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With a No. 25 jersey hanging behind him for the year the Cardinals made him the fifth overall selection in the MLB draft, their highest in a generation, Tennessee lefty Liam Doyle signed a deal Wednesday that sets another milestone for the club.

Doyle and the Cardinals agreed to a deal with a bonus of $7.25 million, making it the highest draft bonus in club history, the Post-Dispatch has learned. 

The club shared pictures on social media of Doyle's visit to Busch Stadium and signing Wednesday evening and confirmed the signing with an official announcement Thursday morning.

Doyle, 21, was one of the big-three college lefties entering the draft and expected to go early, as he did. The junior at Tennessee was a true Friday night lights power source from Volunteer's weekend rotation. The lefty touches 101 mph with his fastball, and there are sizzle reels of him catching SEC hitters looking at his 99-mph fastball.

Doyle went 10-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) this past season. In 95 2/3 innings, he struck out 164 batters and allowed only 63 hits.

The Cardinals shared photos of Doyle and his parents visiting Busch Stadium. The scoreboard broadcast his name and photos, and he shared with the team a greetings to their fans on social media: "At the first for the first time. It looks awesome here. Ready to get to work."

Slot value for the fifth overall pick this year was set at $8,134,800.

That number is set by the commissioner's office to help establish total bonus limits for teams, and clubs and their picks negotiate around that number based on leverage. For example, high school players with a strong college option can command above slot to sign with a professional team. A report during the draft night at No. 3 pick and LSU ace Kade Anderson, one of the other top college lefties, agreeing to a deal at $8.8 million with the Seattle Mariners. That would come in below the $9.5-million slot for that pick. 

By coming in under slot, the Cardinals have more flexibility to pursue players out of high school, such as their second pick Ryan Mitchell, an outfielder from a Memphis-area high school who has a commitment to Georgia Tech. The flexibility could also be used to woo signings after the 10th round.

The Cardinals signed infielder JJ Wetherholt, their seventh-overall pick in 2024, for a $6.9-million bonus to set the club's previous high by a good stretch.  

Born in Boston, Doyle grew up in Derry, New Hampshire, where he played on a travel ball team with the son of Chris Carpenter, a Cardinals' Hall of Fame and another pitcher with New Hampshire roots.

In an interview with New Hampshire's WMUR/Channel 9 this past week, Carpenter spoke about what awaits Doyle as a member of the Cardinals: "I still run into people all over the country and other countries when I travel on vacation that are Cardinals fans. And he'll realize that real quick that this is a passionate fan base, a passionate city that loves the game of baseball and loves their Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ Cardinals."

The signing of a drafted player is the ceremonial handoff between the amateur scouting group, led by assistant general manager Randy Flores, and the player development group, which is now overseen by assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio. He was the first hire at that level by Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals incoming president of baseball operations.

There is a development plan in place for all drafted players, and it takes into account the workload from the spring as well as the level of competition. A new player's onboarding with the Cardinals usually begins in Jupiter, Florida. That is where the Cardinals' player development campus is under construction but also houses two teams, the Florida State League's Palm Beach Cardinals and the Complex League's rookie-level team.

A year ago, Wetherholt made his pro debut at Low-A Palm Beach.

Doyle will be the first high draft pick to enter the Cardinals' new player development structure from the start of his pro career.

He skipped High-A entering this season and has already advanced to Class AAA Memphis and represented the Cardinals' as the National League's leadoff hitter for this past weekend's Futures Game.

The Cardinals have a total bonus purse of $14,238,300, the seventh-highest entering the draft. In each year of the purse system for the draft, the Cardinals have outspent their limit by slightly less than 5% and paid a tax on the overages. They are one of four teams to do that in every year of the draft, matched only by the Dodgers, Cubs, and Giants. 

The Cardinals scored the fifth pick in the draft through the new MLB lottery system. Despite low odds of landing in the top five and a winning record in 2024, they leapfrogged losing and last-place teams to get their highest pick since 1998, when they drafted J.D. Drew at No. 5.