SEATTLE — With only one pick on the first day of the MLB draft and few picks overall to augment the system, the Cardinals went for a power move.

The Cardinals selected thundering outfielder Chase Davis from Arizona with the 21st pick.

Davis, 21, slugged .742 with 21 home runs for Arizona this past season.

The Cardinals have been tied often to Davis as the draft approached, and he was one of the top four or five players available when the Cardinals’ lone selection of the evening came up. Several of the top pitchers available in the draft had already been selected, including the arms considered can’t-miss as future members of a big league rotation.

Davis has left-handed power, something the Cardinals have craved. His swing has been compared to former Colorado left-handed hitter and All-Star Carlos Gonzalez.

Davis has some time in center field, where he placed in the Cape Cod League, a favorite place for the Cardinals to evaluate talent.

“Prior to the 2023 season, that power came with real swing-and-miss questions,” Baseball America’s scouting report on Davis says. “He had just a 68 percent contact rate in the first two seasons of his career, but course-corrected in a sensational 2023 season where he hit .362/.489/.742 with 21 home runs, a career-low 14.4 percent strikeout rate and an overall contact rate that surged to 80 percent. Davis didn’t sacrifice any power to get there either, with all-fields power and the same loud exit velocities he normally produces. Davis’ increased contact ability has amplified his offensive profile, which already started with a strong feel for the zone and plus raw power.”

The slot bonus for the 21st pick is set for $3,618,200.

The Cardinals have the fourth-smallest bonus purse in the draft, at $6,375,100. That is because the Cardinals forfeited their second-round pick to sign free-agent catcher Willson Contreras. The Cardinals have only one pick on the first day of the draft and only one pick in the first 89 selections.

A few weeks after winning the NCAA College World Series championship, LSU made history as the first team with the first picks of the MLB draft.

Pitcher Paul Skenes went first overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and outfielder Dylan Crews, one of the best allaround talents available in the draft, went No. 2 to Washington.