Patience proving a virtue for Cardinals' No. 4 prospect Saggese

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Late in the 2024 season, Thomas Saggese had an illuminating conversation with Cardinals right-hander and 2021AL All-Star Andrew Kittredge about the young infielder’s approach at the dish.

“He was telling me he has good command, and sometimes to him, that means he can throw strikes when he wants to, but not necessarily paint the corners,” Saggese said. “Obviously he has good control and he can manipulate the ball where it’s going to the outside part of the plate or inside part of the plate. But he was like, ‘We don’t have crazy, crazy control.’ … [Major League hitting coach Turner Ward] was saying the same thing, 'They have to come into your zone. You need to get them in your zone,' and that’s helped a lot. [It’s] really just putting in a conscious effort.”

The message seems to be sinking in this autumn.

The Cardinals’ No. 4 prospect has reached base in each of his 11 Arizona Fall League games -- the third-longest on-base streak in the loop so far -- after going 2-for-3 with a double and two walks on Sunday in Glendale's 8-4 win over Peoria at Camelback Ranch.

Saggese’s .519 on-base percentage ranks third in the AFL through the first three weeks of the season, and his 11 walks (compared to nine strikeouts) are tied for third-most on the prospect-laden circuit. He’s done that over 52 plate appearances, the same number he collected in the Majors following his debut with St. Louis on Sept. 10. Saggese walked only twice, or 3.8 percent of the time, in The Show.

Comparing Major League pitching to Fall League pitching isn’t an ideal one-for-one, especially when so many arms in the desert are here after long layoffs. But Saggese has looked notably different during his days with the Desert Dogs. Per Statcast, he swung at 41.2 percent of the pitches he saw outside the zone in the Majors, the highest rate among St. Louis players at the top level. His 37.3 percent chase rate at Triple-A was only moderately better. On Sunday, the gloveless right-handed slugger saw 13 pitches out of the zone and only offered twice (15.4 percent).

One of those out-of-the-zone swings resulted in Saggese’s fourth-inning single on a 1-2 slider from right-hander Ryan Birchard (Brewers) that landed below the zone on the outside corner. In previous months and years, that would have reinforced Saggese’s aggressive approach; on Sunday, much like jazz, he’ll focus more on the swings he didn’t take.

“I've always been see-ball, hit-ball,” Saggese said. “But I’m more thinking along with the pitcher and what he's trying to do and really not giving the pitchers too much credit. They're trying to throw strikes. They're going to miss in the middle of the zone a lot, and when they do, that’s when I make my money.”

True to the phrase, Saggese’s double came on a 2-2 slider that right-hander Ryan Bourassa (Braves) didn’t bury below the zone in the fifth inning, allowing the Glendale No. 2 hitter to hook it down the left-field line and drive home two runs.

Acquired from the Rangers at last year’s Trade Deadline in the Jordan Montgomery deal, the 2020 fifth-rounder entered the Cardinals system with a bat-first reputation. He was the 2023 Texas League MVP after leading the Double-A circuit in average (.318), OPS (.936), wRC+ (142), hits (158), extra-base hits (60) and total bases (274) between both Frisco and Springfield. But his swing-heavy ways were exposed at Triple-A Memphis to begin 2024, where he slashed .253/.313/.438 in 125 games for a below-average 93 wRC+.

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Before his promotion to the Majors, Saggese heard from the Cardinals that they planned to send him to the Arizona Fall League, hoping to get him more looks at second (where he’s played exclusively with Glendale) and to hone in on his offensive plan. His ascent to The Show didn’t change that, and his early results have proven that a more patient Saggese might arrive at the plate in St. Louis in 2025.

“I know that they have to come to me,” Saggese said. “When they do, scare them back out of the zone, hit something hard, do some damage somewhere.”