Cardinals Select 8 Players In Day Two Of 2023 MLB Draft

CARDINALS SELECT 8 PLAYERS IN DAY TWO OF 2023 MLB DRAFT

***Organization Selects College Players With First 9 Picks for Second Straight Year;* *Outfielder Travis Honeyman & Left-Handed Pitcher Quinn Mathews First Two Taken On Second Day***

ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 10, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals continued their 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, selecting eight players on the second day of the three-day event. The Cardinals selections by position included five pitchers and three outfielders. Of the five pitchers, two are left-handed. The players represented four different states including four of the eight hailing from California. It is the second consecutive draft where St. Louis selected all college players with its first nine selections.

The 2023 MLB Draft concludes tomorrow, July 11, with rounds 11-20 starting at 1:00 PM CT.

3rd Round (90th Overall): OF Travis Honeyman, Boston College
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Massapequa, NY
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 190 lb.
Age: 21 years (October 2, 2001)

Lifetime .307/.382/.502 (104-339) with 12 home runs, three triples, 24 doubles, 51 RBI, and .883 OPS in 94 games over three seasons at Boston College.
Slashed .304/.383/.534 (49-161) with six home runs, two triples, 15 doubles, and 30 RBI in 39 games this Spring.
Suffered a shoulder injury in late April that forced him to miss the season’s final 15 games.
Named a 2022 Cape Cod League All-Star, hitting .289 (24-83) with 4 HR, 10 RBI in 24 games.
Won the 2021 New England Collegiate Baseball League MVP Award and NECBL Rookie of the Year award following his freshman season, setting a league record with a .430 batting average with 7 HR, 26 RBI in 30 games.
Played shortstop and third base in high school before moving to outfield at Boston College, helping Massapequa (NY) High School to a 2018 state title with a championship appearance in 2017.
Older brother, Bobby, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 29^th round of the 2018 Draft after a four-year career at Stony Brook. Father, Rob Honeyman, played football at Central Connecticut State. Uncle, James Dietz, was a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers & Philadelphia Phillies farm system.

4th Round (122nd overall): LHP Quinn Mathews, Stanford University
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Hometown: Aliso Viejo, CA
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 188 lb.
Age: 22 years (October 4, 2000)

Fourth-year senior at Stanford, pitched out of the rotation in 2021, followed by a swingman/multi-inning relief role in 2022 and served as the Cardinal’s Friday night starter this Spring.
Named 2023 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, after going 10-4 with a 3.75 ERA and 158 strikeouts over 18 starts (19 games) across 124.2 innings pitched.
Ranked 2nd in NCAA Division I with 158 strikeouts in 2023, also the second-most in Stanford baseball history.
Threw a 156-pitch complete game in the 2023 Stanford Super Regional against Texas on June 11, racking up 16 strikeouts, three runs allowed and one walk in an 8-3 victory.
Previously drafted in the 19^th round of the 2022 Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, but did not sign.
Posted a 9-2 record with a team-best 3.08 ERA and nine saves over 27 appearances (nine starts) as a junior in 2022, the only pitcher in the nation that season with nine or more wins and saves.
Older sister, Remy, played collegiate soccer at Rice University.

5th Round (158th overall): OF Zach Levenson, University of Miami
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Oviedo, FL
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 211 lb.
Age: 21 years (March 6, 2002)

Career .295/.406/.546 hitter in two seasons with the Hurricanes, with 21 HR, three triples 22 doubles, 73 RBI, and a .951 OPS in 114 games played.
Named to All-ACC Third Team after swatting a team-leading 17 doubles with 14 HR and 45 RBI while hitting .292 (68-233) this Spring.
Transferred to Miami from Seminole State College of Florida after his freshman year where he was named Second Team All-Mid-Florida Conference after hitting .291 with team-high 12 home runs and 39 RBI in 44 games.
Four-year letterman at Lake Howell (FL) High School, serving as captain in final two seasons. Also played football.
Older brother, Matt, played baseball at Winthrop and father, Dan, played baseball at UNC-Wilmington.

