Lottery ticket: Can Cardinals score a transformative talent with No. 5 pick in MLB Draft?

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It has been more than a generation since the Cardinals picked in the top five for the MLB Draft, and in a week the Cardinals have a chance for a transformative selection that could come define their next era.

A confluence of events meet them at the MLB Draft in Atlanta on Sunday as they hold the No. 5 pick a year after taking J.J. Wetherholt at No. 7, they are deep into a transition year with a new front office leader poised to take over, and they are certain to have access to one of the top three college pitchers available in this draft. 

To capture and explore this moment in Cardinals' draft history, Baseball America editor in chief J.J. Cooper joins the Best Podcast in Baseball. With St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold, Cooper discusses the scope of talent available in the 2025 draft, trends that suggest where the Cardinals will look, and the upside of the talent likely available to them at No. 5. Matt Holliday's son, Ethan, is not expected to get past the Colorado Rockies at No. 4. If he does get to No. 5, the Cardinals are poised to select him. If not, there will be a high-ceiling high school infielder available, an established college shortstop available, or at least one of the three top college lefties.

Cooper and Goold discuss how the choice could reveal the Cardinals' view of their ability to contend. Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold would be a pick that reaches the majors within 12 months as more and more early picks are doing. Oklahoma high schooler Eli Willits, Reggie's son, would be a longer-term pick who might impact the Cardinals most as they enter the 2030s.

Baseball America will flood the zone with coverage from the MLB Draft that begins in primetime Sunday night from Atlanta and concludes Monday. Follow Baseball America on YouTube for recent conversations about sleeper prospects in the minors, including Cardinals' Class AA starter Ixan Henderson. 

The Post-Dispatch will be present at the draft to bring coverage of the Cardinals' first pick and then coverage throughout the week from the All-Star Game festivities at Atlanta's Truist Park. 

In its 13th season as one of the go-to podcasts on Cardinals baseball, the Best Podcast in Baseball is sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. It is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.