ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals announced they have signed RHP Griffin Roberts, 1B Luken Baker and INF Mateo Gil as the three players signed their professional contracts today at Busch Stadium.
Roberts, 21, the Cardinals Competitive Balance Round A selection out of Wake Forest University, is a 6-foot-3, 210 lb. right-handed pitcher, who broke the Demon Deacons' career (12.39 K/9 IP) and single-season (13.50 K/9 IP in 2017) records for strikeouts per nine innings.
As a junior in 2018 in his first year as a starting pitcher, Roberts was named Second Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and a three-time ACC Pitcher of the Week, going 5-4 with a 3.82 ERA (96.2 IP) in 14 starts. His ACC-leading 130 strikeouts ranked 9th in the NCAA, while his strikeout total was the most by a Demon Deacon in more than 25 years and second-most in program history behind Mike Buddie's 138 in 1992.
Roberts was originally selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 29th round of the 2017 draft after converting eight saves his sophomore season, but did not sign.
Baker, 21, the Cardinals Second Round Compensatory Pick out of Texas Christian University, is a 6-foot-4, 265 lb. first baseman who hit .347 (181-for-572) with 28 home runs and 129 RBI in 145 career games for the Horned Frogs. A prolific home run hitter, Baker hit a home run per every 12.6 at-bats his junior year and once every 18 at-bats in 145 games throughout his college career. He reached base safely in 134 of his 145 career games.
At Oak Ridge (Texas) High School, Baker was the 2015 Gatorade National Player of the Year, a Baseball America First-Team All-American, and won the 2014 Under Armour High School Home Run Derby and Junior Select home run derby during MLB All-Star Week in Minnesota. He was originally selected by the Houston Astros in the 37th round of the 2015 draft, but did not sign.
Gil, 17, the Cardinals third round pick out of Timber Creek High School in Keller, Texas, is a 6-foot-2, 190 lb., shortstop. The right-handed-hitting infielder is the son of former Major League infielder Benji Gil, who played eight seasons with the Texas Rangers (1993-97) and Anaheim Angels (2000-03). Gil is a Rawlings Perfect Game 3rdTeam All-American (Texas All-Region 1st Team). A two-way player drafted as a shortstop, Gil batted .390 with 13 doubles, six triples, six home runs and stole 23 bases his senior year. Serving as his team's closer, Gil featured a low-to-mid 90s fastball. He has signed his college letter of intent to Texas Christian University.
For a full list of Cardinals draft picks and signees, refer to the following list:
2018 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT - FINAL RECAP (BOLD = SIGNED)
         1. Nolan Gorman (19)                3B      L-R    6-1    210 Sandra Day O'Connor (Ariz.) High School                         Phoenix, Ariz.
   CBA. Griffin Roberts (43)             RHP     R-R    6-3    205 Wake Forest University                                                       Midlothian, Va.
Cmp2. Luken Baker (75)                   1B      R-R    6-4    225 Texas Christian University                                                     Spring, Texas
         3. Mateo Gil (95)                          SS       R-R    6-2    190 Timber Creek (Texas) High School                                      Keller, Texas
         4. Steven Gingery (123)             LHP      R-L    6-2    190 Texas Tech University                                              Huntington Beach, Calif.
         5. Nick Dunn (153)                      2B       L-R   5-10 175 University of Maryland                                                                Sunbury, Pa.
         6. Edgar Gonzalez (183)             RHP     R-R    6-1    200 Fresno State University                                                              Newark, Calif.
         7. Brendan Donovan (213)         3B       L-R    6-1    195 University of South Alabama                                                  Enterprise, Ala.
         8. Lars Nootbaar (243)                LF       L-R    6-3    210 University of Southern California                                       El Segundo, Calif.
         9. Matt Duce (273)                        C        L-R   5-11 190 Dallas Baptist University                                                      Sierra Vista, Ariz.
