2014 MLB Draft: Cardinals Select Williams and Morales

The St. Louis Cardinals have selected righthanded pitcher Ronnie Williams from American Senior High School in Florida with their second-round selection and the 68th pick overall. Williams drew comparisons to Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer from Harold Reynolds on MLB Network’s draft coverage on Thursday night.

With pick number 71, a part of the second compensatory round, the Cardinals selected Andrew Morales, a 6-foot, 170-pound righthander from UC Irvine. Much like their first pick, Florida State righty Luke Weaver, the Cardinals will be hoping that Morales can become an effective power pitcher despite his lack of size.

The Cardinals have now taken four righthanded pitchers with their first four picks, with these picks following the selection of Willis and California high schooler Jack Flaherty. Neither Williams or Morales was included in MLB.com’s Top 200 draft prospects, so it should be interesting to see what the Cardinals’ motives were behind these relatively early selections.

Here’s some video of Williams and Morales: