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The Cardinals haven't been featured too prominently in MLB, sadly. Their best player was probably Merv Rettenmund, who played for 13 seasons and two World Series champion teams. It took Bryan Bullington seven years after being drafted to record his only major league win, and Larry Bigbie — their last successful position player — was named in the fabled Mitchell Report.
| Ball State Cardinals draft history at Baseball-Reference | |||||
| Last MLB Player: Brad Snyder, 2011 Cubs | |||||
| P | Name | Drafted | 2012 Team | 2013 Team | Comments |
| UTIL | Dean Anna | 2008, 26th rd | Padres Double-A San Antonio Missions | Padres Triple-A Tucson Padres | I can't find Anna on any prospect lists, but when you're in Triple-A on a bad team, a slump or injury at the big leagues could be his ticket into the big show. |
| RHP | Cal Bowling | 2012 undrafted FA | White Sox Rookie League Great Falls Voyagers | Same | |
| RHP | Bryan Bullington | 2002, 1st overall | Hiroshima Carp (Japan) | Same | This name still haunts several Pirates fans, and usually when you go 1-9 in your MLB career, that's understandable. He hasn't been in the majors since 2010, when he pitched for the Royals. The good news is Bullington seems to have found a semblance of a career in Japan. |
| RHP | Morgan Coombs | N/A | Ind. League Gary SouthShore RailCats | Same | |
| RHP | Perci Garnier | 2010, 2nd rd | Phillies Class A Clearwater Threshers | same | Perhaps the highlight of Garner's career so far was pitching against Andy Pettitte last year during Pettitte's minor league stint. He projects to stick with Single A again this year. |
| OF | Jeremy Hazelbaker | 2009, 4th rd | Red Sox Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox | Same | Hazelbaker has some power and good defense in the outfield, and there's a slight chance you may see him in the big leagues this September. SoxProspects.com lists him as their 33rd best prospect. |
| RHP | Seth Hobbs | N/A | Ind. League Joliet Slammers | ? | |
| LHP | Ben Snyder | 2006, 4th rd | Rangers Triple-A Round Rock Express | Lamigo Monkeys (Taiwan) | After going through the Giants and Rangers farm systems, Snyder looks to be trying to make it across the Pacific Ocean. |
| OF | Brad Snyder | 2003, 1st rd | Astros Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks | Diamondbacks Triple-A Reno Aces | Ben's older brother is at the point where he's just hoping for a call-up at some point. He's starting to rack up the home runs in the minor leagues; he had 20 last year, and eight more will give him 100 for his career at Triple-A. And for what it's worth, last year the brothers finally faced each other in a plate appearance. |
| 3B | Kolbrin Vitek | 2010, 1st rd | Red Sox Double-A Portland SeaDogs | Same | Vitek had an injury-plagued year which limited him to just 52 total games, most of them in Double-A, so he may have fallen off the radar a bit. But if he can make it to Triple-A this year, he'll be back on track. SoxProspects.com has him as the team's 32nd best prospect, right ahead of Hazelbaker. |