The 8 Cardinals I was most impressed by at Winter Warm-Up

The St. Louis Cardinals hosted this annual "Winter Warm-Up" this past weekend, and it provided us with an opportunity to chat with players, manager Oliver Marmol, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak, Owner Bill DeWitt Jr., and Team President Bill DeWitt III.

Big thanks to the Cardinals for the invitation to join them for the media components of each day, as I was able to sit in on each of these press conferences, get a feel for the room, and ask questions to those who took the podium.

While there were great nuggets of information from everyone who spoke this weekend, I wanted to highlight eight members of the Cardinals organization that impressed me the most this weekend. Whether it was things they said or how others spoke about them, I came away from the weekend really looking forward to seeing what these eight men have in store this coming year.

Brendan Donovan

You may have already read my piece on Donovan from this weekend, but the buzz around the room as we talked to him and his teammates is that the soon-to-be 27-year-old (happy early birthday!) sounds like an emerging leader in the Cardinals' clubhouse, if he wasn't in that role already.

Donovan has been a "driver" this offseason, pushing teammates like Jordan Walker to improve during their offseason training and being a vocal leader in the team group chat. Donovan has continued to get better and better as he has established himself at the big-league level. The makeup is there, the bat is underrated, and the versatility is invaluable.

You can check out more of my thoughts on Donovan's leadership role with the club in the piece above and I'm working on a breakdown of some offensive adjustments I asked him about on Saturday.

Oliver Marmol

How does one deal with the pressure of coming off a down season, being in the last year of his contract, a club legend brought in who has aspirations to manage? Calm, cool, accountable, and collected.

Marmol was quick to take responsibility across the board for the issues the club ran into this past season while keeping most of his attention focused on how the club will be better in 2024. Pitching additions will play a major role in that, along with a healthier ball club, but at the end of the day, trust was the major theme for Marmol.

Hungry and motivated are words we've heard from multiple Cardinals this weekend, and Marmol embodied that better than anyone. He would be the first one to admit that talk is talk, and he's chomping at the bit to get out there and show that this team will be different in 2024.

One of the things I was most impressed by, and have been since the time Oli came on as manager of the Cardinals, is his desire to surround himself with great leaders. In 2022, he hired Skip Schumaker to be his bench coach, who was then hired the following offseason to manage the Miami Marlins. In 2023, his selection was Cardinals' Hall of Famer Matt Holliday, who ended up stepping away before Spring Training due to not being able to keep up with the time commitment. Holliday is viewed around baseball as a future manager. After Joe McEwing filled in for Holliday in 2023, Marmol pursued Daniel Descalso for the role, someone who is also seen as an up-and-coming managerial candidate in the game.

When Marmol was asked about his comfort level with having guys around him who could theoretically take his job one day, it was clear that the Cardinals' manager invited that level of talent into the room.

It’s a high-stakes environment. If you are insecure, then this seat’s not for you. It’s as simple as that. You want the best people around you, at all times. And that means you're hiring people that can one day do your job.

When asked about how that philosophy factored into the organization's decision to bring in Yadier Molina as a special advisor, Marmol said he had numerous conversations with Yadi, and "at the end of the day, he wanted him around as much as possible", saying that had a good relationship and he had hoped to have him in the dugout full-time. I talked a lot about this dynamic with Redbird Rants contributor Andrew Wang on the Noot News Podcast recap of Day 1 of Winter Warm-Up

To me, that's a sign of excellent leadership. You've probably heard it said before that you never want to be the smartest person in the room, and while that's not saying the Cardinals' should hope their manager is less competent than his staff, Marmol's posture indicates that he wants people in that room who will challenge him, grow him, and help this team be the best it can be.

We can have a debate about whether or not Marmol is the right guy for the job. I personally still support Marmol because of traits like this, but at the end of the day, Marmol would agree that 2024 has to yield different results for that to be the case. I have confidence in the culture he's building going into next season, and I was impressed with the messaging he had with us this weekend.

