DOWNTOWN — Now the draft is moving at a furious and purposeful pace so it’s difficult to keep up with the reporting, the writing, the graphic-charting and the blogging — in that order, of course. So, here is a quick and clippy look at the Cardinals three picks after No. 13 Brett Wallace.

No. 39 — RHP Lance Lynn, Ole Miss 

Cardinals VP Jeff Luhnow said on Wednesday that there was a value in selecting a reliable, middle-of-the-order starter, and Lynn appears to be that guy. He has four pitches. He’s big. He doesn’t have one pitch that is overwhelming, according to some reports, but Luhnow called him capable of “dominating” in the SEC. Lynn is Ole Miss’s career strikeout leader, and he did do this, from The Associated Press:

Lynn led his Brownsburg team to the 1999 Little League World Series as a 12-year-old and then led his high school team to an undefeated season and the Class 4A state championship as a senior in 2005.

No. 59 — 1B/OF Shane Peterson, Long Beach State

Ranked 75th in the Baseball America draft preview, Peterson looks like a lot of the guys the Cardinals have: A potential corner outfielder who doesn’t necessarily have the power to play the corner outfield. He has played first base for the Dirt Bags, and there’s sporadic proof of developing power. Still, he puts up some reliable numbers and is a college player, playing in a league and at a ballpark where reliable numbers become projectable numbers and projectable numbers are likable numbers of for the Cardinals.

He’s a take on Peterson as a draft “sleeper” from the local paper, The Long-Beach Press Telegram:

But nationally, the country has little idea how productive Peterson has been in his three seasons as a Dirtbag. The scouts who send reports to their directors probably have the word “sleeper” written in margins, or something to the effect of “true draft steal if we can keep it quiet.”

This is a function of several things, from Peterson’s less-than-imposing size (a first-baseman listed at 6-foot), his being more of a line-drive hitter than a slugger, playing in spacious Blair Field, and having no chance to date of playing on a major national stage like a Super Regional or the College World Series.

But consider the numbers and you can see why one scout said on background that he’s going to make some major league team overjoyed at its good fortune.

Peterson leads the Dirtbags, who open a key Big West series at Cal Poly tonight, in runs scored (42), hits (69), doubles (15), average (.385), walks (36) and on-base percentage (.495). He’s second on the team in home runs (7), RBI (47) and slugging (.609) behind Jason Corder (13-49-.648).

He’s the most well-rounded candidate for conference player of the year on a team that’s been in the national Top 30 most of the season.

No. 91 — SS Ernest Vasquez, Durango HS

Goes by Niko. The Cardinals are going to lure one of these Beavers away eventually. For the third consecutive draft, the Cardinals have taken a player connected to the Oregon State baseball program. Two years ago it was C Mitch Canham and last year it was pitcher Mike Stutes. Neither signed and went back to Oregon State. Vasquez is just a commitment. A shortstop out of the Las Vegas area, Vasquez had academic troubles at the start of the season, meaning he could be a more likely sign than the other two Beavers. He’s BA’s No. 65th player and one of the few top-end middle infielders available in this draft, though it’s not clear if he’ll advance as a middle infielder. This is what MLB.com had to say about him:

Niko Vasquez, SS, Durango H.S., Las Vegas: When watching Vasquez for any length of time, two things jump out right away: his above-average power and his plus arm. He’s not the most physically imposing guy in the world, but he does have some pop and should be an even better hitter with some tweaks to his swing. He has a cannon for an arm, and even though he has below-average speed, he has all the actions you want to see from a shortstop.

No. 125 — RHP Scott Gorgen, UC-Irvine

Just picked. Here’s his player page over at the official Irvine site. He was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, and there’s a good rundown of his rise to prominence as a Irvine star in this article from The Daily Pilot. He too is the all-time strikeout leader for his college. In the above article, it says:

Scott, who has developed what many consider the best change-up in college baseball, is projected to go in the first three rounds of the upcoming Major League Draft. Though 5-foot-10, considerably shorter than most scouts prefer their mound prospects, his consistent excellence - he proudly points out that he has not missed a weekend start as a collegian and he has also made spot relief appearances beyond that, to help his team - has helped him overcome such a stigma.

A lot more information about these picks and others are available at the ever-resourceful Future Redbirds and their by-the-pick draft chatter.

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