Cardinals take pitcher Tegan Kuhns for their 2nd pick (32nd overall) in Draft

For their second pick in the 2026 Draft, the Cardinals selected Tegan Kuhns with the 32nd overall pick. He will join outfielder Trevor Condon, who was selected 13th overall.

Kuhns, MLB Pipeline’s No. 25 Draft prospect, has some of the ingredients needed to pitch near the front of a Major League rotation. The 6-foot-3 hurler fires a fastball that can touch 98 mph and gets good carry thanks to its high spin rate. He complements that heater with a big curveball that’s clocked in the upper 70s. Those two offerings are already plus pitches, and they can get even better if Kuhns adds a little more power to them as he fills out his 189-pound frame.

To realize his full potential, Kuhns will have to develop a reliable third pitch, something he was unable to do through two seasons with the Volunteers. He can show a mid-80s changeup and a low-80s slider, but he struggles to throw them for strikes consistently. A high-80s cutter that was once a part of his repertoire has since been scrapped.

Kuhns had an up-and-down couple of years in college. After posting a 5.40 ERA and a 9.5% walk rate across 36 2/3 innings in 2025, he was spectacular in three Cape Cod League starts last summer, highlighted by a 20:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He then showed much better control as a sophomore, slashing his walk rate to 4.7%.

Yet after opening the year as Tennessee’s Friday night starter, a string of rough starts this past spring led to a short demotion to Tennessee’s bullpen for Kuhns. He had better results once he returned to the rotation, including a 15-strikeout performance versus Texas on May 8. Kuhns ended the year with 106 K’s over 81 innings.