Thomas Saggese

Part of the Cardinals' return from Texas for Jordan Montgomery, Saggese went on a summer-long heater at Double-A before finally cooling down after a late-season promotion to Triple-A. He hit .351/.424/.653 with 20 home runs, six steals and a 22.9 K% in 285 at-bats from June 10 through Sept. 7. Saggese (pronounced soo-JAY-see) is a career .298 hitter in the minors and has a classic bat-first second baseman profile. He looks to do damage early in counts and will probably be better in batting average leagues than OBP leagues. He is a fringe-average runner but was on base enough to steal 12 bags on 14 attempts in 139 games. If he can hit around .280 with 20 home runs, Saggese should provide enough value to justify everyday playing time in spite of his fringe-average defense. If not, he'll likely move around the field as a bench bat and injury replacement. Saggese, who turns 22 in April, should head to Triple-A for at least a couple months, as he is not on the 40-man roster.

Saggese didn't do much over the first month of the season, but he hit .334/.382/.558 with 14 home runs, 10 steals, a 17.9 K% and a 7.0 BB% in the final 79 games, primarily at High-A. A second baseman who turns 21 in April, Saggese probably won't end up with any plus tools (we'll see how his hit and power develop), but his recent track record of hitting is so strong that he merits attention in dynasty leagues in case the breakout was real. He should return to Double-A, where he had a homer and two doubles in five games to close 2022.