FALMOUTH, Mass. — The MLB Draft is a special time for numerous players. In 2025, one of them was Kaden Echeman.

Echeman, who recently transferred to Kentucky, was selected 236th overall in the 12th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. In three years at Northern Kentucky, he finished with a 6.97 ERA and missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John Surgery. But his best season came in 2025, where he posted a career-high 4.34 ERA and a 35.7% strikeout rate.

This summer, Echeman pitched for the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Falmouth Commodores, attempting to boost his draft stock. He did just that, recording a 2.25 ERA in four starts, becoming one of 21 Falmouth players chosen in the draft.

Echeman spoke to Falmouth about the draft process and his time with NKU and the ‘Dores.

Falmouth Commodores: You were chosen in the 12th round by the Cardinals. How did it feel to be drafted?

Kaden Echeman:

It was awesome just seeing my name called. I followed the draft tracker before the actual video called out my name, so I knew right before it was called out.

Falmouth: I know the draft process can be hectic for some, but how was it for you?

K.E.:

It's hectic, going to different workouts, trying to balance that with pitching in the Cape. You don't know what's gonna happen. You think you know what’s gonna happen that Saturday, Sunday, but for me, I didn't know anything until Monday, so it was a lot of waiting around.

Falmouth: How were your conversations with the Cardinals specifically?

K.E.:

They called me after and they were just really excited to have me. I fly out tomorrow, so I'll be down in Jupiter with them doing all my testing.

Falmouth: Are you surprised at all that they specifically chose you?

K.E.:

Yes and no. I didn't have much contact with them before the draft, and then the draft happened, and they're all like, ‘Let’s go.’ So I was like, ‘Alright, let's go.’

Falmouth: When did you first realize you wanted to make it to Major League Baseball?

K.E.:

Probably middle school. I lived in Dayton, so I'd go to a lot of the Dayton Dragons’ games. And then in high school, in our state tournament game, I pitched on a minor league field, and I was like, ‘This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.’

Falmouth: You spent the last four years at Northern Kentucky, what did you most get out of your time there?

K.E.:

It taught me more about the mental game. In high school, we had a good understanding of the mental side of baseball. But at NKU, every week we'd go and we’d talk more and more about the mental game, so I learned how to get out of my shell.

Falmouth: One of the bigger parts of your NKU journey was undergoing Tommy John in 2024. How do you think that rehab went and how do you think you bounced back from that?

I tell a lot of people before TJ I was a thrower, and after TJ I was a pitcher. TJ helped me understand the game because I never really sat there and studied pitching.

My freshman and sophomore years, I just never really dove into the pitching side of baseball, and then I had TJ, and it was kind of a wake up call. You better figure out what you're doing with pitching because if you don't, you're not gonna make it far. So when I had TJ, I started diving into numbers, metrics, videos, watching everything that I can.

Falmouth: Have you thought a lot about going back to school versus going to the Cardinals?

K.E.:

It was slight when the draft was happening, but I got called and I got picked and I was like, ‘I'm going to the Cards. I'm not gonna go back to school.’

Falmouth: With Falmouth, what were you looking to get out of that experience going in?

Partially draft stock. I played at a mid-major, so I wasn't too heavily scouted and recruited. Going to the Cape, I knew it was an awesome opportunity to play against the best players in the country and guys that are gonna be first, second rounders in the next couple of years. I knew if I went there and performed, it would only help my case.

Falmouth: Overall, how was your experience with the Commodores?

K.E.:

Every part of being in Falmouth was amazing. I love the fact that you have to put in what you want out of it. If you want to go lift, you go lift. If you wanna throw, go throw. Falmouth gave me the resources to understand what I need to do to prepare for my next start or just be as good as I can.

Some questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Noah Nussbaum is the beat reporter for the Falmouth Commodores. You can read all of his articles on the Commodores here.