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2012 MLB Draft: St. Louis Cardinals Select Big Right-Handed College Pitcher, Stereotype Michael Wacha

Ahead of the 2012 MLB Draft the St. Louis Cardinals lost Jeff Luhnow to the Houston Astros, but it looks like nothing has changed in their draft strategy: With the No. 19 pick they got as compensation for Albert Pujols they selected Michael Wacha, a big, right-handed starter with a good arm and solid college results. He's polished and close-to-major-leaghue-ready. He is, in short, every pitcher the Cardinals have ever wanted.

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He's six-six, he throws a fastball in the low-to-mid-90s, and he profiles as a No. 3 starter. It looks like Luhnow and Dave Duncan have successfully created a succession plan that involves the Cardinals behaving like they never left. At No. 19 this is a perfectly plausible pick—if his upside isn't as high as 2006 first-rounder Adam Ottavino, who also fit this bill, he doesn't seem nearly as risky. And if you're going to draft a low-upside college pitcher in the first round, he'd better not be especially risky.

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For more on the St. Louis Cardinals' 2012 MLB Draft, follow our storystream.

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