A 2012 MLB Mock Draft is a much more difficult, involved process than, say, the NFL mocks were earlier this year; there are hundreds upon hundreds of picks, some of which are assigned by arcane free-agency-related processes, none of these picks are famous, and none of them will be famous for another year or two on the outside, unless they're Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper. So I was interested to see Minor League Ball's Matt Garioch attempt an automated MLB Mock Draft, organized by randomly generating a number within a range of picks in which each prospect figures to be taken. The results for the St. Louis Cardinals: Pitchers Lance McCullers and Taylore Cherry.
Lance McCullers is a high-school righty with a big-leaguer father—Lance McCullers, Sr., briefly a shutdown reliever with the San Diego Padres—and a high-90s fastball that could threaten the triple-digits. The only thing keeping him from top-of-the-draft consideration is his height—he's listed at 6'2", which has scouts thinking "reliever" as a reflex. (Here's a nice interview with him from 2010.) Taylore Cherry is another high schooler, but he's enormous, standing 6'9" and weighing 260 pounds; he also lacks McCullers's velocity, at least right now.
Two high schoolers would be a big change of pace from the Cardinals' recent polish-heavy drafts, but their last big risk—Shelby Miller—is just about to pay dividends. For more 2012 MLB Draft news and updates, with an eye on the St. Louis Cardinals, "like" our MLB Draft storystream on Facebook.