There have now been 77 drafts in which high school players were eligible to be drafted for the first time, which includes 56 June drafts from 1965-2020 and 21 January drafts from 1966-1986. The Cardinals’ selection of 3B Jordan Walker at #21 overall marked just the 20th time that the club selected a high school position-player in the true first round.
In this article, I will take you on a trip down memory lane and revisit the first four of the Cardinals’ prior high school position-player first round selections. I will discuss the remainder of the selections in subsequent pieces.