The St. Louis Cardinals continued their Day 2 emphasis on college pitching Sunday by selecting Arizona State right-hander Derek Schaefer with the 204th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
Schaefer, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior from Cave Creek, Ariz., emerges as a high-upside bullpen arm with mid-to-upper-90s velocity and a wipeout sweeper. He becomes the first Sun Devil drafted by St. Louis since catcher Ryan Campos in the fourth round in 2024 and joins fellow Arizona State right-hander Jaden Alba (14th round) as teammates selected by the Cardinals this year.
The selection fits a clear organizational pattern of targeting experienced college arms with power stuff and late-inning experience.
Schaefer’s college path is well-traveled and successful. As a freshman at Tennessee in 2024, he appeared in 10 games (two starts) for the eventual NCAA Division I national champions, posting a 9.35 ERA over 8.2 innings with 10 strikeouts. After transferring closer to home, he spent the next two seasons as a key multi-inning and late-inning option for Arizona State.
In 2025, his first year with the Sun Devils, Schaefer went 3-1 with a 5.29 ERA in 22 appearances (three starts) and two saves. He struck out 35 batters in 32.1 innings while walking 15. That summer he headed to the Cape Cod League with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, making eight appearances (four starts) and going 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA.
Schaefer’s draft year was his most impactful. Fully entrenched as Arizona State’s closer, he made a team-high-tying 31 appearances (all in relief), posted a team-high nine saves (second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally), and struck out 42 batters in 33.2 innings against just 14 walks. His final line read 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA, but the number was heavily inflated by one rough outing against Utah. Strip that appearance and he allowed only seven earned runs in his other 23.1 innings (2.70 ERA). He also earned a midseason NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award watch list nod.
His average fastball velocity of 95.4 mph ranked among the top 30 nationally among pitchers with at least 20 innings, and he routinely sat 94-95 mph while touching 98-99.
At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds with a strong, physical frame, Schaefer looks the part of a major-league reliever. He works from a clean, over-the-top delivery with good extension and generates excellent ride on his fastball (approximately 17 inches of induced vertical break). The four-seamer sits 94-95 mph and has been clocked as high as 99, giving him real late-inning punch.
His best secondary is a mid-80s power sweeper that generates roughly 12 inches of gloveside horizontal break. Scouts and pitch-tracking data describe it as a true wipeout offering that he throws for strikes and that tunnels effectively off the fastball. He also mixes a high-80s cutter (about 8 inches of vertical break) and a mid-80s changeup that shows some vertical depth but remains a work in progress.
The package is pure bullpen. Schaefer’s strikeout rate jumped to 11.2 per nine innings in 2026, and he has shown the ability to miss bats against quality competition. Command has improved (3.7 BB/9 this spring), though he still works with elevated walk totals at times. His competitive makeup and experience as a closer make him an attractive Day 2 target for an organization that values power arms who can contribute relatively quickly in relief roles.
A product of Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek, Schaefer was a highly regarded high school prospect. He participated in the 2022 Perfect Game National Showcase at Tropicana Field and the 2021 Perfect Game Junior National Showcase. He earned a 9.5 Perfect Game grade in 2022, ranked as high as No. 174 overall nationally by Prep Baseball Report, and was a three-time Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-American and 12-time All-Tournament Team selection.
He is the son of David and Patricia Schaefer. His mother played collegiate basketball at Division II Lewis University in Illinois.
Schaefer’s selection continues a productive recent run of Arizona State talent finding its way to St. Louis. He and Alba spent the past two seasons as teammates in Tempe, giving the Cardinals two familiar arms from the same program in the same draft class.
For a Cardinals organization still building depth in the upper levels of the system and always hunting for power arms who can impact the major-league bullpen, Schaefer represents a classic seventh-round profile: physical, experienced, high-velocity right-hander with a legitimate out pitch. If the sweeper continues to play and the fastball command tightens further, he has a realistic path to becoming a late-inning contributor in St. Louis.
