ST. LOUIS - Clearly the Cardinals believe they never can have too much pitching.
Adding to their already impressive stable of young arms, the Cardinals took left-handed starters with both of their first-round picks in the amateur draft Thursday night.
With the 19th pick, the Cardinals took Gonzaga's Marco Gonzales and selected New Jersey high-schooler Rob Kaminsky with the 28th pick. The club had not drafted a lefty in the first round since 1994.
Keeping with a theme of run prevention, the Cardinals used their second-round pick, the 57th overall, to take defensive-minded shortstop Oscar Mercado out of Gaither High School in Tampa, Fla.
Like every team in the majors, the Cardinals professed to be pleased with their work on the first day of the three-day draft, which will continue with rounds 3-10 at noon Friday. Not only did they pick three players they had rated highly, they were able to add left-handed pitching depth and a shortstop, two areas where their system is lacking.
"Arguably, we got three first-rounders today," said Dan Kantrovitz, the team's director of scouting. "It's nice that we can address needs but that wasn't the strategy behind it. It was to take the best player with each of our picks.
"It's pretty incredible that this came together from a (salary) cap standpoint, from addressing needs in our system, to getting high upside, exciting guys."
"If you had asked us if we had gotten one of the three players we got before the day started, we would have been happy," added general manager John Mozeliak.
Though the lefties played on opposite sides of the country, they share numerous similarities.
For starters, they're not as tall as any of the pitchers in the Cardinals' rotation, with Gonzales checking in at 6-1 and Kaminsky at 6-0.
Both work with what the Cardinals consider smooth pitching mechanics and both are regarded as "bulldog" types, a trait that could stem from being, as Kantrovitz put it, "perhaps undersized for a major league starting pitcher."
Both also had heard plenty about the team that drafted them, based on comments they made in conference calls with St. Louis media.
"I've been getting blown up by people telling me what an honor it is to go to this organization," said Gonzales, referring to messages pouring in on his mobile phone. "I've heard nothing but amazing things. The way they raise their pitchers, the way they treat their players, is phenomenal."
Said Kaminsky: "I was hoping the Cardinals were going to take me because (they) develop pitchers."
Gonzales, 21, is considered a finesse pitcher who works in the upper-80 mph range and features a changeup that Kantrovitz said was "as advanced as you'll see at the amateur level."
Gonzales did not allow a home run all season for the Zags, finishing with a 7-3 record and 2.80 ERA in 17 outings while striking out 96 in 106 innings. He also led Gonzaga in hitting with a .311 average, playing first base and DHing when he wasn't pitching.
The Cardinals believe he may add velocity by focusing solely on pitching.
In draft prospect rankings, Gonzales was ranked 14th by MLB.com, 23rd by ESPN and 28th by Baseball America.
Gonzales went to high school in Fort Collins, Colo., where he was won four state championships for Rocky Mountain High School. He was the starter and winning pitcher all four years and, for good measure, broke open his senior-season title contest with a three-run homer. He was a 29th-round pick by the Rockies out of high school but decided on three years of college.
Kaminsky, 18, throws a fastball up to 95 mph and features a hard breaking ball. He was ranked 22nd by Baseball America, 28th by MLB.com and 38th by ESPN.
Though he has a verbal commitment to play at North Carolina, Kaminsky sounds ready to bypass college to start his baseball career. He said his dad told him that a degree from North Carolina is his No. 2 priority. No. 1: "Professional baseball."
Mercado, 6-2, slipped in the prospect rankings this spring because of a sub-.300 batting average but the Cardinals believe his defense more than compensates.
"He's fluid, above average arm, really slick hands and moves like a shortstop," Kantrovitz said. "He profiles to be an above average defender."
The 18-year-old has signed to play at Florida State but the Cardinals do not anticipate much difficulty in signing him.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @stanmcneal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
