The St. Louis Cardinals went college-heavy on Day 1 of the 2012 MLB Draft. Results-first guys dominate their first round, with Michael Wacha going No. 19 overall and James Ramsey, an undersized batting-champ type, going No. 23. Later on they selected Stephen Piscotty, a polished bat-first third baseman reminiscent of Zack Cox. It was a perfectly conventional draft for the Cardinals, who in addition to Cox selected Kolten Wong, another top college hitter with average tools, with their first pick in the 2011 draft.
Despite Jeff Luhnow's exit, the Cardinals' draft Monday was basically recognizable as a Cardinals draft. The cheap cogs on last year's World Series team seem like the paragons of their system—this is a draft designed to produce more Jon Jay types, more Allen Craig types, more Fernando Salas types. In 2012 Matt Carpenter and Lance Lynn have continued to prove the dividends that strategy can pay, but it is, admittedly, a little boring in the short term. Here's their complete draft day so far, with links to additional coverage:
No. 19 Michael Wacha is a tall, Adam Wainwright-shaped college pitcher from Texas A&M. No. 23 James Ramsey is a college senior with a line-drive bat whose signability may have been much of the appeal; MLB.com's draft-day comparison to Skip Schumaker briefly set the internet on fire. No. 36 Stephen Piscotty is another college star, although scouts liked him somewhat more than Ramsey. No. 52 Patrick Wisdom is the night's big surprise, a power-hitting third baseman coming off an awful year. Finally, No. 59 Steve Bean is a high school catcher with an interesting bat.