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Writer's pictureBen Cerutti

2021 MLB Draft Rounds 11-20, A dump of Information About the Cardinals Selections

In Rounds 11-20, #STLFLY chose 10 more players.


At #331, they chose University of New Mexico SS Mack Chambers.


He played just one year there and hit .371/.444/.624/1.067 with 31 runs, 31 RBI, 16 doubles, 3 triples, 7 homers, and 5 steals (3 caught) in just 196 PA over 41 games.


At #361, they chose Virginia Tech LHP Chris Gerard.


According to MLB Pipeline, Gerard was "An effective starter for Virginia Tech since 2019, Gerard missed a good chunk of the 2021 season with a groin injury, so scouts didn't get as many looks at the undersized lefty as they might have hoped. He's shown the ability to throw four pitches for strikes, with a fastball that tops out at 92 mph, with his feel for pitching likely to get him drafted more than his pure stuff."

In three seasons at VT, he started 24 games throwing 120 innings total. He had a 2.63 ERA, 1.325 WHIP, and 2.95 K:BB (121:41).


At #391, they chose Wofford College LHP Hayes Heinecke.


Prospects Live's write up of Heinecke says that he "made four starts with a 3-1 record ... Led the team with 25.2 innings pitched and 36 strikeouts ... In the Southern Conference rankings was third in strikeouts, fourth in strikeouts per nine innings, fourth in wins and eighth in ERA."


In 3 seasons at Wofford, he started 27 games (pitching in 1 in relief) throwing 157 innings total. He had a 2.98 ERA, 1.108 WHIP, and 5.62 K:BB (163:29).


At #421, they chose University of California - RIverside RHP Andre Granillo.


In three seasons there, Granillo started just 2 of 42 games that he pitched (none in 2021) and threw a total of 55 2/3 innings. He had a 5.98 ERA, 1.437 WHIP, and 2.64 K:BB (74:28)


At #451, they chose USC LHP Alex Cornwell.


In two seasons there, Cornwell started 19 games and threw a total of 98 2/3 innings. He had a 5.02 ERA, 1.470 WHIP, and 3.04 K:BB (79:26).


At #481, they chose UNC Charlotte catcher Aaron McKeithan.


In two seasons at UNC Charlotte, he hit .259/.383/.368/.751 in 248 plate appearances. He scored 39 runs and drove in 26 with 13 doubles and 3 homers. As a catcher, he caught 3 of 9 runners stealing in the Cape Cod Summer League for Harwich.


At #511, they chose Elijah Cabell, an outfielder for Florida State University the last 3 seasons.


Prospects Live says of him: "Immense raw talent that has been put on display since his high school days. Cabell can run and hit for a lot of power. Reasonably good defender as well. Biggest wart is strikeouts. Has run some pretty extreme K-rates in his first two years on campus. If the K-rates come down in 2021, Cabell could find his name called in rounds 2-3."


Elsewhere on the web I found this:

"REPORT: Only 12 schools faced a harder schedule in 2020 than FSU. And Cabell by himself faced an avg fastball release speed 1.4 mph higher than the average. Facing some of the best competition (including Bryce Jarvis, Bryce Bonnin, Evan Shawver) he accumulated the 48th most runs in 2020 all with an insane 39.0 K%. There’s zero chance he strikes out that much again even with his extremely steep swing path, and even if he does, it’ll be with a far higher BABIP than the .349 he had. 9 of Cabell’s 25 BBE on trackman were > 90 mph with a LA between 10 and 40 degrees. Another word for that is a barrel. Cabell’s ISO also ranked 27th in the country which makes me think he’s in for a monster year where he strikes out about 18% of the time, like Torkelson, and puts up a wOBA > .550 in his third year. He's got power, and plays the corner, so the first round upside is limited, but there's round 3-6 possibility."


In those three seasons at FSU, Cabell hit .245/.415/.511/.926 with 80 runs scored, 93 driven in, and 12 doubles, 1 triples, and 29 homers. (Honestly, that looks very much Marcell Ozuna with the Cardinals to me.)


At #541, they chose University of Connecticut RHP Andrew Marrero.


In two seasons at UConn, Marrero threw just 22 games and 26 innings out of the bullpen. He struck out 34 and walked 9, good for a 3.78 K:BB. He had a 3.81 ERA and 1.231 WHIP to go with it.


At #571, #STLFLY took East Carolina first baseman (and left fielder) Thomas Francisco.


Found on the web:

"REPORT: Rare college first baseman that doesn't strike out a ton and he didn't hit for power much up until his junior spring when he hit 13. It's 55-grade power with a 55-grade hit tool. His launch angle distribution is very loose and he hits balls all over the place, but his max exit velocity of 106.4 mph is draftable. He's walked more than he's strikeout, and did so at an exactly equal pace in '21 with 23 of each. He played 3B earlier in career, then some LF as the athleticism dropped off a bit. It's a clear-1B profile with left-handed power/contact abilities."


In 3 seasons at ECU, Francisco hit .348/.434/.532/.967 with 82 runs, 81 RBI, 15 doubles, 1 triple, and 18 homers in just 457 PA.


At #601, their last selection in this draft, the Cardinals selected Xavier Casserilla, a high school 3rd baseman.

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