Cardinals Stock Up On High School Players At Draft

The Cardinals selected six high school players with their first ten picks at the Major League Draft on Tuesday. Their first pick, 28th overall, was high school outfielder Colby Rasmus from Phenix City, Alabama. He broke the Alabama high school record with 24 home runs in 2005, hitting .484 with 66 RBI’s.

Cardinals Assistant General Manager John Mozeilak said if they take a young player, he obviously has to have talent, but there’s something else he has to have.

“The one thing we try to emphasize, especially when looking at younger players, is how instinctive (they are), because that’s a difficult thing to teach,” said Mozeilak. “When you watch players at the major league level, guys that are usually of very high quality are very instinctive.”

One of the high school players the Cardinals went with has a very familiar last name. Alfirdo Pujols of Fort Osage High School in Independence, Mo. was selected in the sixth round. The outfielder/pitcher is the first cousin of Albert Pujols, who also graduated from Fort Osage in 1998.

St. Louis had two picks in the first round and with the 30th selection overall, they took Georgia Tech shortstop Tyler Greene, who is hitting .373 with 72 RBI’s and 30 stolen bases. He’s equally proficient in the field, prompting Mozeilak to say, “He really has a little bit of everything.”