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St. Louis Cardinals: 10 Most Valuable Draft Picks Since the Turn of the Century

By Patrick Karraker

May 10, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter (13) is greeted after hitting a solo home run in the first inning against Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter (13) is greeted after hitting a solo home run in the first inning against Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 16, 2013; Flushing, NY, USA; National League all stars from the St. Louis Cardinals, Yadier Molina (4), Allen Craig (21), Carlos Beltran (3), Edward Mujica (44), Matt Carpenter (13), and Adam Wainwright (50) pose for a photo before the 2013 All Star Game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Yadier Molina, Allen Craig, and Matt Carpenter, all pictured here at the 2013 All-Star Game, have been some of the Cardinals’ most valuable draft picks since the turn of the century. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports /

Much of the St. Louis Cardinals’ success over the past decade has resulted from the organization’s ability to develop its own prospects. We take a look at some of the draft selections who have been most instrumental in that success.

The St. Louis Cardinals have arguably been Major League Baseball’s most successful franchise since 2000, and much of their success has come thanks to superior talent evaluation and development, rather than shelling out big bucks for established superstars like the successful New York Yankees teams of the late 1990s. While a few free agent and trade additions like Jim Edmonds, Chris Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, and Scott Rolen have made major impacts throughout the years, the Cardinals wouldn’t have won four NL pennants and two World Series since the turn of the century without the impact of their own homegrown talent.

Though the organization has run through two GMs and is currently on its sixth scouting director during that period, they’ve managed to make major strides in the draft, especially since Jeff Luhnow revolutionized the organization’s scouting approach in 2005. 21 of the 42 players on the Cardinals’ current 40-man roster and 60-day disabled list were drafted by the organization.

With the MLB Draft beginning on Thursday night, we thought it’d be fun to rank the top 10 most valuable Cardinals draftees since 2000. Just as an initial warning, we’ll be taking the term “value” quite literally for the purpose of these rankings. Thus, for example, while the selection of Stephen Piscotty with a compensatory pick in 2012 could very well be considered one of the Cardinals’ best selections of the century, it’s not necessarily one of the most valuable, since he hasn’t collected any awards or accolades, hasn’t helped them win a playoff series, and hasn’t made as much of an overall impact during his young career as other guys on this list have, even if some of those players might not carry the star power that a guy like Piscotty does right now.

Without further ado, here are your 10 most valuable Cardinals draft picks since the turn of the century:

Next: 10. Kyle McClellan

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