photo: 2024 DSL All-Stars Rainiel Rodriguez and Yairo Padilla (St. Louis Cardinals)
This article details the selection of The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Month. Considered were offensive results during July across the entire St. Louis Cardinals system. The winner as well as a group of nine runners up are highlighted.
With the MiLB qualifying rule of 2.7 plate appearances per team game played, we used 62 PAs as the line this month for the four full-season teams. For rookie ballers, the Florida Complex League played just 13 games, for a minimum PA line of 35 and the Dominican Summer League came in at 18 and 49, respectively.
As a result, a total of 49 hitters in the system qualified. Ten of them separated themselves with an OPS above .850. All six levels of the system are represented, from Triple-A Memphis all the way down to the Dominican Summer League.
They are bunched in groups – four with an OPS in the .800’s, two in the .900’s, three in the 1.000s and one that is in another solar system entirely.
I have been writing these monthly award articles for years and there has never been a situation in which the four top hitters in OPS are all in rookie ball.
While these standouts may prove beneficial to the Cardinals down the road, they present an immediate dilemma for me. I understand the point of view of those who diminish the importance of stats from leagues in which unproven teenage pitchers are facing unproven teenage hitters. Yet, they are professionals.
So, we must either include or exclude these younger players from consideration. Our decision is to always be inclusive.
When we get into his exceptional numbers, it will be clear why DSL catcher Rainiel Rodriguez is our July winner. I am not yet suggesting the 17-year-old is a future star with St. Louis, but his July results against his peers stand out like no other.
And that is why we are here.
Demographics
In a major surprise, the rookie-level Dominican Summer League Cards lead the way with four finalists. Next is Springfield with two. The other four teams, Memphis, Peoria, Palm Beach and the Florida Complex League, have one each.
Reminder
Please remember, this is NOT the “Player of the Month Among Top Prospects”. Every player in the system has an equal chance, with only their performance during the month used to differentiate the best of the best. Age and level, which are key prospect considerations, are not factors here, either.
We will take two views of the data. The first look will be basic counting stats, followed by rate stats. Names are listed in the same sequence in both tables, in descending OPS order.
Counting stats
| July hitter | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | OPS |
| Rainiel Rodriguez | DSL | 14 | 62 | 50 | 16 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.500 |
| Facundo Velasquez | DSL | 17 | 73 | 60 | 12 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 1.042 |
| Luis Pino | FCL | 13 | 48 | 40 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1.008 |
| Andru Arthur | DSL | 15 | 50 | 34 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Thomas Saggese | Mem | 22 | 90 | 83 | 13 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0.990 |
| Jimmy Crooks | Spr | 18 | 68 | 62 | 8 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0.916 |
| Bracewell Taveras | DSL | 12 | 51 | 49 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.884 |
| Brayden Jobert | PB | 17 | 69 | 50 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0.856 |
| Matt Lloyd | Spr | 20 | 79 | 64 | 12 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0.851 |
| Leonardo Bernal | Peo | 18 | 75 | 65 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0.850 |
I am almost completely sure that never in the past were the top four hitters in OPS in any given month all from rookie ball. Further, all four were at 1.000 or higher! Along with Rodriguez are his DSL teammates center fielder Facundo Velasquez and left fielder Andru Arthur plus FCL corner outfielder Luis Piño.
From among the full-season clubs, Memphis infielder Thomas Saggese (.990) stood tallest, followed by Springfield catcher Jimmy Crooks with a .916 OPS.
If the rookie leagues did not exist, Saggese would be the July choice. As he is the reigning Texas League MVP, expectations were high coming into 2024. It took until July for the 22-year-old to elevate his play to the level of the Triple-A International League and now it appears he has. Saggese is the highest-ranked prospect among the finalists, currently at no. 6 on The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 Prospect List.
Do not sleep on Crooks, either. The former Oklahoma star has been consistently strong all season long. For 2024 to date, the 23-year-old leads the Double-A Texas League in OBP (.401), is second in batting average (.303) and fourth in slugging percentage (.470). That is a nice package, especially for a catcher. Crooks is The Cardinal Nation’s ninth-ranked prospect.
But there Rodriguez’ numbers are – up in the stratosphere. The DSL catcher not only had twice as many home runs (eight) as any other finalist, he hit double the number of homers of any batter in the entire Cardinals system in July!
Also, Rodriguez led the system with his 19 RBI, compiled in just 14 games. The next closest player in the organization had 15 runs batted in last month.
Rodriguez walked twice as often as he struck out, the only finalist to have a positive ratio, though Arthur receives a tip of the cap for an equal number of BBs and Ks.
The clincher is Rodriguez’ gaudy 1.500 OPS, with the next closest being Velasquez, distant in the rearview mirror at “only” 1.042.
Rate stats
| July hitter | Tm | PA | BB% | K% | BABIP | ISO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Rainiel Rodriguez | DSL | 62 | 16.1% | 8.1% | 0.333 | 0.580 | 0.420 | 0.500 | 1.000 | 1.500 |
| Facundo Velasquez | DSL | 73 | 12.3% | 30.1% | 0.444 | 0.283 | 0.333 | 0.425 | 0.617 | 1.042 |
| Luis Pino | FCL | 48 | 8.3% | 25.0% | 0.500 | 0.175 | 0.294 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 1.008 |
| Andru Arthur | DSL | 50 | 20.0% | 20.0% | 0.348 | 0.206 | 0.347 | 0.353 | 0.531 | 1.000 |
| Thomas Saggese | Mem | 90 | 10.9% | 23.9% | 0.263 | 0.137 | 0.375 | 0.458 | 0.550 | 0.990 |
| Jimmy Crooks | Spr | 68 | 8.8% | 25.0% | 0.366 | 0.242 | 0.260 | 0.456 | 0.400 | 0.916 |
| Bracewell Taveras | DSL | 51 | 2.0% | 15.7% | 0.375 | 0.184 | 0.308 | 0.373 | 0.477 | 0.884 |
| Brayden Jobert | PB | 69 | 15.9% | 23.2% | 0.344 | 0.140 | 0.306 | 0.368 | 0.548 | 0.856 |
| Matt Lloyd | Spr | 79 | 11.4% | 21.5% | 0.313 | 0.219 | 0.266 | 0.367 | 0.484 | 0.851 |
| Leonardo Bernal | Peo | 75 | 10.7% | 22.7% | 0.362 | 0.169 | 0.349 | 0.400 | 0.590 | 0.850 |
As we get into the rate stats, we see that Rodriguez has the lowest strikeout rate by a huge margin and second-highest walk rate, with Arthur leading in the latter category.
Palm Beach infielder Brayden Jobert also deserves a mention for his stellar 15.9% BB rate. Switch-hitting DSL second baseman Bracewell Taveras at 15.7% is the only finalist other than Rodriguez with a strikeout rate under 20%. At the high end, Velasquez is the only finalist to (barely) reach a 30% K rate.
In my view, if there was any reason to diminish the rookie players’ results, BABIP would be it. Some of the highest BABIPs among finalists came from the rookie players, with the lone exception Rodriguez, whose .333 mark is not exceptionally high. In fact, it is the third lowest among finalists.
Elevated BABIPs include .366 for Crooks and .362 for 20-year-old switch-hitting Peoria backstop Leonardo Bernal. A plus for Saggese is his .263 BABIP, making his significant July accomplishments stand a bit taller.
Putting aside Rodriguez’ ridiculous .580 isolated power (ISO) and that of several other rookies, Crooks at .242 and his Springfield teammate Matt Lloyd at .219 are notable power performances.
Again, were it not for Rodriguez’ .420 July batting average, we would be celebrating Saggese’s exceptional .375 mark. Also of note are Bernal at .349 and Arthur at .347.
The story is similar in slugging. Rodriguez dominates at 1.000, with Velasquez next at .617. Also, with a very strong SLG over .500 are Bernal, Saggese, Jobert and Arthur.
