Credit:Sam Navarro/USA TODAY sports
The St. Louis Cardinals’ prospect Thomas Saggese has been an impressive addition to the organization. He was probably one of the reasons the front office was fine with moving on from Tommy Edman. Furthermore, it would be no surprise if he managed to hit his way into the starting line-up in 2025. Next season will likely be Nolan Gorman‘s last chance to cut down on the strikeouts and prove he can be the everyday second baseman. If he can’t, Saggese will likely be his replacement if he can continue to develop at the plate.
Saggese Makes Some Noise in Arizona
The young slugger has been focusing on his plate discipline this off-season. The results have definitely been promising. Saggese has put up an impressive .410/.533/.623 slash line with an OPS of 1.156. Additionally, he has nine extra base hits, two of them being homeruns. He accomplished this over 77 plate appearances in 17 games. The sample size may be small but is still impressive nonetheless.
When asked about his approach at the plate, Saggese had this to say on MiLB.com. “I’ve always been see-ball, hit-ball, but I’m more thinking along with the pitcher and what he’s trying to do and really not giving the pitchers too much credit. They’re trying to throw strikes. They’re going to miss in the middle of the zone a lot, and when they do, that’s when I make my money.”
Cardinals’ Prospect Makes Great First Impression
The Cardinals were sellers at the 2023 deadline, and they made some excellent additions in the process. They acquired Saggese, Tekoah Roby, and John King in exchange for Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton from the Rangers. Texas also received an international bonus pool slot from the Cardinals.
The Rangers drafted Saggese out of high school in the 2020 draft. He hit .308 in High-A during the 2022 season and then hit for a .381 average in Double-A to help Frisco win the Texas League championship. The infielder picked up right where he left off the following season. He continued to impress in the Texas League before and after being traded to the Cardinals.
The Cardinals’ prospect Saggese put up a .331/.403/.662 slash line with 10 homers and 29 RBI’s in 33 games with Double-A Springfield. Over the entire season in Double-A, split between the Ranger organization and Cardinals, he put up a respectable .318/.385/.551 slash line with 25 homeruns and 107 RBI’s. The infielder also showed versatility on defense, logging time at second base, third base, and shortstop for the Double-A squad. He is likely best suited at second base but has the versatility to play all over the infield. The young slugger was named the Texas League MVP after his impressive 2023 season.
A Player Cardinal Fans Will Appreciate
Saggese is the type of player Cardinal fans adore. He’s quite simply a good baseball player. The slugging infielder is a hard-nosed player who has good fundamentals. He can mash at the plate and can play all over the infield. However, he is probably best suited at second base. It’s very likely he’ll be on the opening day roster for the 2025 season. If he continues to develop at his current pace, he could make a push to be in the starting line-up. Undoubtedly, the past few seasons have been pretty rough for fans to watch, and it’s probably not going to get any better as far as their record goes. However, fans should be excited to watch a good young core given a chance to perform at the Major League level.
