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

These young Cardinals need the opportunity to spread their wings at the Major League level down the stretch

St. Louis Cardinals v New York Yankees
St. Louis Cardinals v New York Yankees | Mike Stobe/GettyImages
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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.

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