Cards select fiery strikeout artist Liam Doyle with No. 5 pick

ST. LOUIS – In desperate need of more swing-and-miss stuff among their starting pitching staff, the Cardinals jumped at the opportunity to select college baseball’s top strikeout artist in 2025.

Hard-throwing left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle, the SEC Pitcher of the Year who led all qualified NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeout rate (15.5 K/9) in 2025, was drafted No. 5 overall by the Cardinals in Sunday’s MLB Draft. Doyle, 22, played for St. Louis native and University of Missouri product Tony Vitello at the University of Tennessee.

“In fairness, we've only picked seventh and fifth once in a long, long time, and so each pick you get further and further away from there, it's a little harder to find 101 [mph fastballs] with swing and miss,” Cardinals assistant GM/director of scouting Randy Flores said. “The fact that he's able to miss bats with a couple different pitches and he really gets good separation on his fastball and [split-fingered fastball], I think that bodes well for his long-term chance to start.”

Doyle, who was considered the top pitching talent in the Draft by some experts, was available to the Cardinals after the Nats and Angels made surprising selections with the top two picks. Washington drafted 17-year-old Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits with the top pick, while the Angels selected UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner at No. 2. Then, after LSU lefty Kade Anderson went to the Mariners, Ethan Holliday – son of Cardinals Hall of Famer Matt Holliday – went to the Rockies at No. 4.

That left Doyle and his electric swing-and-miss stuff available to the Cardinals at No. 5.

“Acquiring swing and miss, acquiring 101 with that unique fastball profile on the free agent market is very, very expensive, so there is certainly some risk there,” Flores said of Doyle, who reportedly dropped 20-plus pounds before his 2025 season at Tennessee – something that allowed him to thrive on the mound. “[The media] have heard and read that there's some possible reliever risk, but that's the risk you swallow. Our hope is that he's not only really committed to this type of fitness and stamina for one year; imagine as he begins stacking year upon year upon year … that bodes well for his chances to stay a starter.”

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The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Doyle, a New Hampshire native who started his college career at Coastal Carolina before transferring to Ole Miss and then Tennessee, credited the improvements he made with his conditioning for a junior season where he went 10-4 with a 3.20 ERA and a school-record 164 strikeouts across 95 2/3 innings.

“Being in the weight room and working with [Tennessee’s strength coach and nutritionist] was a huge thing for me, because obviously I needed to lose some weight when I got to Tennessee to make sure I was in shape,” said Doyle, the highest drafted left-handed pitcher in the Cards’ system since Donovan Osborne went No. 13 in 1990. “I had fun with it when I was in the gym and made it part of my everyday routine. I got in a good routine whether it was a start day or a Tuesday bullpen. It was really beneficial to me, and now it’s something I do to enjoy. It really helped me on the field.”

The Cardinals were picking in the top 10 in the Draft for just the second time in 27 years, dating back to 1998 when they selected outfielder J.D. Drew with the No. 5 pick. The Cardinals nabbed JJ Wetherholt with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, and the talented second baseman/shortstop – the No. 1 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline – has already worked his way to Triple-A Memphis in his second pro season.

Flores, who was a reliever on the 2006 World Series championship team, chuckled at how close the Cardinals came to drafting Ethan Holliday, a youngster who hit balls along with older brother Jackson at Busch Stadium as his father was starring for the Redbirds from 2009-16. Matt Holliday was a driving force on the Cards team that won the 2011 World Series crown.

“We try to be professional and respect the space of the job and I had a chance to meet with the [Holliday] family – just like you do with anybody else – because you just don't know how things are going to go until they go,” Flores said. “And so, we're thrilled for [Ethan]. He got within one pick of us. We certainly were in the mix, but we’re ecstatic for him and for the Holliday family.”

In Doyle, the Cardinals are getting a fiery, animated pitcher that Vitello – a Cardinals fan while growing up – compared to Cards Hall of Fame reliever Al Hrbosky. Flores said that Doyle channels his competitiveness and emotion well when it comes to attacking hitters with his electric stuff and, mentality-wise, he compares favorably to some of the franchise’s best pitchers.

“On the mound, he kind of puts on a persona. He really does,” Flores said of Doyle, who said fellow New Hampshire native and Cardinals Hall of Famer Chris Carpenter was once his summer ball coach while growing up. “We met with him in person and hearing and talking with him, [you wonder], ‘Where's the screamer? Where's this intensity?’

“But when you get Chris Carpenter away from a mound, he's also just the nicest human being. You get Adam Wainwright away from the mound, he's the nicest human being. And, so, you admire him when he has the ability to flip that switch. You admire it even more when he's doing that at 100 miles an hour.”