ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - When the St. Louis Cardinals made its first round pick Sunday night in the 2021 MLB Draft they apparently had the team's current control issue on their minds. Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting Randy Flores described the No. 18 overall pick Michael McGreevy out of the University of California Santa Barbara as a pitcher "who almost has a phobia of walking batters."
St. Louis currently leads all of baseball with 394 walks, 27 more than the next-closest team.
McGreevy, 21, is a San Clemente, Calif. native who pitched three seasons at UC Santa Barbara, going 16-3, 2.33 ERA (189.1 IP/49 ER) with 194 strikeouts and 31 walks. His 0.97 walks-per-9 IP ratio and 10.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2021 both ranked 2nd among all qualified Division I pitchers and he led the Big West Conference with his 101.2 innings pitched in 2021, again earning First Team All-Big West honors and recognition as a semifinalist for National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation.
“Michael just reeks of athleticism and of being a starter,” Flores says. “He has a great feel for the strike zone and takes great pride in the way he pitches. We see him as a strike thrower and as someone who almost has a phobia of walking batters. The strides Michael has made show great internal motivation and ownership of his career.”
According to Baseball America, he is one of only two pitchers in the Top 200 of this year's draft class with a 70-grade control.
The 2021 MLB Draft continues Monday with rounds 2-10, beginning at noon, and concludes with rounds 11-20 on Tuesday starting at 11 a.m.
McGreevy was the first pitcher selected by St. Louis in the 1st round since LHP Zack Thompson (19th overall, Kentucky) in 2019 and the first right-hander since Luke Weaver (27th overall, Florida State) in 2014. He was the 5th college pitcher taken in this year’s draft and the 8th pitcher overall.
McGreevy is the fourth 18th overall selection for the Cardinals since 1965, joining left-handed pitcher Joe Magrane (1985), shortstop Aaron Holbert (1990), and shortstop Pete Kozma (2007).
St. Louis has made the most first round draft selections among all teams in Major League Baseball history with 66 total picks from 1965-2021. Recent first round picks include third baseman Jordan Walker (2020, 21st overall), left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson (2019, 19th overall), third baseman Nolan Gorman (2018, 19th overall), right-handed pitcher Griffin Roberts (2018, 43rd overall), shortstop Delvin Perez (2016, 23rd overall), outfielder Dylan Carlson (2016, 33rd overall), and right-handed pitcher Dakota Hudson (2016, 34th overall).
The team’s highest overall selection was right-handed pitcher Braden Looper (3rd overall) in 1996. The Cardinals have had only 11 top-10 selections, the most recent being outfielder J.D. Drew (5th overall) in 1998.
© 2021 KMOX (Audacy). All rights reserved
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Follow KMOX
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram