6 Cardinals who have stolen the show so far in Spring Training

The St. Louis Cardinals are 6-7 to begin their Spring Training schedule, and while the past few weeks have been filled with frustrating storylines regarding injuries and their veteran starting pitching additions, there are still a bunch of bright spots to keep an eye on.

At the end of the day, it's Spring Training. I don't take much stock in stats during camp.

Let me repeat. I take very little stock in Spring Training stats.

What I am paying attention to throughout camp and Spring Training contests is storylines, feel, and tangible progress from players. Stats tell a small part of that story, but there are a lot of other things that point to success this time of year.

You'll notice that I left players off this list who had better stats, and that was because I did not necessarily view their output so far as indicative of things to come.

Regular season results are what will tell the real story, but until then, I've got six players who have really stood out to me so far in camp.

Nolan Gorman

Throughout the 2023 season, Nolan Gorman was one of the best hitters on the Cardinals' roster, and with Lars Nootbaar likely missing the beginning of the season, it's even more important that he comes out of the gates swinging.

Posting an .891 OPS in his 19 at-bats so far, Gorman looks to be seeing the ball (and mashing the ball) well. But what I'm really intrigued by is the steps Gorman continues to take defensively.

Gorman saw a massive improvement in his OAA (-12 to -2) and RAA (-9 to -2) from 2022 to 2023, and it looks like he's continued to put in the work on that end going into 2024. Now, I don't expect Gorman to be a plus defender by any means, but average defense at second base with his bat is massive.

Alec Burleson

Another guy who may benefit from Lars Nootbaar's injury, Alec Burleson has been swinging a hot bat this spring and is looking to carve out a significant role as the season opens here soon.

His .881 OPS so far has been impressive, but anyone who dove into his numbers last year would know that Burleson was due for positive regression. No, I'm not expecting him to be an .880 OPS guy when the season begins, but he was one of the unluckiest players in baseball last year (with only Aaron Judge having a larger regression from his xwOBA to his actual wOBA).

While Dylan Carlson has continued to struggle at the plate as he has stepped into an opportunity to replace an injured starter, Burleson has taken the opportunites and run with them. His defense is still a question mark, but thus far in camp, he does look improved compared to last year.

With Nootbaar being out of the lineup, Gorman and Brendan Donovan present the Cardinals with their only other left-handed impact bats. Having Burleson ready to rock and role come Opening Day and play a significant role can help balance the lineup out a ton, and if Scott ends up patrolling center field, he'll provide major support for Burleson on balls in the gaps.

Once Nootbaar does return from injury though, it's tough to figure out what Burleson's role on this team would be. But for now, he's taking advantage of the at-bats he is being given and seems like a lock to start on Opening Day.

Zack Thompson

While question marks abound with the starting rotation, Zack Thompson is someone who continues to look the part as the Cardinals' "next man up" in their rotation and will likely join that five-man group if Sonny Gray has to begin the season on the injured list.

Posting a 3.38 ERA with seven strikeouts across eight innings thus far, Thompson has done nothing but compete on the mound each time out, and could even carry more upside than other arms in the rotation not named Sonny Gray.

Last year, multiple young arms got opportunities in the Cardinals rotation to prove themselves as future starters. While none of them did enough to warrant them not signing three starters, Thompson was the best of the bunch and brought some swing-and-miss to the St. Louis rotation.

Thompson's role this year is hard to nail down. I have a hard time believing he won't be the next man up in the rotation if needed, but if he's not needed in that role, then I'll be curious to see if he lands in the bullpen or stays stretched out in Memphis.

While a bullpen role would make him a significant piece even when he's not starting, I think what's best for the club right now and ready to start, as I feel a lot better about Thompson early in 2024 than I do their other depth starters.

Thomas Saggese

Acquired in the Jordan Montgomery/Chris Stratton deal this summer, reigning Texas League Most Valuable Player Thomas Saggese has torn the cover off of the baseball this spring, with his best performance coming on Sunday when he went 4-4 with 6 RBIs in the contest.

While it's very unlikely that Saggese makes the Opening Day roster or comes up early in the year, Saggese is continuing to open eyes in camp and should be knocking on the door of a debut this year.

His 1.049 OPS in 23 at-bats thus far is outstanding, and he continues to hit the ball with authority when he is given opportunites. He's kind of blocked on the field right now and the club has not tried playing him in the outfield, so his path to St. Louis in the immediate future is murky.

What Saggese could try to prove in the coming weeks would be his ability to play shortstop. For as much noise as the Brandon Crawford signing made, I don't think the Cardinals would hesitate to part ways with him if Saggese is raking and ready for a role off the bench.

Now, with Saggese's potential, it's probably not wise to have him on the bench most days, and when healthy, the Cardinals already have an option. I would keep an eye out on the Cardinals potentially dealing some bats in July, which would free up potential playing time for someone like Saggese.

The Bullpen

This is cheating, but it's hard to single out just a few of the Cardinals relievers. Almost all of them have had strong camps thus far performance wise, and their stuff looks really good as well.

Ryan Helsley is healthy and ready to lockdown games for the Cardinals once again in 2024. Giovanny Gallegos, Andrew Kittredge, JoJo Romero, and Keynan Middleton figure to form a strong group at the backend of the bullpen to begin the season. But some of the young newcomers have caught eyes as well and it would not be a surprise to see their names rise.

Riley O'Brien has yet to allow a run in Spring Training, and his high velocity mixed with deadly breaking stuff makes him hard to deny a spot to. Rule 5 selection Ryan Fernandez has been really good as well, and figures to make the Opening Day roster as well.

Even some of the returning arms have made major adjustments this winter. Andre Palllante developed a "death ball" this winter and has used it to find success during his outing so far.

The bullpen was a weakness in 2023, and it may end up being a major strength in 2024. If that's the case, mixing a shutdown bullpen with this lineup takes a ton of pressure off of the starting rotation and could create a winning culture for St. Louis.