JUPITER, Fla. — Of all the prospects the Cardinals acquired in their flurry of deadline trades last summer, one who has flown a little under the radar is infielder Cesar Prieto.
The 24-year-old native of Cuba was part of the return for sending Jack Flaherty to the Orioles and has shown this spring that he likely should be receiving a little more attention.
Prieto started at third base on Saturday against the Nationals in West Palm Beach and broke the game open with a bases-loaded double in the sixth inning. He also had an RBI single and delivered a sacrifice fly, finishing with five RBIs.
The big day raised Prieto’s spring average to .423 and his 11 hits are tied for the third most on the team, behind Thomas Saggese – another trade acquisition from last summer – and Alec Burleson.
His seven RBIs for the spring rank second on the team to the 10 from Saggese, who like Prieto, probably is headed to Triple-A Memphis to begin the regular season.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
High: Matt Carpenter started at first base and went 2-of-3 with a single and double, driving in two runs, to raise his spring average to .333.
Low: Ryan Fernandez, one of the candidates for a spot in the bullpen, allowed three runs in his one inning of work.
At the plate: Saggese started at second base and went 2-of-2, including an RBI single, drawing walks in his other two plate appearances … Masyn Winn also had two hits and scored twice … Willson Contreras was hitless in three at-bats, striking out twice, as his spring average fell to .182.
On the mound: Miles Mikolas, who likely will get the opening day assignment if Sonny Gray is not ready to pitch, became the first Cardinals starter to work six innings. He allowed two runs on seven hits as he lowered his spring ERA to 2.25 … Andrew Kittredge and Riley O’Brien each worked a scoreless inning, with O’Brien working around two hits.
Worth noting: The Cardinals are dealing with another injury, this time to reliever Keynan Middleton. Manager Oli Marmol said Middleton will not throw for at least 10 days because of forearm tightness and will begin the regular season on the injured list. He is the fourth player expected to be on the opening day roster who instead will be on the IL, joining Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbaar and perhaps Gray … The Cardinals will know more about both Gray and Noobaar’s status on Sunday … Brendan Donovan likely will rejoin the team on Tuesday, following Monday’s day off, after his wife Aly gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, on Friday.
Up next: The Cardinals will have another seven-inning prospects game on Sunday, against the Astros, before hosting Houston in Jupiter. Matthew Liberatore is the scheduled starter.
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