After selecting polished college hitter Kolten Wong in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals went after several speedy high schoolers in the middle rounds of the draft Tuesday. Charlie Tilson, a left-handed center fielder who earned Jacoby Ellsbury comparisons in the mothership article, was their second-rounder, going 79th overall. In the third round they selected C.J. McElroy, Cecil Cooper’s nephew, another high school burner who’s equally renowned as a wide receiver recruit. Their fourth-round pick was high school infielder Kenny Peoples-Walls, a California shortstop with good speed and contact skills who might end up at second base.
Tilson, whose wood-bat power is a subject of some dispute, might require late-first-round money to sign, something the Cardinals should be able to do given their paucity of supplemental picks so far.
For analysis on the Cardinals’ first two days of drafting, keep following our MLB Draft storystream; for more analysis, check out Future Redbirds and Viva El Birdos.