Right after the conclusion of the 2025 MLB Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals signed C Alex Birge to an undrafted free agent contract. It’s a signing that went under the radar, but don’t be surprised if it turns out to be one of the Cardinals’ best moves of the 2025 draft season.
Birge, 22, is as well rounded as a catching prospect gets. He spent the 2025 season at The University of California, Berkeley. Birge showed plenty of pop at Cal, leading the Golden Bears in home runs with 12. That was facilitated by his elite gap power; 22 of Birge’s 31 hits were extra base hits.
But he also showed an elite eye and plate discipline, leading the team in walks with 40 and finishing with a .415 on base percentage.
And that’s just on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, Birge gunned down 11 of 31 runners who attempted to steal on him (35%). That would rank sixth in the MLB this season.
Heavy Sports caught up with Birge to discuss his year at Cal, the Draft experience, his first few days in the Cardinals organization, and what he’s looking forward to about being a professional baseball player. Here is the full interview.
Year At Cal Berkeley
Heavy: Before the season, you transferred to UC Berkeley. Did you have goals to make the big leagues that factored into that? What else factored into that decision?
Birge: I was at Wichita State previously for three years, and I graduated early. I could be a grad transfer with two years of eligibility left, so I decided to take that leap of faith and go into the portal. Cal reached out, I went on a visit and it seemed like a great fit at the catcher position. And they are in the ACC, so a whole new challenge there too that seemed like a good opportunity.
MLB Draft Experience
Heavy: Ahead of the MLB Draft, what was going through your mind? Did you have an idea that you might get drafted? Did you know that the Cardinals were interested in you? Or did that all develop after the draft was over?
Birge: The draft was definitely a cool experience. I talked to quite a few teams during the process and got a few calls during the draft, some of the earlier rounds. They offered a senior sign*.
I had another year [of eligibility] left. I was definitely weighing going back to Cal, too, just because of how much I enjoyed playing there and enjoyed all the coaches and my teammates. But said no to some of those [early round opportunities] and then went into the later rounds and the Cardinals called, said that they’re interested.
It didn’t fall through during the draft. But they called the next day after and wanted to sign me as a free agent and hit what I was looking for and seemed like a really good opportunity to be part of a really good organization. So I wanted to jump on it and get my feet wet and start my pro clock.
*Note: A senior sign is when MLB teams draft a player who is a senior in college or older and sign them for less money than their slot value because the player has no leverage. So essentially, Birge was considered an early round draft choice by some teams, but ultimately went undrafted because he wanted a better contract than they were offering. Otherwise, he was going to head back to UC Berkeley.
Birge’s Scouting Report
Heavy: For Cardinals fans who don’t know much about you as a player, what would be your scouting report of yourself? I know one of your strengths is plate discipline because you draw a lot of walks. What are some of your other strengths as a player?
Birge: The plate discipline, and I tapped into quite a bit of power. Hitting for extra base hits and drawing walks on the offensive side is definitely my strong suit.
Defensively, I view myself as a really high level defensive catcher that works for the pitchers and puts good moves on the baseball receiving wise.
My catch and throw, I think, is one of my best tools. I love when base runners try to try to steal bases on me because I love that challenge.
Heavy: What are you hoping to improve on or work on the most as you go through the development process in minor league ball?
Not changing my identity and my strengths like I kind of mentioned, but using the resources and the coaching here to try to elevate myself and make myself more consistent.
The Rest of The Season With The Cardinals Organization
Heavy: Do you have an idea yet where they’re going to assign you first and when your first game action may be?
Birge: Not yet. In two weeks I’m either going to be shipped out somewhere like the Low A Palm Beach Cardinals or do live ABs or scrimmages or something like that there.
Heavy: Is there something that you’re looking forward to about being in the Cardinals organization off the field?
Birge: We’re in a really cool area right now in Jupiter. This place is amazing. You’re playing baseball in Florida in a really nice area. It’s awesome to be able to experience that. Obviously Cardinals baseball is a big deal throughout all levels. So I’m sure that the fan experience and the fan engagement are going to be great at all of the levels.
What it Means To Be A Cardinal
Heavy: What does being a part of the Cardinals organization with all the history and the World Series wins and some of the iconic players mean to you?
Birge: Cardinals fans know winning. Obviously, they’ve won a bunch of World Series and all the people within the organization expect the same thing. So there’s definitely a standard of excellence that it takes to play in this organization.
Yadier Molina is arguably the greatest catcher of all time. So to be able to catch in the same organization that he did, at the top of the game in the big leagues for years and years and years, It’s just really cool.
Heavy: If you were to make the MLB down the line, what would that mean to you?
It’d be a dream come true. I feel like I’m already living the dream, getting this far and making it to pro ball. I had a coach tell me the only way to get to the MLB is to sign a contract. So I signed the first contract. I think it’d be really awesome for my family to be able to experience that with me one day, but in the meantime, I’m just taking it day by day and being convicted to be the best version of myself every day.
EXCLUSIVE: Recent St. Louis Cardinals Signing Aspires To Follow in Yadier Molina’s Footsteps