Under the radar Cardinals' prospect given massive preseason award prediction

MLB Network recently posted some way too early award predictions for the 2025 baseball season and St. Louis Cardinals #7 prospect Thomas Saggese was named as a potential NL Rookie of the Year winner next year.

Saggese was acquired in the Jordan Montgomery deal at the 2023 trade deadline when St. Louis shipped out the lefty to the World Series hopeful Rangers in exchange for Saggese and pitcher Tekoah Roby. After he was acquired, the Cardinals sent Saggese to Double-A Springfield, where the then-21-year-old mashed. In 21 games, the versatile infielder hit .331 with 10 homers before making hte move to Triple-A Memphis. The advanced level showed Saggese some tough love as he closed out the year hitting .207 with only one home run.

Headed into 2024, Saggese was seen as the Cardinals' #4 prospect with the potential to make his major league debut later that year if not at the start of 2025. An interesting note was that the Cardinals expected Saggese to get the majority of his starts at shortstop, despite having future franchise cornerstone Masyn Winn at the position.

Starting the season in Memphis, Saggese struggled slightly out of the gates and went into the Minor League All-Star Break with a .231 average with eight homers with mediocre results at shortstop. The second half was improved on the offensive side as he hit .276 with 12 homers in roughly the same amount of at-bats. The Cardinals end of season struggles in 2024 set the stage for the 22-year-old to make his major league debut as a bench and depth option.

Saggese notched his first major league hit on September 12 and finished his first big league stint with a .204 average and one home run. The concerning numbers for the infielder at the plate were around his elevated strikeout rate (26.9%) and tough walk rate (3.8%) which were well off what Saggese has shown during his minor league career.

Now, Saggese heads into the 2025 season after an amazing showing in the Arizona Fall League that saw him put up a 1.118 OPS with nine extra-base hits and more walks than strikeouts. These results paint a hopeful picture that the utility infielder has found his plate discipline despite being against younger competition. With the Nolan Arenado saga yet to reach a conclusion, Saggese's role for the big club is murky at the moment. If Arenado were to stay with the Cardinals for at least part of next season, it might be best to leave Saggese at AAA to continue to play every day. In the more likely scenario that Arenado is dealt, Saggese could expect to play a role at all four infield positions.

The 23-year-old will be an exciting name to watch in Spring Training this year. Making his debut last year as the first Cardinal to wear #25 since Dexter Fowler and Big Mac, the barehanded hitter has shown glimpses of potential. It will take a great March for Saggese to work himself into the starting lineup to receive enough playing time for Rookie of the Year consideration, but his offensive abilities are something to be excited about.