10:00am: According to Jim Callis of MLB.com, He signed for a $7.25 million bonus.
9:25am: The Cardinals officially announced the signing of first-round pick Him on Thursday, though they didn’t reveal the financial terms. The fifth overall selection carried a slot value of approximately $8.13 million.
Doyle, a left-handed pitcher from the University of Tennessee, was the third pitcher selected in Sunday’s draft. This marks the Cardinals’ first top-five pick in nearly 30 years. Doyle is now their highest draft selection since J.D. Drew, who was also taken fifth overall back in 1998. The last time they took a pitcher this high was in 1996, when they chose Braden Looper with the third pick.
Doyle faced challenges during his first two collegiate seasons, which he split between Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss. However, he found his stride as a junior at Tennessee, posting a 3.20 ERA over 95 2/3 innings in the competitive SEC. The 6-foot-2 lefty struck out an impressive 43% of batters he faced, totaling 164 strikeouts — second only to LSU’s Kade Anderson, who went third overall to Seattle.
Keith Law of The Athletic rated Doyle as the top pitcher in the draft and the No. 2 overall player. Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel all placed him in the latter half of their top 10 rankings. Scouts praise the explosive velocity and movement of his upper-90s fastball, which overwhelmed college hitters.
Some concerns have been noted about his reliance on the fastball and aspects of his delivery, but most analysts see him developing at least average command. Law gave high marks to his splitter and described his slider as above average, projecting Doyle as a potential No. 2 starter if his control continues to improve.
There’s a strong chance Doyle could debut in the majors by late 2026. Five college draftees from last year’s top 14 picks have already made it to MLB. Doyle now joins a Cardinals farm system that includes promising arms like Quinn Mathews, Tekoah Roby, Michael McGreevy, and Tink Hence. At the major league level, 25-year-old Matthew Liberatore is having a breakout season and appears poised to become a staple in the St. Louis rotation.
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