The Cardinals are calling up César Prieto, reports Francys Romero. They’ll select his contract onto the 40-man roster tomorrow. St. Louis has a pair of openings on the 40-man, so they’ll only need to make a corresponding active roster transaction.
Prieto, a left-handed hitting infielder, gets his first big league opportunity at age 26. He didn’t begin his affiliated career until he was 22 years old. He’s a Cuba native who played four seasons in that nation’s top league before defecting while on an Olympic trip in 2021. He signed a $650K bonus with the Orioles and began his U.S. career with their High-A affiliate a year later.
The O’s traded Prieto to St. Louis as part of a three-player return for Jack Flaherty at the 2023 trade deadline. His prospect stock dropped between 2023-24 as he posted unspectacular numbers at Triple-A. Prieto has performed well in his third season at the top minor league level. He’s batting .295/.359/.448 with nine homers and 11 steals across 449 plate appearances.
Prieto’s calling card is his plus contact ability. He hasn’t struck out in more than 15.2% of his plate appearances at any minor league stop. He has fanned just 13.4% of the time this season. Prieto has a very aggressive offensive approach and often expands the strike zone. He’s not going to take many walks or hit for much power, but the bat-to-ball skills should allow him to hit for average. Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan of FanGraphs ranked him the #25 prospect in the St. Louis system last month, projecting him as a utility infielder.
The Cardinals have used him at second base, third base and shortstop in the minors. Scouting reports suggest he’s a fringe defender who doesn’t have a huge arm. He probably fits best at the keystone but could see action throughout the infield. He would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason if the Cards didn’t add him to the 40-man roster. It appears they were planning to select his contract during the winter, so they’ll bring him up a bit ahead of time for his first exposure to big league pitching.
St. Louis is using Thomas Saggese, Masyn Winn and Nolan Gorman from right to left on the infield. Winn has played through a sore left knee for much of the second half. He acknowledged earlier this week that he’d probably benefit from rest but said he wanted to remain in the lineup in hope of a long shot playoff berth (relayed by Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat). The Cardinals are 6.5 games back of the Mets with three teams to surpass in the Wild Card race. It’s not yet known if they’ll shut Winn down or simply swap Prieto in for one of Garrett Hampson or José Fermín on the bench.
The only small hope the Cards have of getting any major league production from the Flaherty trade. Doubt there’s much here but he has great contact skills.
Showalter is young but Prieto and Rom appear to be bums.
In what world is Prieto more deserving than Wetherholt???
Mozeliak’s world, apparently.
Exactly!!! Thank the Good Lord that man is leaving!!! At least hopefully he’s leaving.
Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt III are thick as thieves!! That’s the Cardinals problems right now. I hope DeWitt III does not undercut Bloom and keep Mozeliak on the payroll
In ANY CAPACITY with the Franchise.
It’s not about “deserving” it. They don’t need to put Wetherholt on the 40 man roster yet.
That stuff about the 40 man is total nonsense. Tell me why putting him on the 40 man would hurt the team? Be specific.
Because there’s no reason to if they don’t put him on the active 26 man roster, which they clearly don’t plan to this year. That’s a different argument. Whereas Preito would almost for sure get selected in the Rule 5 draft by a team needing a ML ready utility infielder. I don’t think they traded for him just to let him go right as he’s performing in AAA and is controllable, cheap, and has options. Cards can keep him now and stash him back at AAA next year if they want
Why wouldnt a guy with a 4 digit OPS in AAA be on the active roster from here on out???
Anyone can have Prieto hes a nobody. If hr gets selected so be it.
From what I’ve seen, I agree. Whether it’s just nerves or lack of skill set, Prieto has not looked good on defense. Multiple errors and indecision when the ball is hit to him, or around him.
He’s about 3rd or 4th on the infield depth chart. Even Saggese looks better.
Why???
Unless I’m mistaken, it wouldn’t affect his future Rookie or future salary status by bringing him up in September?????
Have you ever heard of a 40 man roster and the rule 5 draft? Un knowledgeable fans who try to sound smart make me cringe.
There are always nobodies on the 40 man. The people pretending to be smart are the ones that just say the words 40 man as if that means something.
Wetherholt is ready TODAY RIGHT NOW. Anyone with eyes can see that.
So Mozeliak won’t use a 40 man roster spot for Wetherholt because of the upcoming Rule 5 draft but he’ll use up one for Prieto? What’s the reasoning here?
Prieto could be plucked in the rule 5. They probably want to get a look before that happens.
Prieto is 26 years old repeating AAA with an OPS barely over 800. Pluck away……..
Why use one for Wetherholt when you don’t need to. He’s only got 95 games in AA and AAA combined, all this year.
Yeah, and keep that clock down. It would be horrible if he sustained a major injury and had that clock running the whole time. It is definitely a different game than the one most of us saw growing up. Used to look forward to seeing all the kids come up in September. I feel like that old dude in the Pepperage farm ads.
Why so serious? That’s one intense dood
Dude looks high af
I look forward to seeing what he can do. Maybe he can provide a spark for the redbirds.
I know it’s probably too late for this season, but would be nice to finish on a positive note. .295 avg in Triple AAA is fairly decent.
Question: why do the Cardinal players flap their arms when they get a hit? Are they saying “Let the baby birds fly” or something else?
The lefty-hitting middle infield Yohel Pozo.
Exactly what I was thinking while I was reading this.
He has hit well at every level.
Bro is High AF 😂
funny
Prieto deserves a look glad he is getting it
I got my look.
Move on or keep him for additional trade bait for a mlb quality position player, or toward a group trade for a young Ace pitcher.
(Such as putting a strong package together to get Sandy Alcantra back!)
He will be a Cardinal fan favorite for sure. Just like all the other league average Joe’s they’ve had on the roster this decade. Another player that good teams look to have one or two of while the cardinals play 7 or 8 of every night.
Another guy who can get to first base and get stuck there. Pinch me, I think I’ve already seen this player before.
Another waste of time lets add another to the crowed field of wanna Be’s !