Remember the name of Cardinals prospect Darlin Saladin
If there was one under-the-radar prospect in the Cardinals' organization you should be keeping your eye on, it is Darlin Saladin.
![Arizona Diamondbacks v St. Louis Cardinals](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3000,h_1687,x_0,y_311/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/33/01hxd78nws5gj0py41tg.jpg)
The Palm Beach Cardinals pitching staff is garnering a lot of attention this year, and deservingly so. This is the most talented group of young starting pitchers at any level in the Cardinals system we've seen in quite some time. Quinn Mathews is striking out the world, Chen-Wei Lin is touching 100 mph with solid control, and Zack Showalter has started the season with 12 1/3 shutout innings. Juan Salas, Jose Davila, and Ixan Henderson are three other guys who are super interesting and have unique traits.
Quinn Mathews rolls through 6⃣ scoreless innings.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 27, 2024
The @Cardinals' No. 21 prospect fans 1⃣3⃣ batters for Single-A @GoPBCardinals. pic.twitter.com/UJ14RM8RTX
Last year, I wrote an article about Cardinals outfield prospect Jose Suarez for a series called "Remember The Name". This series aimed to highlight prospects in the Cardinals system that no one is talking about and deserve some recognition.
OF José Suarez hit a walk-off 2-run homer to cap off a 6-run 9th inning, leading the FCL Cardinals to a 11-9 win over the FCL Astros today.
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) May 7, 2024
Suarez, 19, led all FCL Cardinals players with 4 HR & 21 RBI last season.
Today's #STLCards Minor League Report: https://t.co/SCYGrA9crY pic.twitter.com/dPBCHVJtAL
It's time to add another name to that list.
Remember the name: Darlin Saladin
When digging into Darlin Saladin's pitch data, I was inspired to bring back the series since I have yet to hear any hype about him.
Outlier Four-Seam Fastball
What makes Saladin so interesting as a prospect? His fastball is genuinely an outlier pitch and one of the best in the Cardinals' organization. When evaluating the quality of a four-seam fastball, I analyze four different qualities: velocity, movement, release height, and command. Saladin's combination of these four qualities gives him a unique and extraordinary fastball.
Firstly, his fastball velocity is his least attractive trait, only sitting around 93 mph, but it has been up to 95 mph. Saladin gets only 5.8 feet of extension on the mound, so the pitch appears a tick slower than 93 mph to hitters. He's still only 21 years old and listed at 150 lbs, so it would not shock me at all if there is a potential velo-uptick in the future.
Saladin generates elite ride on his four-seam, averaging 17.7" of Induced Vertical Break. Although that number is great on its own, things get way more interesting when factoring in Saladin's release height. Saladin throws from a 5.5' vertical release height. The average amount of IVB from that release is a tick over 15". Only three major league pitchers throw from a lower release height than Saladin and average more IVB (min. 20 pitches): Shota Imanaga, Sean Reid-Foley, and Shelby Miller.
Shōta Imanaga's 4-seam fastball has a run value of 11, the highest in baseball.
— Kyle Corwin (@kylecorwintakes) May 8, 2024
In other words, a 92 mph fastball is currently the most valuable pitch – of any pitch type – in baseball. pic.twitter.com/lwiZ2gYxvw
Saladin is zoning the pitch only 44.4% of the time, but when he misses, it's generally still competitive up in the zone. Here is a pitch frequency and chase rate graphic courtesy of TruMedia that illustrates this perfectly.
— Cardinals Prospects (@cardprospects) May 8, 2024
Saladin induces a significant amount of chase (43.3%) due to the location, which helps to boost his fastball strike rate to 67% despite an unspectacular zone rate. Factoring in his pitch movement, release height, and location, Saladin's Vertical Approach Angle on his four-seam fastball is absolutely phenomenal. His VAA is currently sitting at -3.77 degrees so far this season. That would be the third flattest vertical approach angle in MLB this year (min. 20 pitches) for a pitcher with at least 17.7" of IVB. Saladin throws his fastball 44.8% of the time, and I wouldn't be opposed if he upped the usage of it.
Secondary Pitches
Saladin's secondary stuff leaves something to be desired at the moment. His changeup is his best secondary, and he throws it 22% of the time against lefties. The movement profile isn't special, but he tunnels his fastball well off it, and his pitch command is solid. He zones the pitch 50.9% of the time, often locating the pitch low and away from lefties (Data: TruMedia).
— Cardinals Prospects (@cardprospects) May 9, 2024
Much like his fastball, the pitch induces a ton of chase, racking up a 37% chase rate. Left-handed hitters are whiffing 36.4% of the time against the offering.
Saladin's go-to secondary against righties (23.8% usage) is his slider. Baseball Savant classifies the pitch as both a slider and curveball, but the movement profile is pretty much the same. The offering grades out poorly stuff-wise, and the command of it is not great either. Saladin is zoning the pitch 40% of the time. He often misses location far outside to his glove side (Data: TruMedia).
— Cardinals Prospects (@cardprospects) May 9, 2024
The offering averages only 81.5 mph with 0.7" IVB and minimal sweep (gyro-slider). At that velocity, I seriously question the viability of the pitch, and it has been his worst-performing offering.
Wrap-Up
Although Saladin's secondary stuff is a work in progress, I am enarmed by his fastball, which gives him a solid foundation to build off of. Saladin has produced throughout his young professional career, and in 21 innings pitched this year for Palm Beach, he has a 3.00 ERA while striking out 27.4% of batters and only walking 6% of hitters. Darlin Saladin is a fascinating 21-year-old right-handed pitcher, and you will learn to remember the name.
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