photo: Darlin Saladin (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Palm Beach right-handed starting pitcher Darlin Saladin had the top overall pitching performance in the St. Louis Cardinals system in May. The 21-year-old’s results are compared to six other finalists with ERAs under 2.00, Top 10 prospects and last month’s winner.
This article outlines the selection process of The Cardinal Nation’s Pitcher of the Month for May 2024. This article covers pitchers across all levels of the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system, including the rookie level Florida Complex League Cards.
As a reminder, this is NOT the “Pitcher 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.
Guidelines
To qualify, a pitcher must have thrown at least 10 innings during May. 48 pitchers made the first cut. To reach the short list of seven finalists, an ERA below 2.00 was required.
The finalists represent three of the four full-season levels of the organization plus the rookie level Florida Complex League. The only exception is Double-A Springfield, a club who had just one qualifying pitcher with an ERA under 3.50 and none under 2.45.
Low-A Palm Beach leads the pack with three finalists, with High-A Peoria next with two.
Two are starters, four are relievers, including one closer and the other both started and relieved during May.
Counting Stats
In the following table, the finalists are listed in ascending ERA order.
| Pitcher | Tm | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
| Tanner Jacobson | Peo | 1 | 1 | 0.64 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 20 |
| Jacob Bosiokovic | Mem | 3 | 0 | 0.69 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 17 |
| Darlin Saladin | PB | 1 | 0 | 0.90 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 28 |
| Zack Showalter | PB | 1 | 0 | 1.35 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13.1 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 24 |
| Yadiel Batista | FCL | 0 | 1 | 1.65 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 16.1 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 17 |
| Dionys Rodriguez | Peo | 1 | 0 | 1.69 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| Ixan Henderson | PB | 2 | 0 | 1.89 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
As you can see, three of the finalists compiled an exceptional ERA of under 1.00. They are relievers Tanner Jacobson of Peoria and Jacob Bosiokovic of Memphis plus starter Darlin Saladin of Palm Beach. Between them and the other four is a considerable gap of 0.45 earned runs per nine innings.
Bosiokovic picked up three wins while Palm Beach’s Ixan Henderson won two. Beach Birds closer Zack Showalter was a perfect 3-for-3 in save opportunities. Saladin and Henderson threw the most innings at 20 and 19, respectively.
Advanced stats
Here are additional statistics from the seven finalists in the same ascending ERA sequence.
| Pitcher | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | BAA | BABIP | WHIP | ERA |
| Tanner Jacobson | 14 | 12.9 | 6.4 | 2.0 | 0.130 | 0.200 | 1.14 | 0.64 |
| Jacob Bosiokovic | 13 | 11.8 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 0.071 | 0.083 | 0.69 | 0.69 |
| Darlin Saladin | 20 | 12.6 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 0.159 | 0.268 | 0.85 | 0.90 |
| Zack Showalter | 13.1 | 16.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 0.229 | 0.440 | 1.28 | 1.35 |
| Yadiel Batista | 16.1 | 9.4 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 0.226 | 0.295 | 1.16 | 1.65 |
| Dionys Rodriguez | 10.2 | 9.3 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 0.167 | 0.200 | 0.94 | 1.69 |
| Ixan Henderson | 19 | 10.9 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 0.188 | 0.283 | 1.16 | 1.89 |
All seven struck out more than one batter per inning, with Showalter’s 16.2 K per nine head and shoulders on top. Jacobson and Saladin also impressed with a rate over 12 per nine (12.9 and 12.6, respectively). The latter is especially impressive coming from a starter.
Saladin and the FCL’s Yadiel Batista were stingiest with free passes at 2.7 and 2.8 per nine. Jacobson’s 6.4 walks per nine stand out for the wrong reason.
Saladin again comes out on top in strikeout to walk ratio at 4.7. Showalter was next at 4.0 with his not great walk rate of 4.1 per nine obscured by his excellent K rate.
Five of the seven pitchers held opposing hitters to a collective batting average under .200, but Bosiokovic (.071), Jacobson (.130) and Saladin (.159) were the best of the best.
BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is where the candidacies of Jacobson and especially Bosiokovic lose steam. The latter’s amazingly low .083 mark suggests he was the benefit of considerable good fortune that should balance out over time.
On the other hand, Showalter deserves special kudos for succeeding despite an exceptionally high BABIP of .440. On the other hand, he struck out so many, fewer were making contact!
In terms of baserunners allowed, with WHIP as a surrogate, three finalists allowed less than one runner per inning. Bosiokovic was tops, with Saladin and Peoria’s Dionys Rodriguez also coming under 1.00.
In summary, as you may have noticed, Saladin’s name was mentioned often. The right-hander led the finalists in lowest walk rate and highest strikeout to walk ratio and is among the top three in almost all categories while generating a 0.90 ERA as a starter. When considering all results, Saladin is our choice as The Cardinal Nation’s May Pitcher of the Month.
About the winner
The 5-foot-11, 150-pound native of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic was a July 2nd commitment with the Cardinals in 2019. Saladin reportedly received a $200,000 signing bonus.
Due to COVID-driven shutdown of 2020, Saladin was unable to make his debut until 2021 and pitched his first two summers in the Dominican Summer League. In his rookie year, he crafted a 4.03 ERA in relief and lowered that to 3.59 in 12 starts in 2022.
For 2023, Saladin moved to the US-based Florida Complex League. His 11 starts tied with two others for the rookie league lead, and he was one of just six pitchers with 10 starts. Saladin finished second in the FCL in ERA (2.85) and strikeouts (47), third in innings pitched (47 1/3) and fifth in WHIP (1.27).
As a result, Saladin was named The Cardinal Nation’s 2023 FCL Cardinals Starting Pitcher of the Year. At the end of the season, the now-21-year-old was promoted to Low-A Palm Beach. There, he was charged with two runs in two innings.
To open 2024, he returned to the Beach Birds, and is now starring in their rotation. For the season, in 41 innings, Saladin has a 1.98 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. During May, he made his debut in The Cardinal Nation’s Top Prospect Rankings at no. 45.
Top 10 pitching prospects in May
Here is how top 10 organizational pitching prospects per The Cardinal Nation fared in May. Obviously, none of the six were finalists for our Pitcher of the Month honors.
#1 Tink Hence (Springfield) – 1-2, 4.15 in five starts. Also, nine unearned runs were scored against him in one outing. 37 Ks in 26 innings. Finally being stretched out, averaging just over five IP per start.
#2 Tekoah Roby (Springfield) – A concerning 6.30 ERA in two starts before going on the injured list. 7-6 strikeout to walk ratio.
#5 Cooper Hjerpe (Peoria) – 0-2, 2.45 ERA in five starts, but averaging fewer than four innings per outing. 30 Ks vs. 7 BB in 18 1/3 innings.
#7 Quinn Mathews (PB/Peoria) – see below
#9 Sem Robberse (Memphis) – 2-3, 4.91 ERA in six outings. 36 K vs. 13 BB in 36 IP but was hurt by nine long balls. Not pushing as hard for a St. Louis trial as he did in April (1.82 ERA in five starts).
#10 Gordon Graceffo (Memphis) – An uneven 1-3, 4.88 in four starts. 20 Ks but 11 BB in 24 IP.
April’s winner in May
In his first month as a professional, lefty Quinn Mathews of Palm Beach dominated Florida State League hitters with a 0.50 ERA in four starts and was an easy selection as our April Pitcher of the Month. The Cardinals organization agreed.
In May, Mathews earned a promotion to High-A Peoria and was amazingly consistent, though not as amazing. He posted an identical 2.84 ERA in two May starts for the Beach Birds and his first three outings for the Chiefs. In a combined 31 2/3 innings, he fanned 38 against just five walks while holding opposing hitters to a collective .155 batting average.
What is next?
Next, The Cardinal Nation will announce our Player of the Month for May across the system. The Cardinals organization should also name their own selections in the upcoming days.
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