Liam Doyle News: Scooped by Cards

The Cardinals have selected Doyle with the fifth overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft.

If the draft were held in March, Doyle may have been the first pitcher off the board, but he gave up 16 earned runs while walking nine in 21 innings over his final five starts and it became easier to nitpick his secondary offerings and control. A 6-foot-2 lefty who pitched for three schools in three years, closing his college career at Tennessee, Doyle's fastball is one of the best pitchers in the class, sitting in the mid-90s while touching 99 mph with excellent movement from a deceptive release point. Doyle threw his fastball two-thirds of the time and may not end up with a plus secondary offering. He also throws close to max effort, which, combined with his so-so secondaries and 8.3 percent walk rate leads some evaluators to see a potential future in relief. Doyle's 95.2 innings this year were easily a career high, topping the 65 innings he threw in 2023 combined between Coastal Carolina and the Cape Cod League.