System Update: The Cardinals 2023 Draft Class — Player News and Notes
With most of the Cardinals 2023 draft class kickstarting their professional career, let’s take a deep dive into who is doing what among the Cardinals 2023 draft picks.
First round: Chase Davis, OF, Arizona (Sacramento, CA)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 19 GP, .226 BA, 0 HR, 12 RBI, .368 OBP
The Cardinals selected the Arizona product with the 21st overall selection. While the batting average may not jump off the sheet, The on-base percentage is eye-popping. His .368 OBP is thanks in part to reaching in each of the 18 games that he has started.
Davis was known for his ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark while at Arizona. The outfielder finished with the third most home runs in program history with 39, a number that was bolstered by his PAC-12 leading 21 home runs. There is still plenty of time for Davis to run into his first professional home run. Palm Beach will be playing in the postseason due to its first half win.
Davis is currently ranked the Cardinals number three prospect my MLB Pipeline with 2026 being his expected big league arrival.
Third round: Travis Honeyman, OF, Boston College (Massapequa, NY)
The Cardinals selected Honeyman with the 90th overall selection. The Long Island native has signed but has yet to appear. That’s likely due to the shoulder injury that cut is junior year at Boston College short. Despite being sidelined for 17 games, Honeyman drove in 30 runs and hit .304 with 15 doubles to lead the Eagles. His numbers earned him all-ACC third team honors.
Many consider Honeyman to be a steal by the Cardinals because of how far Honeyman fell in the draft because of his injury. He was ranked the number 23 draft prospect by MLB Pipeline before the college baseball season got underway. The outfielder is known for making contact with power expected to come around. He’s also highly touted for having a good glove as Honeyman can play multiple outfield positions. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the number 11 prospect in the Cardinals system.
Fourth round: Quinn Mathews, LHP, Stanford (Mission Viejo, CA)
The Cardinals selected Mathews with the 122nd overall pick in the draft. The southpaw became notorious around baseball when he threw a 156-pitch complete game in game two of the NCAA Stanford Super Regional against Texas to keep the Cardinal season alive and ultimately lead to a College World Series appearance.
Mathews led the PAC-12 in wins (10) and strikeouts (158) at seasons end. The left-hander also threw 124 2/3 innings which led the conference by a wide margin. Due to the workload, it seems that Mathews will start his professional career in 2024. The Cardinals did the same thing with LHP Cooper Hjerpe who had a large work load at Oregon State in 2022 before the Cardinals took him in the second round that year. Hjerpe did not begin his professional career until the following year.
Mathews was previously drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 19th round of the 2022 draft but elected to return to Stanford in hopes of returning to the College World Series.
Fifth round: Zach Levenson, OF, Miami (Orlando, FL)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 18 GP, .311 BA, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .384 OBP
Levenson was selected 158th overall by the Cardinals. His adjustment to professional baseball seems to have come quicker than others. Levenson has hit all four of his home runs in the month of August and has been one of Palm Beach’s most consistent bats. The Florida native is currently on a six-game hitting streak and his OPS over his first 18 games in the organization is .941. He had a career-high three hits on Tuesday despite a loss to Fort Myers.
Sixth round: Jason Savacool, RHP, Maryland (Syracuse, NY)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 4 GP, 9.53 ERA. 5.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 6 K
Savacool was the 185th overall selection in this year’s draft out of Maryland. The right-hander led the Big 10 conference in wins with nine which led the Terrapins to an appearance in the NCAA Winston-Salem Regional.
Savacool struggled with his pitch count in his most recent outing which came on Tuesday, throwing 30 pitches over one inning of work. He has yet to start a game for Palm Beach, so the move to the bullpen is a big change after starting 46 of his 48 career games at Maryland.
Seventh round: Charles Harrison, RHP, UCLA (Canyon Country, CA)
The Cardinals picked Harrison with the 215th overall selection. One of the more prolific bullpen arms in all of college baseball in 2023, Harrison pitched to a 1.38 ERA over 22 appearances (26 IP). The right-hander spent four years at UCLA striking out 87 batters over 80 innings in 72 games.
It seems that Harrison won’t start his professional career until 2024.
Eighth round: Ixan Henderson, LHP, Fresno State (Fresno, CA)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 3 GP, 0.00 ERA, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K
Three consecutive scoreless outings for the 245th overall pick out of Fresno State.
Henderson evolved into becoming the Friday night starter for Fresno State in 2023. The right-hander had a .374 ERA with 100 strikeouts over 89 innings of work. Henderson led the Mountain West conference in strikeouts in two consecutive years and stood out to multiple team, including the Cardinals, at the MLB Draft Combine this past June.
