St. Louis Cardinals announce Arizona Fall League squad

The Arizona Fall League rosters have been released this week with a lot of intriguing prospects on each team. There are six teams full of prospects from teams that will play starting October 6th. I’ll be writing an article and making Twitter posts about each team’s roster. This will cover the St. Louis Cardinals who are on the Glendale Desert Dogs this fall. The team will consist of players from the Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, and White Sox organizations too. This will be the first article for the team.

St. Louis Cardinals:

Tyler Bradt RHP: The 2023 16th round pick out of East Carolina, Bradt has been very impressive this season. Starting the season in A+ Peoria Bradt had a 3.18 ERA and 23.9% strikeout rate in 45.1 IP. Since being promoted to AA Springfield though his ERA has dropped to 1.56. The main revelation for Bradt is his BB% has dropped from 17.6% in A+ to 10.3% in AA. He’s striking more batters out and walking them way less by throwing more strikes. He throws a mid 90s fastball with two solid secondary pitches, a sweeper with 11 inches of horizontal break that he added last season and a very solid changeup too. With that very solid pitch mix Bradt can get outs at the higher levels if he’s able to throw strikes and I’m sure the Cardinals want to see if he can continue doing so this fall.

Randel Clemente RHP: A super underrated arm in the Cardinals system Clemente has gone from the complex league at the start of last season up to AA this season. His calling card is a gyro slider that at times looks unhittable. It had a 50% chase rate and over 50% whiff rate in A this season and last season. He also throws multiple fastballs: a cutter that got a 53.1% whiff rate, a four seam fastball that sits at 96 mph, and a sinker that Clemente struggles to throw for a strike. He’s a big strikeout pitcher but struggles with command especially since being promoted to AA where he has a 26.6% walk rate and only a 26.5% CSW% in 13.0 IP. If Clemente can get his command even a bit better he’ll be a nasty bullpen arm in the Cardinals system but after walking more than a batter an inning last season and struggling in AA he’ll need to have a good end to the season and fall to make the Cardinals 40-man roster this offseason. 

Chen-Wei Lin RHP: The best prospect the Cardinals are sending to Arizona, Lin was also just recently promoted to AA and has not pitched well in his first three starts. Lin has some of the best stuff in the Cardinals system with a five pitch mix but he’s really struggled to find the zone with any of them. In 2024 with 22 starts in Palm Beach A-ball he was able to keep his command under control with only a 7.8% walk rate but this season throughout A, A+, and AA he has a 17.7% walk rate. The stuff still makes him a top prospect with a fastball that touches 100 mph with good armside run. He also has a sinker that’s been able to get some weak contact. His best secondary is his changeup that sits around 88 mph and drops off late but he struggles to command it. This season he scrapped his curveball that wasn’t getting any chase for a splitter which looks to be pretty good. Lastly he has a slider which is his worst pitch. After dealing with injuries this season Lin has only started 16 games and pitched 70 less innings this season than in 2024 so the Cardinals are likely trying to get him as many innings as possible this fall. 

Darlin Saladin RHP: The least impressive arm the Cardinals are sending to Arizona, Saladin put up good numbers last year between A and A+ but has been unimpressive this season in A+ Peoria. Saladin has been in and out of the rotation making 13 starts and 13 bullpen outings for 94.2 IP. Saladin isn’t going to put up flame throwing numbers since his fastball sits at 93 mph but with a good rising shape it gets a good amount of whiffs. He also has a sinker that gets a lot of weaker contact. His secondaries are alright but haven’t gotten a ton of whiffs. He throws a slider that gets some chase and a changeup that he’s able to locate decently well. This season he’s had his lowest strikeout rate since being in pro ball and highest walk rate since he was in the DSL in 2022. Since being moved to the bullpen he has looked a bit better as a multiple inning reliever and I would think that's how the Cardinals continue to use him this fall. 

Graysen Tarlow C: A 19th round pick in 2023, Tarlow was recently promoted to AA after a 122 wRC+ in A+ through 139 PAs. Tarlow is a contact and disciplined oriented hitter who only swings 40% of the time and is good at fouling off pitches. He’s mostly been a backup catcher throughout his career, he’s only played in 53 games this season despite being on the roster for every game. He doesn’t hit for much power only having 5 XBH this season but he’s constantly on base with a .399 OBP. Not a major prospect but could have some productive at bats this fall.

Travis Honeyman OF: The 2023 3rd round pick is in his 1st full pro season and moved up to A+. He’s mostly a contact hitter with above average contact% and good whiff% at all levels. Honeyman has dealt with a lot of injuries only playing 20 games in 2024 and 82 this season. Still every time he’s been healthy he’s hit above average in every league, this season he has a 114 wRC+ at A+. He doesn’t bring a ton of power with his average exit velocity at 87 mph but if he can keep his contact skills he has the potential to be a solid bench outfielder. He isn’t the best in the outfield especially at centerfield where he’s mostly playing this season but he hasn’t gotten a ton of chances to play there with all the injuries. Honeyman will look to get even more time in center and at the plate this fall. 

Miguel Ugueto OF: Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the minor league Rule 5 Draft, Ugueto has had a disappointing start to his Cardinals career. He’s been injured throughout the year and only played 49 games in AA and 59 total this season. Throughout those 49 games he has a 66 wRC+ with a .254/.277/.341 slash line. He just hasn’t been hitting well enough to play at the AA level and hasn’t had a season with an above 100 wRC+ since 2022 where he only played 23 games. He makes a lot of contact as he has a low strikeout and whiff rates but has a crazy low 2.9% walk rate this season. He does hit LHP well with a .361/.418/.443 slash line this season but won’t be able to be promoted higher if he isn’t able to make harder contact.

Thank you for reading for shorter breakdowns check out my Twitter @drew-durstock. Each day I'll release a new team's prospect breakdown.