Cardinals: Checking in on Thomas Saggese after an impressive start

On July 30, the last-place Cardinals shipped Jordan Montgomery and Christ Stratton to the Texas Rangers. In exchange, they received Tekoah Roby, John King, and Thomas Saggese. Roby, the most highly touted of the trio, opened his time in St. Louis on the shelf with an arm injury. In his debut on August 26, he struck out six in just three innings of work. Roby looked like a bona fide blue-chip starter. King has quietly been one of St. Louis' best relievers since joining the team. But it's Saggese who has been the most impressive since coming over.

Saggese is a middle infielder who projects as a strong defender at second. Saggese has the versatility to play any infield position. He has excellent bat-to-ball skills and emerging power, which could turn him into a truly elite prospect. For a more robust profile, visit this link.

Saggese was great with Texas before the trade. In 93 games, he'd already smacked 15 homers, tying his career high. Additionally, Saggese was sporting a .313 average, a .379 on-base percentage, and a .512 slugging percentage. Each of these marks represented a career high! So what happened when he was traded to St. Louis and assigned to Springfield?

Saggese improved... significantly! This run of success is truly incredible. In 24 games, he's hitting .363 with a .444 on-base percentage and a ..736 slugging percentage. Put simply, Saggese is getting on base nearly half of the time, and when he makes contact he's crushing the ball. His 14 extra-base hits lead the squad since his arrival. On the season, Saggese has now slugged 24 home runs, giving him a legitimate chance at 30. Oh, and he also hit for the cycle!

Since that tweet, Saggese has actually raised his numbers further. Honestly, the biggest mystery surrounding him is how long he'll remain in AA. To most, it's clear that Saggese has nothing left to prove at this stop in his minor-league journey.