ST. LOUIS — On the second day of the MLB Draft on Monday, the Cardinals used back-to-back picks to select two pitchers who have a combined total of 107 innings in their college careers and are in different stages of recovering from Tommy John surgery.
They were picks that the Cardinals believe could pay big dividends down the road.
In the seventh round, the Cardinals selected righthander Andrew Dutkanych IV from Vanderbilt and then they used their pick in the eighth round to select lefthander Jack Findlay from Notre Dame.
“Both of those picks had reasons for our group to go ahead and make that bet and bet on these young men getting healthy and getting back to who they were before their injuries,” said Randy Flores, the Cardinals’ assistant general manager and scouting director.
Findlay underwent surgery in April of 2023 and didn’t pitch this season while Dutkanych had surgery this past March after throwing only 10 2/3 innings.
That injury was a second setback for Dutkanych, who also missed almost all of the 2023 season because of a hamstring injury after throwing only 6 1/3 innings.
Before going to Vanderbilt, Dutkanych was among the top-rated high school prospects in the country. As a senior in Indianapolis in 2022, he was projected as a potential first-round pick when he took his name out of the draft to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt.
In two seasons with the Commodores, he was only able to pitch in nine games for a total of 17 innings.
Despite the injuries, Dutkanych said he had no regrets about his decision to go to Vanderbilt instead of turning pro out of high school.
“I don’t regret the decision at all,” he said during a phone interview. “I was blessed to get to be in a program and get to be coached by Tim Corbin. I had the opportunity to make a lot of progress on my degree. I made a lot of friendships and relationships at Vanderbilt.”
He also learned how to deal with adversity.
“That in turn has made me a better man and ultimately will make me more successful in my career because of the lessons that has taught me about life,” Dutkanych said.
“It’s been very frustrating. I pitched probably 100 innings or so every year in high school and then pitched basically like 10 innings a year in college. I like to play baseball and it stunk to have to sit out.”
Dutkanych suffered the hamstring injury while making a pitch in his first collegiate start against Evansville.
That injury had healed before Dutkanych hurt his elbow this spring, ending this season. He is scheduled to resume throwing in about a month, and hopes that the time and work he put in, especially mentally, during his recovery will show when he gets back on the mound.
“I’ve tried to learn to grow myself in different areas of my life,” he said. “I’ve tried to be a better teammate and really focused on my academics while I had a chance. I think it’s pretty cool, it was kind of like I was a spectator or fan and like a friend in the dugout for an SEC team. Those games are pretty intense and entertaining.”
Dutkanych said even though he wasn’t pitching, he tried to act like he was as he watched the game, analyzing what pitch he would throw in different situations.
“That’s how I liked to watch all the games,” he said. “I was still pretty involved with the staff.”
Dutkanych said he had an idea that he might be selected on Monday and he knew the Cardinals were among the interested teams, which was confirmed when his advisor called and said he was going to be their pick in the seventh round.
After sharing that moment, the family went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner.
Before he finds out what the Cardinals want him to do after agreeing to terms, Dutkanych has a couple of other commitments that he has to take care of first.
An economics and business major, Dutkanych is taking a full load of courses this summer and has to drive back to Nashville on Tuesday, in time to take a calculus exam on Wednesday.
Findlay is farther along in his recovery, but he hasn’t pitched in a game since 2023. He threw a combined 90 innings over 30 games in 2022 and 2023, striking out almost 30 percent of the hitters he faced.
“We had scouting looks on him as he was throwing bullpens ahead of the draft,” said Flores, who also got to see Findlay at the recent MLB Combine.
In addition to those two selections, the Cardinals had six other picks on Monday, taking two other pitchers, two catchers, an infielder and an outfielder, all college players. The draft will conclude on Tuesday with picks in rounds 11 through 20.
Three players from the St. Louis area were selected on Monday. The first two were Tytus Cissell, a shortstop from Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, who was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the fourth round, followed by righthanded pitcher Ethan Bagwell from Collinsville, Ill., who went to the Braves in the sixth round. Both are committed to the University of Missouri. The third player selected was lefthanded pitcher Jacob Kroeger from Maryville University.
These were eight players selected by the Cardinals on Monday:
Round 3 – Brian Holiday, righthanded pitcher, Oklahoma State
Round 4 – Ryan Campos, catcher, Arizona State
Round 5 – Braden Davis, lefthanded pitcher, Oklahoma
Round 6- Josh Kross, catcher, Cincinnati
Round 7 – Andrew Dutkanych IV, righthanded pitcher, Vanderbilt
Round 8 – Jack Findlay, lefthanded pitcher, Notre Dame
Round 9 – Cade McGee, third baseman, Texas Tech
Round 10 – Bryce Madron, outfielder, Oklahoma
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains