6 young players the Cardinals need to prioritize playing time for down the stretch

Victor Scott II

The Cardinals' current plan now that Michael Siani is back from injury is to give him the starting center field job back and reduce Victor Scott II's role down to a bench player and speedster/defensive replacement. I strongly disagree with this idea.

Look, I was singing Michael Siani's praises before he hit the injured list, so I'm not going to act like I do not like him as a player, but we know what Siani is. He has a nice floor due to his Gold Glove defense and the bat was passable as the season went along. But back to my original point - the Cardinals need to see what they have for 2025 - and the ceiling with Scott is much higher than Siani.

During Scott's first stint in St. Louis, things went really bad at the plate, and he spent most of this season in Memphis working on his issues and getting himself ready to face big-league pitching once again. Both sample sizes are small, but it is easy to see how much better Scott has been this time around.

Scott is not lighting the world on fire offensively, but he's gone from a negative wRC+ player (which I had literally never seen before) to a below-league-average bat who has room in his profile to grow at the plate. We all know what Scott is capable of doing on the base paths as well, so the closer he gets to being league-average offensively, the more havoc he can cause.

No, his defense is not at Siani's level, but it's not miles off either. The more Scott gets comfortable out there, the smaller the gap will become. And if Siani's true calling card is his defense, and Scott is able to get close to his level, then it is not even a comparison between the two players. Scott's offensive profile and speed win the day.

Let Scott finish the season as the everyday starter in center field. You'll probably need to find a right-handed platoon partner for him next year, but allow him the opportunity to grow as a player down the stretch so he may be ready to take on the primary center fielder role next season.

Michael McGreevy

I'll be honest, I was not high on Michael McGreevy entering the year, and when he got his spot start earlier this summer, I was pretty sure it would go poorly. Instead, McGreevy turned in one of the best starts by a Cardinal this year, and we have not seen him since.

I got it at the time. McGreevy wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire in Memphis (although he had been better leading up to that start) and the Cardinals had other starters available. But now that the club seems to be out of the playoff race, why not see what McGreevy can be in the rotation down the stretch?

No, I don't expect McGreevy to throw seven innings while allowing just one run very often for the Cardinals, but could he emerge as a competent back-of-the-rotation starter? I can see that. But it's hard to know if he is ready for that without giving him more than one start against big-league hitting.

Even if the Cardinals think they are going to bring back Kyle Gibson and/or Lance Lynn next season, they owe it to themselves in many ways to see what McGreevy can be down the stretch. If McGreevy can produce similar or better results than Gibson/Lynn for the rest of September, then the Cardinals now have multiple options on their hands.

They could free up some payroll flexibility by not picking up club options on Lynn and Gibson if they feel like McGreevy is someone they can trust. With Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, and Steven Matz all under contract for next season already along with the emergence of Andre Pallante, that would make six starters the Cardinals can roll with before even thinking about Gibson or Lynn, so they could just decide to save $22 million and allow both to walk in free agency.

One of the reasons the Cardinals have seemingly spun in circles the last few seasons has been due to their inability to develop their own pitching. Year after year they have to sign or trade for temporary solutions to their rotation that have low ceilings but cost a substantial amount of money. You would think an ownership group that wants to be diligent with how they spend their money would much rather have a guy making less than a million dollars in their rotation than pay someone $12 million a year for the same production.

It's time for the Cardinals to recall McGreevy and see what he has down the stretch. I would move Miles Mikolas to the bullpen to clear the way, or even someone like Lance Lynn or Kyle Gibson if needed. Maybe consider shutting down Sonny Gray soon to protect his arm for the rest of the season. Whatever it takes, the Cardinals should have McGreevy join Pallante down the stretch as young arms in their rotation.

Ivan Herrera

Believe it or not, the Cardinals are out of option years with Ivan Herrera going into the 2025 season. That means if the Cardinals decide to demote Herrera next season, he must clear waivers first.

So basically, the Cardinals need to know what they are doing with Herrera next year. If he is with the team, he needs to be the primary backup to Willson Contreras. If they still do not trust him in that role, then he likely needs to be dealt to capitalize on his value.

Well, the Cardinals have continued to prioritize playing time for Pedro Pages this season, and even as someone who likes Pages, I see that as a foolish way to handle the roster down the stretch. Herrera's ceiling is so much higher than Pages' offensively and Herrera has shown the tools needed (aside from arm strength) to be a more than competent catcher behind the plate.

Herrera needs time behind the plate to develop, and the Cardinals need to figure out how much they value his bat. Frankly, they also need to market his bat to other teams as well in case they decide to move on from him. I really think the Cardinals would be doing themselves a disservice by moving Herrera this offseason, but if it is in the range of outcomes, then they need to do everything they can to prop him up as an asset.

In order to do that, Herrera should handle the bulk of the catching duties down the stretch and maybe get some designated hitter opportunities as needed as well. Anything Oli Marmol can do to fit him in the lineup must be done at this point.

Willson Contreras took major strides forward this year defensively, but even when he was healthy, we saw how frequently the Cardinals utilized the backup catcher on their roster. Contreras is not going to start catching more often as he gets older, so having a young catcher who you trust to play a lot will be key moving forward. Pages does enough defensively to be likable as a backup, but Herrera can do enough to wow in that role. The Cardinals need to see if he can be that for them, or market him to a team who believes he will for them.

Thomas Saggese

Coming into 2024, I was pretty confident that the Cardinals would have called up Thomas Saggese by now. He set the world on fire in Double-A last year while winning the Texas League Most Valuable Player and got a brief taste of Triple-A as well. I didn't think Saggese would start the year in St. Louis by any means, but I thought he would have made his debut well before September.

Saggese has struggled offensively this season, well, at least at the beginning of the season. As of late though, the infielder looks like a guy ready to get his first crack at playing at the highest level.

Since July 1st, Saggese is slashing .302/.365/.550 (.915 OPS) to go along with a 7.2% walk rate and 23.1% strikeout rate. He has undoubtedly turned a quarter offensively since July began, and I really think it would benefit Saggese a ton to have a similar experience to what Masyn Winn did at the end of 2023.

Winn struggled offensively last year, but it is clear that his taste of big league pitching helped him tremendously heading into 2024. It gave the Cardinals confidence to roll with him at shortstop to begin the season, and if the club wants Saggese to make an impact early in 2025, they should let him get his feet wet now.

There is not a clear starting role for Saggese next season, but I imagine the club would love for him to be a right-handed utility bat off of the bench next year. Instead of having a Brandon Crawford-esque off the bench in 2025, Saggese could back up shortstop, second base, and third base while potentially being a platoon bat against left-handed pitching.

Saggese is unlikely to find a full-time starter role with the Cardinals without a significant injury happening or him forcing the issue, so getting Saggese used to a semi-regular role at the big league level now could help him as he prepares for next season. If things go poorly in St. Louis and Spring Training is not much better for Saggese, there is no harm in him starting in Memphis again.

Let's see what Saggese has in the tank.

Gordon Graceffo

Like McGreevy, Gordon Graceffo has only been able to throw a little bit at the Major League level this year, and while his results are less encouraging, I'd like to see what he has down the stretch.

While McGreevy should definitely start if he is called up, I would be good seeing Graceffo in a starter role or relief role upon his promotion. Obviously the Cardinals would love to see him pan out as a starter, but as he has struggled in that role the last two years, there have been thoughts of seeing what he could do out of the bullpen instead.

We all know how unpredictable bullpens can be, so seeing what he looks like in short stints would give the Cardinals a leg up on building out their bullpen for next year. It wouldn't necessarily end Graceffo's hopes of being a starter, but it would give him utility to pitch in St. Louis next year, even if he's not in the rotation.

I'd probably prefer to see him get starts though, as the Cardinals need to figure out how much rotation "depth" they think they have for 2025. Adam Kloffenstein or Sem Robberse could get the call instead or with Graceffo as well, as any of those three could provide depth behind their rotation options for what injuries occur. Like McGreevy, if the Cardinals feel confident in one or more of that trio being viable depth options, that helps them allocate resources elsewhere (or toward a higher-end starting pitcher).

Quinn Mathews is noticeably missing from my list, but that is because he has just now made his Triple-A debut this past week, and while I think he has a real shot of making an impact early in 2025, I would not be trying to rush that debut. McGreevy, Graceffo, Kloffenstein, and Robberse have not spent multiple seasons in Triple-A, so it is time to see what they've got to offer. There is still time for Mathews to develop, and that should be the priority.

None of McGreevy, Graceffo, Kloffenstein, or Robberse should be seen as future front-line starters, but their potential to be back-of-the-rotation arms is still very important. Mathews has the ceiling of a front-line starter, and it would be beneficial to his development to bring him up to St. Louis when he is ready, not just when there is a need. None of those four more established Triple-A arms would block Mathews from a debut if he was ready, so let them go ahead and have their shot to establish themselves.