Sonny Gray

The big addition this offseason, Sonny Gray, is going to be judged by his performance on the field at the end of the day. While he continues to remain undervalued by many with the kind of production he's going to provide, I think Cardinals fans are going to fall in love with his personality the more they get to know him.

Gray walked into the room with his son Gunnar, instantly stealing the show with their debates around a baseball card trade that his father was trying to convince him to make. Sonny is a family man, one of the driving factors to his choice to come to St. Louis. But don't mistake that family-first mentality for a guy who won't lead this club when it matters most.

Gray is a bulldog, a true competitor at heart. James Naile talked about the way Gray trains and prepares during their offseason workouts. He's the kind of guy who wants to win at everything, doesn't cut corners, and does whatever it takes to be the best that he can possibly be. One of the narratives around this team going into the offseason was filling the clubhouse with guys who are team-first with winning on their minds, and Gray certainly fits that profile as the new leader of the rotation.

One of the nuggets I found most interesting from our conversation with Gray was his dialogue with John Mozeliak when considering St. Louis. Gray was appreciative of Mozeliak's willingness to listen to him, ask him follow-up questions, and learn from Gray's experiences. Gray indicated that Mozeliak made some hires or changes based on things Gray asked about that the club did not have in place, showing both a level of leadership as well as progressive thinking that the club has been open to needing more of.

Gray's desire to continue to learn and grow as a player, his fiery personality that strives to be the best player on the field, and his leadership in that clubhouse have me excited to see him lead this Cardinals' staff this coming season.

Jordan Walker

Just a year ago this time, Jordan Walker was the top prospect in the Cardinals organization and was viewed as one of the top five prospects in all of baseball. He took Spring Training by storm and earned a spot on the Opening Day roster. While the first couple of months weren't as successful as he had hoped they would be, he truly took off upon his promotion back to St. Louis in June, and Walker is ready to take a leap forward in 2024.

I recently ranked Walker as the most valuable young position player in the Cardinals organization, which comes as no surprise to anyone. At just 21 years old, Walker has already proven he has what it takes to be an impact bat in this league, and the adjustments he made throughout the year to drive the ball more often will only help him to be more successful in 2024 and beyond. Walker talked about how he is continued to focus on lifting the ball this offseason, and has put on even more muscle to help unlock that power.

Over the course of the season, Walker was able to lower his league-leading ground ball rate of 60.4% from the month of April to just 39.7% in his final 56 games of the year. Not so coincidentally, he was 26% above league average during that stretch and was slugging the ball like we all knew he could. That's why projection systems like ZiPS see Walker hitting close to 30 home runs this year, and if he hits his top end projections, could be close to a top-15 hitter in all of baseball.

Again, Walker won't be 22 until May, so the production we have already seen from him so far is astonishing for how young he is. But it's also why so many see much more to come from him at the plate. If he puts it all together, he's a guy that can be a true middle of the order bat as soon as this coming season, and all signs continue to point in that direction.

The part of his game where people have the most question marks is defensively, but that's something he's been even harder at work on this offseason. Oli Marmol told us that he's has José Oquendo working with Walker this offseason in Jupiter, putting him to work in the field and preparing him to make major strides this coming season.

Things were really bad for the first half of the 2023 season for Walker in the outfield, but he was making incremental improvements in the second half, and one could argue he has at least not the extreme liablity he was to begin the year. Still, he left much to be desired out there, and Walker has welcomed the challenge of learning from one of the greats this offseason.

As always, Walker continues to be a guy who's easy to talk to, kind and courteous toward the media and is just a guy who is hard not to like. He has that kind of fun energy that is wanted in a clubhouse, but when it's time to turn it on, Walker has that killer instinct that's needed to be great. Multiple times Walker referenced his openness to learning from guys like Oquendo and Brendan Donovan, and is hoping his hard work this offseason leads to an excellent sophomore campaign in 2024.

Thomas Saggese

The prize of the Jordan Montgomery-Chris Stratton trade, infielder Thomas Saggese came into the Cardinals organization mashing, winning Texas League Most Valuable Player for the incredible season he put up and is now knocking on the door of a big league debut with his late-season promotion to Memphis.