      10. Kevin Woodall, Jr. (303)         1B       R-R    6-6    240 Coastal Carolina University                                                   Georgetown, S.C.
      11. Chris Holba (333)                   RHP     R-R    6-3    210 East Carolina University                                                                O'Fallon, Ill.
      12. Francisco Justo (363)             RHP     R-R    6-4    205 Monroe College (N.Y.)                                                                     Bronx, N.Y.       
      13. Colin Schmid (393)                 LHP      L-L    6-1    195 Appalachian State University                                                  New Bern, N.C.
      14. Brandon Riley (423)                CF       L-R    6-0    170 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill                              Burlington, N.C.
      15. Mike Brettell (453)                 RHP     R-R    6-3    195 Central Michigan University                                 Fonthill, Ontario (Canada)
      16. Samuel "Evan" Sisk (483)      LHP      L-L    6-2    209 College of Charleston                                                                    Chester, S.C.
      17. Kyle Leahy (513)                    RHP      S-R    6-5    200 Colorado Mesa University                                                          Boulder, Colo.       
      18. Cole Aker (543)                      RHP     R-R    6-2    205 University of Tampa                                                             Kernersville, N.C.
      19. Josh Shaw (573)                       2B       R-R    6-1    195 St. John's University                                                                       Wayne, N.J.
      20. Parker Kelly (603)                  RHP     R-R    6-1    235 University of Oregon                                                                  Portland, Ore.
      21. Michael Perri (633)                  SS       R-R    6-3    195 University San Francisco                                                          Alameda, Calif.
      22. Kevin Vargas (663)                  SS       R-R    6-1    175 International Baseball Academy                                        Ceiba, Puerto Rico
      23. Michael Baird (693)               RHP     R-R    6-5    210 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale                                    Parker, Colo.
      24. Eli Kraus (723)                        LHP      L-L    6-1    190 Kent State University                                                                  Medina, Ohio
      25. Troy Montemayor (753)        RHP     R-R    6-1    160 Baylor University                                                               San Antonio, Texas
      26. Connor Coward (783)            RHP     R-R    6-0    200 Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech)                        Pittsburgh, Pa.
      27. Perry DellaValle (813)           RHP     R-R    6-0    195 Seton Hill (Pa.) University                                             North Royalton, Ohio
      28. Justin Toerner (843)                CF       L-L   5-10 165 California State University-Northridge                                 Temecula, Calif.
      29. Alerick Soularie (873)              RF       R-R    6-0    175 San Jacinto-North (Texas) JC                                                   Humble, Texas
      30. Kendrick Calilao (903)            OF       R-R    6-1    200 The First Academy (FL)                                                           Kissimmee, Fla.
      31. Ty Cohen (933)                       RHP     R-R    6-1    195 Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech)                      Woodstock, Ga.
      32. Brandon Purcell (963)              C        R-R    6-1    205 Georgia College and State University                                       Glennville, Ga.
      33. Chris Rivera (993)                  RHP     R-R    5-9    175 Long Beach State University                                               Watsonville, Calif.
      34. Benito Santiago (1,023)            C        L-R    6-0    190 University of Tennessee                                                 Pembroke Pines, Fla.
      35. Liam Sabino (1,053)                3B       R-R    6-0    191 University of Pittsburgh                                                   New York City, N.Y.
      36. Cole Kreuter (1,083)               3B       R-R    6-0    190 University of California-Irvine                                      Rancho Mirage, Calif.
      37. Christian Caudle (1,113)         C       R-R    6-4    230 Texas A&M University-Kingsville                                                 Klein, Texas
      38. Jaden Hill (1,143)                   RHP     R-R    6-3    210 Ashdown Senior (Ark.) High School                                       Ashdown, Ark.
      39. Zack Gahagan (1,173)             3B       R-R    6-1    195 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill                                   Fletcher, N.C.
      40. Andrew Warner (1,203)         RF       R-R    6-2    225 Columbia (Mo.) College                                                      Lee's Summit, Mo.