The St. Louis Cardinals are hopeful for a brighter future after a last-place National League Central finish in 2023.
Not only do the Cardinals have a retooled pitching staff, along with a veteran-studded roster but the club also has a promising farm system to look forward to.
Among the plethora of talent St. Louis has in the minors, there is one prospect whom Cardinals manager Oli Marmol holds in high regard.
"His (Thomas Saggese) bat is big league ready," said Marmol as transcribed by St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Ben Frederickson. "He knows what he's doing when he's in the box. He's aware of the type of hitter he needs to be. His approach is really good. His bat-to-ball skills are pretty good as well. It's been impressive. He's shown well. Pretty advanced."
Saggese batted .306 with 66 extra-base hits including 26 home runs, 111 RBIs and a .904 OPS in 139 games played between Double-A Frisco, Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis last season.
The 21-year-old is a versatile infielder who could earn himself a role as a backup to third base, shortstop or second base if he continues to produce at the rate he's been slugging.
The utility man has recorded a .361/.425/.500 slash line with 13 hits, four walks and only five strikeouts in 36 at-bats during this year's spring training. Saggese is tied with Alec Burleson for the highest OPS (.925) among any Cardinals player with 30-plus at-bats this spring.
A young talent like Saggese is a treasure to any team and it's only a matter of time before we see him step up to the plate at Busch Stadium. We likely won't see Saggese get called up unless an injury occurs to one of the starting infielders but with Marmol's latest comment, we can infer that the rising prospect is on the verge of making his debut.
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