The first day's worth of 2012 MLB Draft results are out, and the St. Louis Cardinals made a perfectly predictable pick with the No. 19 supplemental pick they got for losing Albert Pujols in free agency: A polished college pitcher who's tall, right-handed, and throws a fastball he's got great command of in the low-to-mid 90s. That's Michael Wacha, of Texas A&M, the basically Adam Wainwright-shaped pitcher the Cardinals drafted Monday night to start their five-pick first round.
He's got a good fastball, a solid change-up, and a curveball that Future Redbirds suggests will have to be scrapped entirely. His strikeout rates aren't quite what you'd want to see from a first-round starter, but he's got great command and he could be ready soon to reach his ceiling, which is somewhere in the No. 3 starter range.
Not the most exciting pick the Cardinals could have made, but then the Cardinals don't make very many of those. He could be valuable shortly, though, and consistently—and that's been the Cardinals' M.O. for a while now.
More St. Louis Cardinals Draft 2012 coverage from SB Nation St. Louis:
- The Cardinals internet exploded when second first-rounder James Ramsey was compared to Skip Schumaker.
- Here's an early scouting report on Michael Wacha.
- The big win, according to pre-draft reports, was No. 36 pick Stephen Piscotty, a smooth-hitting third baseman.