League, the Florida State League, and the Texas League, but he's made a little more news than I thought he would. Here's why: He won't stop striking people out.

Overall, Wacha's allowed five hits and one earned run (a GCL homer, somehow) in 16 innings. He's struck out 29, and he's walked two. Between high-A and AA he's struck out two batters an inning.

In other words: Michael Wacha is doing just fine, thanks. At this rate he's a sure thing to begin 2013 in the AA rotation, which puts him in position to make his Major League debut as soon as that year. The Cardinals may have cut bait on Tyler Greene and Zack Cox this season, but at least one of their first-rounders is having a pretty good year.

Michael Wacha: Know Your (Springfield) Cardinals Call-Up

2012-08-18T15:17:31Z

Here's one facet of the St. Louis Cardinals' successful farm system renovation that didn't vanish with Jeff Luhnow's departure to the Houston Astros: The aggressive promotion of top prospects. Michael Wacha, the Cardinals' first pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, has been on a very limited professional workload thanks to the 113 innings he logged with Texas A&M before being drafted; the baseball-20-year-old (he's turned 21) threw five innings in the Gulf Coast League before getting four carefully watched relief outings with the high-A Palm Beach Cardinals. 16 strikeouts, eight innings, and two baserunners later—yeah—he's on his way to finish the year with AA Springfield.

Wacha is a Polished Right-Hander With A Good Fastball And A Middling Breaking Ball, in case you didn't already assume that from the fact that the Cardinals drafted him. The Cardinals got him at No. 19 overall only because he'd fallen a bit from his predraft peak, but managed to sign him at slot value anyway.

And now it's clear that they plan on starting his first full season in professional baseball in the high minors, which is a very aggressive move. I like it, if not quite as much as I like his line in Palm Beach.

2012 MLB Draft Signings: Cardinals Close To Deal With RHP Kurt Heyer, According To Report

2012-07-10T14:10:32Z

The St. Louis Cardinals are close to signing the last remaining prospect in their 2012 MLB Draft class, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting the team has a deal in place with sixth-round pick and right-handed pitcher Kurt Heyer. The deadline for signing prospects is July 13, and Goold noted that St. Louis will not confirm the contract until Thursday after Heyer passes his physical. The terms of the deal are not known, but if the team stays close to the league-recommended slot value they will stay within their allotted draft pool cap. A harsh tax kicks in for any dollar amount the team goes over the draft pool cap, and if they exceed the cap by five percent they lose a draft pick next season, so it is expected that the deal with Heyer will keep the team under the spending cap.

Some news with your coffee: #Cardinals reach deal with 6th-rnd Heyer bit.ly/MfDsYk That completes draft signings for club #stlcards
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) July 10, 2012

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MLB Draft 2012: St. Louis Cardinals Picks Carson Kelly And Steve Bean Make Pro Debuts

2012-06-20T14:54:14Z

The St. Louis Cardinals are beginning to sign their 2012 MLB Draft picks, and the fastest movers are already playing minor league baseball. Short-season leagues opened Tuesday night, and two highly touted high schoolers, third baseman Carson Kelly (who signed for a million dollars over his recommended slot) and first-round catcher Steve Bean, both made their pro debuts in the lineup for the Appalachian League's Johnson City Cardinals.

Kelly—who some teams saw as a future pitcher—started at third and went 0-3 with a walk, while Bean went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI starting at catcher. 2011 draft picks C.J. McElroy (1-4) and Missouri native Lance Jeffries (1-1, 3 BB) also made their 2012 debuts.

Another first-rounder, Patrick Wisdom, has already made his debut for the short-season Batavia Muckdogs, where he's 0-6 with two walks. The rest of the Cardinals' first-round haul—starter Michael Wacha, right fielder James Ramsey, and newly signed third baseman Stephen Piscotty—are all seen as advanced college talents, and could make their debuts in full-season ball as high as the Florida State League's Palm Beach Cardinals.

For more updates on the St. Louis Cardinals' 2012 MLB Draft picks, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. Oh, and Future Redbirds.

Stephen Piscotty Contract: Cardinals Sign No. 36 Pick In 2012 MLB Draft To $1.4 Million Bonus

2012-06-16T16:56:50Z

The St. Louis Cardinals signed supplementary first-round pick Stephen Piscotty to a contract on Saturday morning, according to the team's official twitter account. St. Louis selected Piscotty with the No. 36 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft and he will reportedly receive a $1.4 million bonus, which is exactly in-line with MLB's recommended slot value.

Cardinals draft pick Stephen Piscotty signs his 1st contract. Welcome to #CardinalsNation! twitter.com/Cardinals/stat…
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 16, 2012

Cardinals Sign RHP Michael Wacha, No. 19 Pick In 2012 MLB Draft St. Louis Cardinals Go Over MLB Draft Slot Again For Stupendously Named Max Foody

Piscotty hit .329/.415/.467 for Stanford in 2012 and he will start his career with the team's minor-league affiliate at the Quad Cities as the starting third baseman, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Piscotty will go to Quad Cities, where he will be the starter at 3B. #stlminors #STLcards #Cardinals
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) June 16, 2012

2012 MLB Draft: Cardinals Close To Deal With Stephen Piscotty, According To Report

2012-06-16T00:41:00Z

The St. Louis Cardinals and outfielder Stephen Piscotty are close to an agreement, according to B.J. Rains. The deal is reportedly for about $1.43 million.

Hearing Stephen Piscotty, OF from Stanford who the Cardinals took in the supplemental first round, will be here tomorrow for a physical.
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) June 15, 2012

Also hearing that a deal for Piscotty, which is contingent on the physical, will be right around the suggested $1.43 million for his spot.
— B.J. Rains (@BJRains) June 15, 2012

Piscotty hit .329/.415/.467 for Stanford in 2012.

St. Louis Cardinals Go Over MLB Draft Slot Again For Stupendously Named Max Foody

2012-06-15T14:00:45Z

The St. Louis Cardinals signed two of their three high-upside 2012 MLB Draft picks Thursday—Carson Kelly, their second-rounder, went for $1 million over slot to give the Cardinals a high-upside complement to polished picks like Michael Wacha and James Ramsey, but they also went $300,000 over slot on a less-reported signing: Max Foody, a 12th-round pick out of a Florida high school. Foody's a big left-handed pitcher with a low-90s fastball who'd have gone in the first few rounds had he not already suffered through shoulder injuries.

He's the least essential of the Cardinals' trio of high-upside picks, behind Kelly and the still-unsigned Trey Williams, but he's another high-upside arm in a farm system filled with them.

Here's a weird note: News of his signing officially broke Thursday, but word of it first leaked out on June 8—in a Future Redbirds comment thread, in which someone who was apparently his high school teammate says he'd already agreed to a $400,000 bonus. He also adds this bonus fact: He's missing half his index finger, which imparts a particularly odd break to his pitches. "Three-and-a-half-Finger" Foody is going to be a great nickname.

Carson Kelly Contract: St. Louis Cardinals, Draft Pick Agree To $1.6 Million Deal

2012-06-15T12:00:33Z

The St. Louis Cardinals have come to terms on a deal with second rounder Carson Kelly, according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. After a series of economical first-rounders it's not too surprising that the deal is for well in excess of slot value. Very much so.

#Cardinals agree w/2nd-rder Carson Kelly on $1.6 mil. Highest over value ($574,300) so far in #mlbdraft. Oregon HS 3B/RHP is 2-way talent.
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) June 14, 2012

Kelly, the No. 86 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, will forgo a scholarship to the University of Oregon. He is scheduled to take a physical in St. Louis on Friday morning.