In OBP, Piño tied Rodriguez at an even .500, with Saggese and Crooks not far behind at .458 and .456, respectively.
The numbers speak for themselves. Rarely, if ever, does a player dominate in so many statistical categories as did Rodriguez in July, cementing his selection as The Cardinal Nation’s July Player of the Month.
To summarize, Rodriguez led finalists in runs scored, home runs, RBI, lowest strikeout rate, batting average, on-base percentage (tied), slugging, OPS and ISO. The DSL catcher also posted the second highest walk rate while registering a reasonable BABIP.
About the winner
Given all the new names mentioned in this article, at this point, you may be channeling Robert Redford and Paul Newman, who repeatedly asked one another the same question during the classic film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” –
“Who are those guys?”
Our focus is on one of the rookie-level standouts, Rodriguez.
I must admit that I know little about the catcher, either. Unlike our June selection, outfielder Chase Davis, Rodriguez is not a former first-round draft pick. He wasn’t even a mega-bonused January 15 international signing.
Rodriguez is truly a rookie, as he has been a Cardinal for just four months, having signed with no fanfare on April 1 of this year. His reported bonus of $300,000 is only the sixth highest given the 14 international players who have been inked to contracts by the Cardinals organization during this signing period.
One thing is clear, however; the 17-year-old native of Pimentel, DR is off to a eye-popping start as a professional. In fact, Rodriguez was one of two Cardinals selected to participate in the 2024 DSL All-Star Game, held on July 22.
While Rodriguez’ season results are not a factor in this award, they serve as another very relevant indicator that he truly stands above others at this very early stage of his career.
The Dominican Summer League has 51 teams, with over two-thirds of MLB organizations fielding two squads. From those 51 rosters carrying up to 20 hitters each, 301 offensive players have taken enough plate appearances to qualify among the DSL leaders this season.
From among those 301 qualifying DSL hitters in 2024, Rodriguez is first in slugging percentage (.741) and OPS (1.184), is third in batting average (.370) and home runs (nine), and fourth with 34 RBI.
So, while the 5-foot-10, 197-pound right-handed hitter is relatively small in stature, he is big in power and production.
Top 10 hitters in the system during July
Here is how the top 10 hitters in the Cardinals organization per The Cardinal Nation’s prospect rankings fared last month.
#1 J.J. Wetherholt (Palm Beach) – The seventh overall selection in the 2024 draft was activated in time to play in two Low-A games to close July. In six plate appearances, the shortstop singled, walked, was hit by a pitch and struck out one time each.
#6 Thomas Saggese (Memphis) – see results above
#7 Victor Scott (Memphis) – Known for his stolen bases, Scott took only six bags for the second consecutive month. Unexpectedly, the center fielder was second in the system with 15 RBI but barely hit over the Mendoza Line at .208 in July. While his .711 OPS marks his best month since joining Triple-A, Scott is hardly banging on the door for a return to St. Louis.
#8 Leonardo Bernal (Peoria) – see results above
#9 Jimmy Crooks (Springfield) – see results above
June’s winner in July
The good news for our June Player of the Month, Chase Davis, is that the 2023 first rounder was finally promoted to High-A Peoria as the month of July ended.
Yet, the outfielder hardly rode out of Florida on a high. As Davis completed his first calendar year at Low-A, he slashed .238/.310/.365/.675 over 71 July plate appearances for Palm Beach. His final month strikeout rate was 26.8% versus a walk rate of just 8.5%.
Perhaps the move to the Midwest League will allow The Cardinal Nation’s 12th-ranked prospect to work back toward his June level of performance.
What is next?
The Cardinal Nation’s July Pitcher of the Month award is coming next. In addition, the Cardinals organization should name their own selections of June Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
Coming new this month for members of The Cardinal Nation, I will dig deeper into the July stats for more players in the system, both hitters and pitchers, than are covered here.
In mid-August, we will roll out our last major in-season prospect re-rankings, again exclusively for members. Join TCN today!
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