The St. Louis Cardinals selected 10 players on the second day of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, bringing their total to 11 picks over the first two days of this year’s event. Six pitchers, three outfielders and a third baseman were chosen on Monday with eight collegians and two high school preps. Eight players tower at 6-foot-2 or taller, with the tallest at 6-foot-6, giving the Cardinals nine overall including Michael McGreevy, the first overall selection on Sunday.
“At the conclusion of Day Two, we are very pleased with our 11 selections,” said Randy Flores, St. Louis Cardinals Vice President of Scouting. “The potential power picked early in the day, balanced by tapping some of the depth in this year’s pitching class, as well as the positional versatility selected later, today positions us nicely as our staff regroups and evaluates our possibilities for tomorrow.”
Joshua Báez, the Cardinals second round pick (54th overall) out of Dexter Southfield High School in Boston, is a toolsy 6-foot-3, 220 lb., right-handed batting power-hitting outfielder. The two-time Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021, batted .378 with 3 HR and 13 RBI this season while scoring 25 runs. On the mound, Báez showcased his arm strength, registering a fastball up to 98 miles per hour, leading to a 1.94 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. Born in Boston, Mass., before moving to the Dominican Republic as an infant, Báez returned to Boston when he was 11 years old. Báez is the youngest player the Cardinals selected through the first two days, turning 18 on June 28. In November 2019, he signed his letter of intent to Vanderbilt University.
Ryan Holgate, the Cardinals second round competitive balance selection (70th overall) out of the University of Arizona, helped lead the Wildcats all the way to the Division 1 College World Series. The left-handed slugger was previously drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 32nd round of the 2018 draft. This season, Holgate batted .351 with 11 HR, 56 RBI and 20 doubles in 63 games. His success against players selected above him in the draft was memorable, homering off No. 10 overall pick, Kumar Rocker of Vanderbilt, going 2-for-9 with the home run in the College World Series. Holgate was also 2-for-3 against Cardinals No. 1 pick, Michael McGreevy, in the Tucson Regional when the Wildcats played UC-Santa Barbara.
Austin Love, the Cardinals third round selection (90th overall), out of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill was 10-4 with a 3.71 ERA, striking out 129 batters in 102 innings this season. The 129 strikeouts were second all-time in Tarheels history behind current Cardinals pitcher Andrew Miller, who set the school record with 133 in 2006. The Division 1 Freshman All-American in 2019 started out his career as a reliever following a red-shirt season in 2018, but became a full-time starter in 2021. He posted consecutive complete game performances in his final two starts of the regular season including a career-high 15 strikeouts at Georgia Tech on May 20. His brother, Brett, played college baseball at Catawba (N.C.) and UNC-Pembroke.
Zane Mills, the Cardinals fourth round selection (120th overall) out of Washington State University, is a 6-foot-4, 220 lb., right-handed pitcher. Mills was 10-9 with a 3.95 ERA and 158 strikeouts in 141.1 innings over his career with the Cougars. The two-time All-Pac 12 Pitcher of the Week in 2021, posted three double-digit strikeout games including a season-high 13 at Dixie State and a pair of 10 punch-out games opposing California and Stanford. As a prep, Mills was a two-sport athlete taking accolades as a first team All-Portland Interscholastic as a tight end, while racking up 12 sacks as a defensive end. His father, Mark, played college baseball at Pacific University (Ore.). As a fourth round selection, Mills is the highest selection out of Washington State since Adam Conley by the Florida Marlins in the second round 2011 Draft, and the highest Cougars’ right-handed pitcher selected since the Red Sox took Aaron Sele with the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 1991 draft.
Gordon Graceffo (gruh-SEFF-oh), the Cardinals fifth round selection (151st overall) out of Villanova University, is 6-foot-4, 210 lb., right-handed pitcher who did not allow a home run to 325 total batters during the 2021 season, and only 12 extra base hits of 66 total. Graceffo ranked 5th in NCAA Division 1 Baseball with a 1.54 ERA and 25th with an 0.96 WHIP, the lowest in school history. Over his last two seasons, Graceffo totaled a 1.51 ERA and led the Big East in ERA in 2020, while earning a win against No. 3 Arizona State, the highest ranked team the Wildcats have ever defeated in their history. Graceffo was honored as a 2021 First Team All-Big East and ABCA/Rawlings Division 1 East Region selection. He becomes the 17th player in Villanova history to be selected in the fifth round or higher and the first since 2011. Graceffo played his high school baseball at Cranford High School (N.J.), under Dennis McCaffery, a Villanova Baseball Hall of Famer.
Alfredo Ruiz, the Cardinals sixth round selection (181st overall) out of Long Beach State University, is a 6-foot, 200 lb., left-handed pitcher. For the second straight season, the Cardinals selected a Long Beach State Dirtbag with their seventh selection, joining his former teammate L.J. Jones, who the Cardinals drafted in the fifth round (7th selection) in 2020. Ruiz was a 2021 All-Big West Second Team selection posting a 5-1 record with a 3.75 ERA. The crafty southpaw allowed only one home run over 57.1 innings, while striking out 59 batters and did not walk more than three batters in any start during the season.
Alec Willis, the Cardinals seventh round selection (211st overall) out of Regis Jesuit High School in Colorado, is one of the tallest players in the 2021 Draft, towering over his opposition at 6-foot-6, 220 lbs. With a fastball reaching 97 miles per hour his senior season, Mills was rated as the top draft prospect in the state by MLB.com posting a 3-1 record with an 0.72 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 29 innings. Mills helped lead his high school to the 2019 5A Colorado State Championship before requiring ulnar decompression surgery in 2020. Recent Regis Jesuit alumni include the Mets’ LHP David Peterson and former Giants and Orioles LHP Ty Blach.
Mike Antico, the Cardinals eighth round selection (241st overall) out of the University of Texas, is the organization’s first selection under the 6-foot threshold and currently their eldest player at 23-years old. Following the 2020 season, Antico transferred from St. John’s University where he was a First Team All-Big East selection and had a successful career batting .332 with 13 HR, 67 RBI and 44 stolen bases. In 2021 with the Longhorns, Antico led NCAA Division 1 with 63 walks, while ranking second with 41 stolen bases and tied for eighth with 69 runs scored. The senior transfer hit safely in all five College World Series games, batting .316 (6-19) with four RBI, capping off a season which included 10 home runs and 47 RBI. His grandfather was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1960s.
Trent Baker, the Cardinals ninth round selection (271st overall) out of Angelo State University, is a 6-foot-3, 240 lb., right-hander pitcher who had an incredible season leading the Bobcats to their most successful season culminating at the Division 2 College World Series with a 44-9 record. Baker was 13-1 with a 2.11 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 106.2 innings. He earned Lone Star Conference honors as the Pitcher of the Year, the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Conference as well as South Central Pitcher of the Year.
Osvaldo Tovalin (TOE-vahl-in), the Cardinals 10th round selection (301st overall) out of Azusa Pacific University, is a left-handed batting third baseman who won the ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove Award at third base in 2021. The 2021 Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Player of the Year also won the PacWest Triple Crown batting .387 with 15 HR and 52 RBI in 42 games, posting an OPS of 1.144 while posting a positive walk to strikeout ratio of 17-to-16. Coming from an athletic family, his three brothers all played college baseball. Adrian, played at Azusa Pacific University before being selected by the Houston Astros in the 16th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Humberto played at Cal Poly Pomona and Alex played at Cochise College.
The 2021 MLB Draft will conclude on Tuesday with Rounds 11-20, beginning at 11:00 a.m., Central Time.