6th Round (185th overall): RHP Jason Savacool, University of Maryland
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Baldwinsville, NY
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 195 lb.
Age: 21 years (May 21, 2002)

Pitched three seasons at Maryland, compiling 24 career wins and 269 career strikeouts, ranking second and third-most in school history, respectively.
Named to the All-Big Ten Second Team this Spring after leading the conference with nine wins and ranking 5th with a 4.12 ERA, helping Maryland win both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles.
Earned 2022 All-Big Ten First Team honors after helping Maryland win its first Big 10 regular season title in 2022 with a team-leading 2.93 ERA and eight victories. His 123 strikeouts were the 4th-most in a single season in school history.
Nicknamed “The Doctor” while at Maryland.
Named the 2019-20 Gatorade New York Baseball Player of the Year while at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, NY.

7th Round (215th overall): RHP Charles Harrison IV, University of California-Los Angeles
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Canyon Country, CA
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 211 lb.
Age: 21 years (December 23, 2001)

Four-year member of the UCLA baseball program from 2020-23, pitched to a 3.15 ERA exclusively out of the bullpen during his Bruin career with 87 strikeouts over 80 innings (72 appearances).
2023 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention after a breakout senior season, going 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA and .214 batting average against over 26 innings (22 appearances)
Finished 2023 with the lowest ERA on the team and limited opponents to an anemic .106 batting average with runners on base while stranding 13 of his 14 inherited runners for the season.
Three-time UCLA Director’s Honor Roll
Spent his high school summers training with pitching guru Ron Wolforth at the Texas Baseball Ranch.

8th Round (245th overall): LHP Ixan Henderson, Fresno State University
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Hometown: Fresno, CA
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 180 lb.
Age: 21 years (January 29, 2002)

First named pronounced EE-shawn.
Earned All-Mountain West First Team honors in back-to-back seasons at Fresno State from 2022-23.
Made 15 appearances as the Friday night starter for the ‘Dogs in 2023, pitching 89.0 innings with a team-leading 3.74 ERA while striking out a Mountain West-leading 100 batters.
Started a team-leading 14 games as a sophomore in 2022, topping the Mountain West with 98 strikeouts while leading the Bulldogs with seven wins.
Attended Clover West High School in Fresno helping lead the Golden Eagles to the school’s first Valley baseball championship since 2004.

9th Round (275th overall): RHP Christian Worley, Virginia Tech
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Alton, VA
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 170 lb.
Age: 21 years (June 14, 2002)

Appeared in 26 games, all out of the bullpen, during his three-year career at Virginia Tech, going 3-0 with a 4.42 ERA across 36.2 innings pitched.
Limited to five games in 2023 with an arm injury, did not pitch after March 17.
Struck out multiple batters in 11 of 14 appearances in 2022 and 4 of 5 appearances in 2023.
Helped the Hokies to a 45-14 record and a NCAA Regional Championship in 2022 with a career-high 14 appearances.
Had a 57:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his career at Virginia Tech.

10th Round (305th overall): OF Caden Kendle, University of California-Irvine
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Huntington Beach, CA
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 195 lb.
Age: 21 years (March 13, 2002)

Named 2023 Big West Co-Field Player of the Year after ranking 2^nd in the conference with 56 RBI and 5^th with a .434 on-base percentage, while also setting career-highs with a .335 batting average, 16 doubles and eight home runs.
Tied a UC-Irvine single-season record with 69 runs scored this season, which led the Big West. Reached safely in 54 of 55 games in 2023 and ended his collegiate career on a 43-game on-base streak and 16-game run scored streak. From his sophomore season, Kendle reached safely in 92 of his last 93 games.
2022 First Team All-Big West selection, leading Irvine with a .328 average, .465 on-base percentage and .533 slugging percentage in 46 games.
Was a running back on his Marina (CA) High School football team.

