3 prospects Cardinals must promote for playoff stretch run
After missing out on the playoffs last year, the St. Louis Cardinals are fighting to reach the postseason in 2024. Despite the confidence of starting pitcher Miles Mikolas who believes the Cardinals can win 17 straight if necessary, the reality is St. Louis is a long shot to make the playoffs.
The team is trying to bounce back from an uncharacteristic losing season in 2023, the Cardinals’ first losing season since 2007. St. Louis is 65-65 entering play on Monday. The team has failed to gain ground in the division, going 15-19 since returning from the All-Star break. The Cardinals are now 10 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
However, they’re just five games back in the National League Wild Card race, with the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves ahead of them for the final playoff berth.
The Cardinals have an opportunity to make a postseason push in September with four series against teams with a losing record. And they close out the regular season with a three-game series against the .500 Giants in San Francisco, a matchup that could have playoff implications.
While St. Louis has earned the respect of Brewers manager Pat Murphy for their scrappy play, the team must add to its talent pool to have any shot at reaching the postseason in 2024. Fortunately, the Cardinals have difference-making prospects at their disposal. Promoting these three players could raise the team to legitimate contender status for a Wild Card berth.
The Cardinals’ starting rotation has been lacking all season. St. Louis starters rank 20th or worse in ERA, K/9, batting average against, WHIP, and WPA and they’re 19th overall in strikeout percentage. The team did add Erick Fedde in a trade with the Chicago White Sox at the deadline to address their starting woes. However, Fedde has gone 1-3 with a 4.23 ERA, 1.265 WHIP, 6.8 K/9 and an ERA+ of 101 since joining St. Louis.
Additionally, the group is extremely right-hander heavy with lefty starter Steven Matz on the shelf with a lower back ailment since the end of April. The team’s lack of left-handed starters and inability to create swings and misses are troubling. But the answer to these problems could just be a phone call away.
Add Quinn Mathews to the Rotation
Lefty starter Quinn Mathews has been tearing up the minors with the Springfield Cardinals. Yes, he would be making the jump from Double-A to the majors after being drafted in 2023. But the 23-year-old hurler was a standout college pitcher and appears ready for the next challenge.
The Cardinals’ number 3 prospect and the 85th ranked prospect overall according to MLB.com is a strikeout artist. Last Friday Mathews took a perfect game into the seventh inning. He ultimately went 7.2 innings and struck out 12 batters. It was the seventh double-digit strikeout game of the season for Mathews, per MLB.com’s Melanie Martinez-Lopez.
Mathews has a full arsenal of pitches at his disposal. He pairs a 97 mph four-seam fastball with a swing-and-miss inducing 80 mph change up. He also has a quality slider and a slow curve that he uses to great effect. In nine starts at Double-A Springfield he’s gone 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 52.1 innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .186 against him. On the season, he’s racked up 180 strikeouts in 126.2 innings across three levels.
The Cardinals anticipate Mathews making his major league debut in the 2025 season. But with a postseason berth on the line and the rotation desperately needing lefty starters and more strikeouts, the team should see what Mathews can do in the big leagues this September.
Hence can help the bullpen
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After upgrading the rotation, the Cardinals should look to their relief pitching next. Led by Reliever of the Year candidate Ryan Helsley, St. Louis’ bullpen has fared better than the team’s rotation this season. Still, the group could use an improvement beyond Shawn Armstrong, who was added in a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline.
Armstrong has pitched fairly well in 10 appearances for the Cardinals but overall the team’s bullpen is 25th in strikeout percentage, 20th in batting average against, 13th in WHIP, 12th in FIP, 9th in ERA and 14th in fWAR.
St. Louis happens to have an electric arm at its disposal in Tink Hence, the team’s number two minor league prospect and the 51st ranked prospect in all of baseball according to MLB.com. Like Mathews, the 22-year-old righty has only ascended to Double-A. However, Hence has a bit more experience with four seasons in the minors.
Hence has dominated in 17 starts for the Springfield Cardinals this season. He’s gone 4-3 with a 2.67 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 94 strikeouts in just 70.2 innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .204 against Hence in 2024. While Hence now has 29 starts at the Double-A level over the last two years, he’s yet to pitch more than 96 innings in any season since entering the Cardinals’ organization.
This lack of innings combined with two dominant pitches and an ability to get whiffs against lefties and righties, makes Hence an ideal addition to the bullpen for the Cardinals’ postseason stretch run.
Ultimately St. Louis would like to see Hence develop into a starter. But the team could take advantage of his high 90s fastball and mid-80s changeup as a reliever for the rest of 2024 and let him resume his journey to becoming a starter after the season.
Time to try Saggese at second
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
With upgrades to the rotation and the bullpen St. Louis needs to address the offense next. The Cardinals haven’t received nearly enough offensive production from second base this season. In 2024, Cardinals’ second basemen rank 29th in batting average, 27th in on-base percentage, 25th in OPS, 25th in wOBA and 28th in fWAR.
The team recently optioned second baseman Nolan Gorman to the minors after he struggled mightily at the plate. While the team recalled infielder Jose Fermin, the Cardinals ultimately need to promote Thomas Saggese to the major league roster.
Saggese is the organization’s number four prospect, per MLB.com. He fits best at second base, which would allow Brendan Donovan to return to the outfield. And he can also back up first-year starter Masyn Winn at shortstop, which is particularly helpful after the team released backup shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Saggese has played 126 games over the last two years with the Memphis Redbirds, the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate. In 2024 he has a .739 OPS, 20 doubles, 18 home runs, 60 RBI, 68 runs scored and nine stolen bases in 113 games.
The 22-year-old righty has worked his way across four levels of the minors since 2021 and appears ready to contribute to the big league club. He offers positional versatility in the infield and more power potential than Fermin and Donovan. Saggese could work as the team’s everyday starter at second or as a utility player, filling in at shortstop, third and second as necessary.
Cesar Prieto is another middle infielder who has played well in the Cardinals farm system. He’s in his second season at the Triple-A level and is the organization’s 15th ranked prospect. Prieto has proven to be a solid contact hitter who rarely strikes out. He has probably earned a call up as well but Saggese should get the first crack as his bat could be a difference maker for the Cardinals as they make a desperate push for the postseason.
The post 3 prospects Cardinals must promote for playoff stretch run appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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