The St. Louis Cardinals pick fifth in the 2025 MLB Draft, scheduled to take place on Sunday night. The best prospect in said draft class is Ethan Holliday, and that is as close to a universal finding as we get around draft season. Holliday was ranked the composite No. 1 prospect in FanSided's pre-draft rankings, which takes Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and The Athletic into account. Holliday is also the son of former Cardinals star Matt Holliday. Unfortunately for Cards fans, the likelihood of Holliday falling to fifth is unlikely at best.
In an interview with FOX 2 in St. Louis, Holliday all but confirmed why his son wouldn't fall to No. 5, and it has a lot to do with his other former team, the Colorado Rockies.
"I would be surprised, candidly, if he got past four. I know the Rockies have shown major, major interest...I don't know if the Cardinals will get a shot at him but that would be pretty cool," Holliday admitted to FOX 2 in St. Louis. "You know, it's certainly a fluid situation as far was what's going to happen, but I know the Rockies are pretty high on him."
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Cardinals missing on Ethan Holliday is a blessing in disguise
As the elder Holliday noted, the Rockies have major interest in Ethan, and the chatter in draft circles is that Colorado is willing to go over slot value for him. That essentially means the Rockies will pay whatever it takes to land the youngest Holliday brother, even if it means they have to take a lesser-known prospect later in the draft. Rebuilding teams do this often, as it will force Ethan's hand as it pertains to signing with a struggling franchise like Colorado. Despite his father's ties to the Rockies organization, if Ethan didn't think the Rockies were headed in the right direction, he could always refuse to sign and play college ball for a few years and re-enter the draft. Everything is on the table.
The Cardinals should want no part in these antics. This isn't to say that they also wouldn't go over slot value for Holliday if he were available – they likely would – but finding the right culture and financial fit is imperative so early in the draft. If the Cardinals can spend more money on their second and third selections, for example, they will likely have a better farm system as a result.
With a new regime coming in led by Chaim Bloom, going over slot value for one player could cost the Cardinals farm system down the road. Bloom is an executive who likes to build through the draft and said farm system.
So, a Holliday selection may not be in their best interest anyway, even if he is the most talented player in this class.