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4 non-roster invitees who could steal Opening Day roster spots for the Cardinals

With the offseason finally coming to a close, all eyes shift to Jupiter, where sunshine and positional battles await.

By Nick Gorsich |
Springfield Cardinals v Amarillo Sod Poodles
Springfield Cardinals v Amarillo Sod Poodles / John E. Moore III/GettyImages
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As one of the slower off-seasons in recent memory finally approaches February, we can all find solace in the arrival of Spring Training.

While Spring Training is always an exciting time of year, this year’s camp figures to carry a little extra scrutiny. Coming off of a forgettable 2023, Cardinals fans will be itching to see John Mozeliak's 2024 roster at work. While new faces like Sonny Gray, Andrew Kittredge, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson will feature prominently, much of the spring training intrigue will revolve around positional battles for the final spots on the Cardinals' Opening Day 26-man roster.

While players already on the 40-man roster like Nick Robertson, Riley O’Brien, and Buddy Kennedy may have an inside edge, there are plenty of intriguing options on the outside looking in that will be hoping to raise some eyebrows in Jupiter.

Of the 27 non-roster invitees listed above, here are 4 players that have a real shot to steal a 26-man spot with a strong spring.

#1 - Andre Granillo

Andre Granillo is someone to keep an eye on this spring. A 2021 14th-round draft pick out of UC-Riverside, Granillo throws a mid-90s fastball and a low-80s slider per FanGraph's 2023 scouting report. Granillo uses that arsenal to elicit a ton of swing and misses, posting a 30.1 K% across AA Springfield and AAA Memphis in 2023.

Like so many strikeout-heavy pitchers before him, however, Granillo has struggled to find the zone times. His 12.8 BB% would’ve ranked as the 2nd highest mark in Major League Baseball, right behind NL Cy Young Blake Snell’s 13.3%. These walks got Granillo in trouble regularly, as evidenced by his 4.74 ERA across 68.1 minor league innings in 2023.

So why did I include Granillo on this list? Simply put, his stuff is nasty enough to play in an MLB bullpen. Granillo was able to highlight this at MLB’s prospect showcase, the Arizona Fall League this past October. In 10 innings pitched across 8 appearances, Granillo posted a minuscule 1.80 ERA. He continued to miss bats, posting a 31.1 K%, but the main driver of success was limiting his walks as he cut his BB% down to a very palatable 6.7%. With less traffic on the bases, we were able to get a glimpse into what Granillo can be at his best. Granillo certainly noticed that as well, as evidenced by his offseason workouts with Brandon James, a private pitching coach based out of San Diego.

Now hold your horses here! I’m certainly not saying that we should expect Granillo to repeat his Arizona Fall League stats and become a high-leverage reliever for the major league club, but bringing his BB% to 10% or lower this spring could easily win him a spot in the Cardinals opening day bullpen.

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#2 - Wilking Rodriguez

Wilking Rodriguez is another candidate to win a spot in the Cardinals bullpen. Taken in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft from the Yankees, Rodriguez is a 33-year-old fireballer who throws an upper-90s fastball, a mid-90s cutter, and a low-80s curveball per FanGraph's scouting report. Rodriguez’s career has been a roller coaster that includes a seven-year hiatus from MLB/MiLB where he pitched in Mexico and the Dominican. That roller coaster continued in 2023, as he battled injuries and threw just 5.2 innings for AAA Memphis. That said, Rodriguez made good of his time on the mound, not allowing a single earned run. He posted an above-average 26.1 K% and a BB% of 8.7% which comes in at right around average in AAA Memphis. 

We don't have a ton of recent MLB/MiLB data to work with when it comes to Rodriguez, but he definitely has an arsenal that can play in a middle role for the major league club. He just has to stay healthy to have a chance to make good on his talent. So long as he can prove that his velocity can get back to where it was when healthy in 2023, Rodriguez will have every chance to challenge for a bullpen role with the big club. At 33 years old, the clock is also ticking on his return to the majors but I’m definitely rooting for him.

#3 - Thomas Saggese

This probably isn’t the first time most people have heard Thomas Saggese’s name. Acquired in the deadline deal that sent Jordan Montgomery to the World Series Champion Texas Rangers, Saggese now ranks as the Cardinals 9th best prospect per MLB Pipeline. Saggese was hitting well for the Rangers AA affiliate when he was acquired, slashing .313/.379/.512 which was good for a 132 wRC+. He found another gear with AA Springfield however, slashing an absurd .331/.403/.662 good for a 168 wRC+. That performance would be good enough to earn him both the Texas League MVP award and a promotion to AAA Memphis. 

While he struggled in his 13 games at Memphis, a learning curve was to be expected considering that he was just 21 years old at the highest level of the minor leagues. I’ll also take this as a moment to reel some of our expectations around Saggese back in. While his 2023 was a great season, we shouldn’t expect Saggese to turn into the NL MVP. Putting that level of expectations on a 21-year-old's shoulders because he had a great season in AA is unfair. With that out of the way, we can also recognize that any player who wins an MVP at a level where he was 3 years younger than the average player deserves to be firmly on fans' radar.

Saggese’s path to an Opening Day roster spot is a little more clouded. Playing predominantly second base, names ahead of him on the depth chart include Nolan Gorman, who I covered previously here on Redbird Rants and Brendan Donovan. That said, both Gorman and Donovan have some sort of medical concerns attached to them, with back and elbow injuries respectively cutting their 2023 seasons short. Should one or both of those injuries wreak havoc this spring, Saggese will be lurking in the wings.

Even with a healthy Gorman and Donovan, it doesn’t seem too far out of line to suggest that the 2023 Texas League MVP could just hit his way into forcing the Cardinals to send him to AAA to start the year.

#4 - Victor Scott II

Victor Scott is probably the most exciting player on this list (and maybe even in the Cardinals system as a whole). Ranked as St. Louis’s 4th best prospect by MLB Pipeline, Scott played his way to AA Springfield in his first full season as a St. Louis Cardinal at just 22 years old. Across 2 levels, he posted a .303/.369/.425 triple slash line, good for a 118 wRC+. He paired this with a better-than-average 15.7% K% and a worse-than-average 7.4 BB%. He managed to parlay his breakout 2023 into an invite to the Arizona Fall League, where he continued to impress. Scott posted a .286/.388/.417 triple slash while walking more times (12) than he struck out (8). 

While his success with the bat will be critical in getting him on to the 26-man roster, Victor Scott’s best skills come away from the plate. The most impactful of them is far and away his speed. An 80-grade offering according to MLB Pipeline, Victor Scott is one of the fastest players in MLB. He wasn’t afraid to show it on the bases either, swiping a jaw-dropping 94 bases in just 132 games. During his 23-game stint in the Arizona Fall League, he stole another 18 bases, bringing his 2023 total to 112 swiped bags in 155 games. Scott also uses that speed in the field, where he grades out as a well above-average center fielder, with the chance to be a human highlight reel in CF long-term for the Cardinals.

Simply put, Victor Scott is a delight to watch wherever he is on the field. Should Tommy Edman’s wrist surgery follow him into spring training or guys like Dylan Carlson or Masyn Winn struggle, Victor Scott will almost certainly have a chance to steal a roster spot away with a strong showing.

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