6 Cardinal prospects whose stocks have risen and 4 whose stocks have fallen

Thomas Saggese hasn't been able to replicate his ridiculous 2023 season.

Pretty much anything Thomas Saggese did this year would be a step down from his 2023 season, so that's a bit unfair to him. However, the offensive drop for the versatile infielder has been precipitous. It's possible that he's been focusing on his defense this year -- he's been used primarily as a shortstop -- and that's been the cause of his downfall.

Last year, Saggese ended the season with a .331/.403/.662 slash line, 10 home runs, and a 168 wRC+ in Double-A Springfield. He appeared in just 13 games at Memphis, and he finished his time there with a .207/.270/.345 slash line and a 51 wRC+. Perhaps his struggles at Memphis last year were a sign of things to come this year.

He is currently slashing .247/.308/.431 this year for a wRC+ of just 89 in 113 games. He's hit 18 home runs and stolen nine bases, but he hasn't been able to hit with as much power as he did in Springfield last year. Once again, he was bound to come back down to earth, but the dropoff has been great this year.

Saggese's batted ball profile has become quite pull-heavy, as he has a 47.7% pull rate in Memphis. He spread the ball around last year at a 32.7% pull rate, 34.7% up-the-middle rate, and a 32.7% opposite field rate. His tendencies to pull the ball this year have resulted in less output. He's also hitting significantly more groundballs this year than last year, thus limiting his slugging potential.

Saggese is still only 22 years old, and he has proven himself across multiple levels offensively. I'm not worried about his future prospects, but his stock has dropped some this year after an inability to get close to his 2023 production.