Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Top Prospect Heating Up As Season Winds Down; Could Debut Be Coming?

St. Louis might have another right-handed bat to add to the lineup

Nate Hagerty

Feb 25, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese (92) throws to first base against the Houston Astros during the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese (92) throws to first base against the Houston Astros during the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The St. Louis Cardinals cannot afford to keep losing games as the season winds down and the National League Wild Card race becomes more tight and competitive.

One of the Cardinals' biggest problems at this point in the season is the lineup's inability to hit left-handed pitchers. Only two teams in the league have a worse batting average against LHP than the Cardinals' offense -- the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners.

The Cardinals need more productivity from right-handed hitters, plain and simple. If the struggles continue for St. Louis, perhaps they can turn to a young slugger who's been crushing the ball lately in the minors.

"Our Minor League Player of the Month is infielder Thomas Saggese," the organization announced Tuesday. "Saggese, 22, slashed .349/.400/.590 and ranked in the top 3 of all STL minor leaguers in hits (29), extra-base hits (11), home runs (4) & RBI (14). He tallied a season-high 4 hits on July 2 that included his first career walk-off home run."

Saggese is batting .249 with 34 extra-base hits including 13 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .727 OPS in 96 games played for Triple-A Memphis in 2024.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol spoke highly of Saggese before the season started, claiming the young slugger was ready to hit at the major league level.

Unfortunately, there isn't much room on defense for the infield utility man at the moment but with St. Louis performing so poorly against LHP's, it might be worth it to give him a shot.

Either the Cardinals could swap struggling Nolan Gorman out for Saggese while he figures out his swing or try fitting him in somehow as a designated hitter.

Regardless, it won't be long before Saggese puts on a big-league uniform, as long as he continues slugging and stays healthy.

More MLB: Ex-Cardinals Gold Glover Reportedly Blindsided By Recent Blockbuster Trade

Published
Nate Hagerty

NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

Home/St. Louis Cardinals Prospects