Tennessee baseball breakout star Liam Doyle was drafted No. 5 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday night. The southpaw pitcher brings a chip on his shoulder and possibly the best fastball in the draft.
Doyle becomes the third Tony Vitello pitcher to be drafted in the first round. Garrett Crochet was the first in 2020 when the Chicago White Sox drafted him with the No. 11 pick, and he has since become a two-time All-Star and dominant starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
The second pitcher to be drafted in the first round was Chase Dollander, who was drafted No. 9 overall by the Colorado Rockies in 2023. Dollander has appeared in 15 games for the Rockies this season, posting a 6.68 ERA with 52 strikeouts on the year before recently being sent back down to Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.
Doyle is coming off a dominant year as the Vols' ace pitcher, posting a 10-4 record with one save and a 3.20 ERA. Add 164 strikeouts over 95 2/3 innings of work, and he offers the potential to be just as good or better than Crochet with his approach, pitching style, and pitch selection he offers.
He could see the big leagues as early as next year if he can round out some of his offspeed pitches to pair with his elite fastball.
Doyle is also the perfect pick for the Cardinals at No. 5, largely because of his mound presence and dominant fastball, topping 100 mph. That fastball also grades out at 70/100, the best fastball coming from a college pitcher since the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Paul Skenes.
He also brings a slider and cutter, which grade at 50, and a 55-grade changeup. All three can be developed into No. 2 pitches that Doyle can call on at any time to pair with his fastball, setting him up to be a high-rate strikeout pitcher at the professional level.
Doyle is the perfect pick for the Cardinals, as he brings a new fire to the mound with a dominant fastball that comes with elite spin and vertical movement, producing a ton of swing and misses. Pair that with a sweeping slider, and we could see Doyle and Paul Skenes going head-to-head for many years to come.
Doyle will join Cooper Hjerpe, Quinn Mathews, Tekoah Roby, and Tink Hence as top pitching prospects for the Cardinals as they hope to build out its starting rotation of the future with rising stars.