Saggese talked about having a chip on his shoulder after being dealt to the Cardinals. On one hand, it was exciting to be wanted by a club like St. Louis, but on the other hand, he wanted to prove Texas wrong for letting him go this past season. However, Saggese was able to find some silver lining in playing a role in the Rangers' World Series victory, as he brought them back two key pieces that helped them win it all.

That's what really stood out to me about Saggese. When asked why he's such a laidback guy, he pointed to his faith and the blessing it is that he gets to play baseball. Life is good for Saggese, and those around him get those vibes from him. It's easy to see why Saggese won the Texas Rangers' "True Ranger" award in 2022, given out to the player who best represents the core values of the organization, both on and off the field.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals handle Saggese in 2024, especially if he continues the momentum he found with his bat last season. Saggese primarily plays at second base and third base, but the Cardinals have a plethora of options at those two positions already. He can fill in at shortstop when needed, but that's not the position he'll find the most success with defensively. I bet we'll see the Cardinals ask him to take reps in the outfield and first base during Spring Training, helping him find a way to get his bat in the lineup any way possible once he's promoted to St. Louis.

Motivated to continue his quick rise through the ranks professionally, the 21-year-old Saggese appears wise beyond his years already and will make it hard for St. Louis not to roster him in the near future.

Max Rajcic

Drafted in the 6th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of UCLA, Max Rajcic (pronounced Ragic, like Magic), was dynamite in his first taste of pro ball in 2023, posting a 2.48 ERA in 23 starts.

Rajcic told us his goals for 2023 were to throw 130 innings, reach Double-A, and win the Cardinals' Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and he accomplished all three of those goals last year.

While Rajcic is not as highly ranted among talent evaluators as guys like Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby, and Gordon Graceffo, he caught the eyes of any last year and will surely move up prospect lists going into this year. His fastball sits between 92-94 MPH and can get higher than that at times, and he uses that fastball to set up his 55-grade curveball and other off-speed pitches.

Rajcic is not a strikeout pitcher per se, but he did average about a strikeout per nine innings last year and is continuing to work on building more velocity and honing his off-speed pitches as well. Rajcic's command of the strike zone is seen as a strength of his, and he projects to be a guy who can be a back-of-the-rotation starter, but I'd bet there is some rotation upside if his stuff continues to play up as it has.

When Rajcic was asked to reveal his goals for 2024, he kept those close to the vest, and if his performance in 2023 is any tell, he's ready to take major strides again this coming season.

Alec Burleson

Alec Burleson was very open with us this weekend about some changes he is making to himself this offseason to come prepared for a stronger 2024 season, and he greatly appreciated how direct the Cardinals were with him about those expectations as well.

The Cardinals told him he needed to get better in the outfield, indicating they do not trust him out there defensively right now. This led him down a path of making his body the focus of his offseason.

The body. Getting everything moving better. Losing weight. Getting faster. I’m checking all those boxes right now, and we still have a month to go. I’m ticking off a lot of things that I wanted to accomplish this offseason. It’s coming together.

Burleson said he didn't feel like he had done enough work with his body the prior offseason, causing him to not be as prepared for Spring Training as he thought he should be. He feels confident this year that his weight lost and improvements to his mobility will help him in the field, as well as his quest to produce more results as the plate as well.

Burleson's 2023 season was an odd one offensively. If you look at the underlying metrics and advanced statistics, they all pointed toward more success at the plate than he had. He was making great contact with the ball, but they kept going right at defenders or not falling in there like you'd hope. Burleson was the second unluckiest player in terms of xwOBA last year, only behind Aaron Judge.

That's a frustrating place to be in as a hitter. He stuck to his process for the majority of the 2023 season but has been open about embracing changes to his approach as he looks to produce better results next year. If he can find the happy balance between staying true to what has made him successful and adjusting to the league, he'll be very productive at the plate in 2024.

Some guys would have taken the feedback he got last year and ignored it, being too stubborn to change and find success in a different way. Burleson impressed me with the way he took the Cardinals' feedback to heart, and he's ready to get on the field and show what his offseason training has done for him.