Current Contract
Contract purchased from Triple-A Memphis on August 9, 2007. Ankiel is arbitration eligible at the end of the 2008 campaign.

Agent: Scott Boras

Became a Cardinal
Selected in the second round (72nd overall) of the June, 1997 First-Year Player Draft. Received a $2,500,000 signing bonus.

2008 Season
Another season cut short due to an injury, this time it was an abdominal strain that required surgery for a sports hernia in September. He finished the season with a .264 batting average with 25 home runs and 71 RBIs. Those numbers don't reflect how well he really played, appearing in only 120 games for the season and suffering a severe slump with his abominal injury for the about a month before being sidelined and having surgery. Recovery time should be five to six weeks, so Ankiel should be ready for spring training.

2007 Season
Ankiel played in 102 games at Memphis to start the season, where he was hitting .267 with 32 home runs (2nd in the minors), before getting the callup to the Majors on August 9th. In his first game with St. Louis he hit a three-run homer. He continued to swing one of the hottest bats in the Majors until a report surfaced the first week of September that Ankiel received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug-distribution operation. Ankiel then went into a 7-for-55 slump, before rebounding in his final 10 games, hitting .325 with two home runs and nine RBI. He finished his first season with St. Louis as an outfielder, playing in 47 games, hitting .285 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI.

Career Notes
Ankiel was regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the game after the Cardinals game him a $2.5 million signing bonus as a second round draft pick in 1997. He was already a full-time starter for the Cardinals by 2000, going 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA, striking out 194 and walking 90 in 175 innings while opponents hit only .219 against him.

He would miss all of the 2002 season due to left elbow tendonitis and a strained flexor muscle. He began the 2003 season at Double-A Tennessee, but was sidelined with elbow discomfort in July, and underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on July 16. He didn’t return until August, 2004 when he began a minor league rehab assignment. After dominating the minors, he posted a 5.40 ERA in five appearances, striking out nine and walking only one in 10 innings for the Cardinals.

Expected to be a big part of the Cardinals pitching staff in 2005, Ankiel shocked everyone, including the Cardinals, when he announced in spring training that he would give up pitching and become an outfielder. Despite fighting back problems all season, he finished the season hitting .259 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI in 85 games between Double-A Springfield and low Class A Quad Cities. However, he would go on to miss the entire 2006 season with patellar tendonitis in his left knee.

Player Awards
Scout.com Cardinals AAA Player of the Year 2007
PCL Postseason All-Star 2007
High School Player of the Year 2007 - USA Today