The St. Louis Cardinals' first pick in the MLB draft was one of the more controversial ones made early Thursday night.
The Redbirds picked Delvin Perez with their first of four draft picks Thursday, selecting the 17-year-old shortstop out of the International Baseball Academy in Ceiba, Puerto Rico despite concerns raised recently.
Some considered Perez a potential top-five pick. He was the eighth-best player available, according to Baseball America's rankings. But Perez's stock fell when he recently failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs.
MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds called the move a "bad message for baseball" during the MLB TV broadcast of the draft.