Ninth round: Christian Worley, RHP, Virginia Tech (Alton, VA)
Worley was the 270th overall selection in the draft and is on the road to recovery from Tommy John Surgery. The right-hander was limited to just five games out of the bullpen for the Hokies in 2023, pitching to a 2.70 ERA.
11th round: Dakota Harris, SS, Oklahoma (Tampa, FL)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 16 GP, .190 BA, 1 HR, 10 RBI, .288 OBP
Harris started his professional career strong after being selected 335th overall. The former Oklahoma Sooner reached in his first seven games and hit safely in six of those contest, including a home run for his first pro hit. Since then, Harris is just 3 for his last 33. The Tampa Native is a switch hitter whose numbers give an early indication that is pop will come from the right side. He is batting .333 batting right-handed and just .152 batting from the left side.
Harris started every game he played at shortstop and led the Sooners with a .328 batting average. He was named a Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist for the nation’s best shortstop.
12th round: Brayden Jobert, OF, Louisiana State (Slidell, LA)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: .146 BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .288 OBP
Jobert was the 365th overall selection in the draft and introduced himself to the organization loudly with an RBI triple in his first professional at bat.
Jobert was a focal point on an LSU team that won the national championship in 2023. Jobert hit .301 for the Tigers this year and came alive in the College World Series. The Louisiana native had seven extra base hits in Omaha including three home runs which led LSU.
13th round: William Sullivan, 1B, Troy University (Orlando, FL)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 15 GP, .347 BA, 0 HR, 9 RBI, .385 OBP
Sullivan was selected just inside the top 400 at 395 overall. After starting his pro career 2-for-13, Sullivan took off on an eight-game hitting streak in which he batted .455. He has also reached base in 12 straight.
Sullivan hit .273 for Troy, who was known for starting 2023 11–0.
14th round: Jacob Odle, RHP, Orange Coast College (San Diego, CA)
Stats with FCL Cardinals: 2 GP, 9.00 ERA, 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K
Odle was picked with the 425 overall selection and it may not have happened if it weren’t for spending time in the MLB Draft League. Odle threw 13 1/3 innings for the State College Spikes with an ERA of 2.03, coming off a college season in which he logged just 14 1/3 innings.
Odle can reach 99 mph with his fastball while sitting at 94–97 mph. He has worked two outings in rookie ball, completing one inning in each.
15th round: Tre Richardson, SS, TCU (Oklahoma City, OK)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 14 GP, .238 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .304 OBP
Richardson was the 455th overall selection in the draft and is known for his play in the 2023 NCAA Postseason. He opened the Fayetteville Regional against Arizona with 11 RBI en route to being named Fayetteville Regional MVP.
Since becoming a professional, Richardson has slid over the second base. After hitting just .177 in July, the former Horned Frog is hitting .280 in August.
16th round: Tyler Bradt, RHP East Carolina (Henrico, VA)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 5 GP, 11.57 ERA, 4.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 BB, 2 K
Bradt was taken with the 485th selection after pitching 18 games out of the bullpen for East Carolina.
17th round: Trey Paige, 3B, Delaware State University (Reading, PA)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 13 GP, .148 BA, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .342 OBP
Paige was the 515th overall selection coming out of Delaware State, where he hit .371 with 14 HR in 2023. Paige has played third base along with some second base over his 13 games with Palm Beach. Despite being 0 for his last 13, Paige has been able to draw walks to get on base.
18th round: Hunter Kublick, RHP, Umpqua C.C. (Las Vegas, NV)
Stats with FCL Cardinals: 1 GP, 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K
The Cardinals took Kublick with the 545th overall selection after seeing a small sample size at Umpqua C.C. The right-hander threw in 17 contests over his two seasons in college, pitching to a solid 2.37 ERA.
Kublick was assigned to the Florida Complex League on August 3 and we await to see how much he is used in the remainder of the 2023 season.
19th round: Graysen Tarlow, C, Cal State Northridge (Orange, CA)
Stats with Single-A Palm Beach: 11 GP, .222 BA, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .417 OBP
Tarlow has turned in a small sample size since being the 575th overall pick. The catcher has played in just five games in July and is 4-for-12 over those games, reaching base in all of them including his first career multi-hit game on Sunday.
Tarlow hit .311 over 47 games at Cal State Northridge in 2023.
The only two Cardinals draftees that did not sign were OF Caden Kendle (10th round) and LHP Cameron Johnson (20th round).