2023 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT – DAY TWO RECAP

Rd	Overall	Player	Pos.	B-T	Ht.	Wt.	School	Hometown
1	21	Chase Davis	OF	L-L	6-1	216	University of Arizona	Elk Grove, CA
3	90	Travis Honeyman	OF	R-R	6-2	190	Boston College	Massapequa, NY
4	122	Quinn Mathews	LHP	L-L	6-5	188	Stanford University	Aliso Viejo, CA
5	158	Zach Levenson	OF	R-R	6-2	211	University of Maryland	Oviedo, FL
6	185	Jason Savacool	RHP	R-R	6-1	210	University of Maryland	Baldwinsville, NY
7	215	Charles Harrison IV	RHP	R-R	6-1	180	University of California-Los Angeles	Canyon Country, CA
8	245	Ixan Henderson	LHP	L-L	6-2	180	Fresno State University	Fresno, CA
9	275	Christian Worley	RHP	R-R	6-1	170	Virginia Tech University	Alton, VA
10	305	Caden Kendle	OF	R-R	5-11	195	University of California-Irvine	Huntington Beach, CA

— STL —

Another draft of high floor, low ceiling college players; you really can’t complain because the Cardinals keep churning out MLB players from the draft. The downside is they don’t get many of the high profile, Jordan Walker-like players. While these are good drafts and players like Chase Davis are useful, it’s fun to see the 2020 drafts every once in a while.

Quick hits on the new 8:

Honeyman – good feel with the bat, plus bat speed with relaxed setup; swing can be aggressive, leading to potential strikeouts but the discipline is currently there. Line drive hitter with homer power from pull side. Generally a solid bat.

Corner outfield profile. Decent speed with fringy arm; most likely left field.

Injury history is there, which is a concern

Mathews – low-90s fastball (with movement that can touch 95) with a plus change and a slider that can get swings and misses from both sides of the plate. Mixes pitches well and keeps hitters on their toes.

High floor/low ceiling. Projects as a back of the rotation starter; could be mid-rotation if he adds velocity and improves his off-speed pitches. Injury concerns are possible from excessive workload at Stanford.

Curious about the bonus situation; 4th year senior’s typically have little leverage, but his stock went up a lot over the last year. I’m expecting he’ll get slot value.

Levenson – bat first outfielder with great raw power; power shows up to pull side. Limits strikeouts and gets walks. Struggles with elite pitching, often expanding the zone and getting fewer barrels.

Below average runner; limited defensively to the corners for now. Fringy arm. Could have to move to first base/DH in the long run.

Savacool – low-90s fastball with movement. Above average slider that gets swings and misses. Potential changeup, but hasn’t used it much; it’s a pitch that could be worked on once he signs.

Projects as back of the rotation starter.

Harrison IV – low-90s fastball that can touch 96; little movement but works well up in the zone. Wipeout slider that sits mid-80s; swing and miss pitch that has tons of spin. Average changeup and below average curve. Solid strikeout and walk numbers.

While he’s been exclusively a reliever, I could see the Cardinals using him in the rotation at first. I think his floor is middle reliever, with a ceiling of a 4-5 starter.

Senior sign, so could be a value play here.

Henderson – deceptive low-90s fastball; throws across his body, which makes the pitch hard to see while also a potential injury risk. Slider is his best pitch; slow with good movement. Loopy curve isn’t as effective as the slider; they are thrown from different positions, so hitters know what’s coming. Also has a changeup.

Has more projection then the other pitchers; he has a lean frame that could add velocity with added muscle. The talent is there, but needs some refinement. Ceiling of mid-rotation starter; projection is bullpen arm.

Worley – mid-90s fastball that works the top of the zone. Low to mid-80s slider that misses bats. Lacks a real 3rd pitch; has a change and curve, but lack consistency. Fresh arm, as he didn’t throw much due to injury.

He’ll get a shot in the rotation to work on his 3rd pitch. Ceiling of back end starter; projection is bullpen arm.

Kendle – Quick hands and potential power; right now it projects as doubles power as he’s not likely to fill out much more. Struck out more in 2023 and walked less; could be an issue as he advances in the system.

Can play all 3 outfield positions; has the speed to stick in center. Good enough arm to handle right field. Projects as a 4th outfielder

Eugene Tierney