Many fans throw an apathetic glance at the MLB Draft. Unlike the drafts in many other sports, baseball players chosen in the baseball draft require years of development before they (possibly) impact the major league team. It’s a crapshoot. It’s also a bit like mining for diamonds.

But that’s precisely why the baseball draft is so exciting – we get to see teams put up incredible amounts of money in the hope that they find those gems buried within mountains of prospects. It can be a heartbreaking process, but an exhilarating one as well.

It’s interesting to look back and see how the Cardinals have done over the years since the start of the draft process in 1965. Here is a look at the impact players the Cardinals have discovered in each round of the baseball draft: 

ROUND 1

• Ted Simmons (1967)
• Garry Templeton (1974)
• Leon Durham (1976)
• Terry Kennedy (1977)
• Andy Van Slyke (1979)
• Todd Worrell (1982)
• Joe Magrane (1985)
• Matt Morris (1995)
• Adam Kennedy (1997)
• J.D. Drew (1998)
• Tyler Greene (2005)
• Colby Rasmus (2006)
• Lance Lynn (2008)

ROUND 2

• Jerry Reuss (1967)
• Todd Zeile (1986)
• Rick Ankiel (1997)
• Chris Narveson (2000)
• Dan Haren (2001)
• Jon Jay (2006)

ROUND 3

• Tom Nieto (1981)
• Ray Lankford (1987)
• Daniel Descalso (2007)

ROUND 4

• Jim Gott (1977)
• Ricky Horton (1980)
• Curt Ford (1981)
• Yadier Molina (2000)

ROUND 5

• Andy Rincon (1977)
• Skip Schumaker (2001)
• Mitchell Boggs (2005)
• Shane Robinson (2006)

ROUND 6

• Lance Johnson (1984)
• Rheal Cormier (1988)
• John Mabry (1991)

ROUND 7

• Jim Adduci (1980)
• Terry Pendleton (1982)
• Coco Crisp (1999)
• Brendan Ryan (2003)

ROUND 8

• Tom Pagnozzi (1983)
• Allen Craig (2006)

ROUND 9

• Bucky Dent (1969)

ROUND 10

• Vince Coleman (1983)
• Greg Mathews (1984)

ROUND 13

• Danny Cox (1981)
• Albert Pujols (1999)
• Matt Carpenter (2009)

ROUND 15

• Anthony Reyes (2003)

ROUND 16

• Brad Thompson (2002)

ROUND 19

• Placido Polanco (1994)
• Jason Motte (2003)

ROUND 22

• Jeff Fassero (1984)
• Jaime Garcia (2005)

ROUND 23

• Kevin Correia (2001)
• Matt Adams (2009)

ROUND 25

• Kyle McClellan (2002)