It’s been a .500 month of June for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, with seven wins in their first 14 games, putting the team at 38-30 overall with five games remaining in the first half of the International League season.
And it’s been nearly a .500 month of June for Memphis shortstop Thomas Saggese. The No. 5 prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals system, Saggese has reached base in all 12 games that he has played in June, with 20 hits in 46 at bats (.435) and nine walks.
Saggese has actually reached base in 15 straight games, beginning with the May 29 contest. He has multiple hits in each of his last six games, going 13 for 21 (.619) over that stretch, including two doubles, a home run and six RBIs.
For the season, Saggese is slashing .319/.405/.450, with six doubles, five homers and 24 RBIs. And he isn’t the only Redbird swinging a hot bat.
Other Hot Bats at Memphis
Nathan Church (No. 21 prospect), who was promoted to Memphis after being named the Texas League Player of the Month for May, has continued his offensive surge. After going 0-for-2 with a walk in his Triple-A debut June 3, Church has a hit in 10 straight games, six of them with multiple hits, going 18-for-43 (.419). The 24-year-old outfielder, selected in the 11th round of the 2022 draft, has a double, a triple, two RBIs and four stolen bases since joining Memphis.
Outfielder Mike Antico has been about as a consistent a hitter as you’ll find during his steady climb through the Cardinals farm system. But in his first full season at Memphis, the 27-year-old has been consistently better, potentially earning an emergency callup to make his MLB debut.
Drafted in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, Antico batted mid-.260s in three of his first four professional seasons. This season, Antico has hovered above .300, staying in the .301-.330 range after every game since April 29, and he is currently slashing .318/.411/.424, with 11 doubles, one homer, 25 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He still strikes out a bit much, with 33 in 43 games, along with 21 walks, but Antico has cut that rate down from his earlier seasons.
Another Memphis outfielder, Bryan Torres remains on the .300-plus pace that began with the season opener. Except for a two-game stretch in early May, Torres has been no lower than .303 on any other day of 2025. Slashing .314/.453/.425 for the season, the 27-year-old still leads the International League in on-base percentage, and like Antico, could warrant a spot start for his MLB debut.
Quinn Mathews Eases Back into Redbirds Rotation
On the mound, Quinn Mathews (No. 2) continues to ease into his return to game action.
After a pair of short outings at lower levels, Mathews has made three starts for Memphis, his best coming in appearance No. 2 on June 6, as he gave up one unearned run on five hits in 5.0 innings, with no walks and six strikeouts. The 24-year-old left-hander was not as sharp on June 12, as he walked four in 3.0 innings, also allowing two hits and two runs while striking out five.
Michael McGreevy (No. 10) has not let the occasional spot start for the Cardinals disrupt his efforts for Memphis. On Saturday, his first start since returning from his loss to the Dodgers, McGreevy pitched 6.0 scoreless innings against Gwinnett, giving up just three hits and no walks with six strikeouts. At 7-1, McGreevy is tied for the International League lead in wins, and he is also fourth among qualifying pitchers with a 2.51 ERA.
With the recent callup of Andre Granillo, the next reliever in line for a possible test drive at the major league level could be Zack Weiss. In 19 Triple-A appearances covering 32 innings, the 33-year-old career minor leaguer has 40 strikeouts and a pair of saves, with a 2.25 ERA. Weiss, who has 25 MLB appearances on his resume, has pitched in 318 minor league games over 11 seasons, with a career MILB ERA of 3.78.
Bernal, Wetherholt Pace Potent Springfield Attack
With a 12-2 record in June, the Double-A Springfield Cardinals have the best record in the Texas League at 38-26 and lead the North Division by 3.0 games with the first half nearing an end. In the format for the 2025 postseason at the Double-A, High-A and Single-A levels, the four participants will be the winners of each division from both halves, first competing in a best-of-three Division series, followed by a best-of-three Championship series.
Catcher Leonardo Bernal (No. 6) is still on an absolutely torrid streak for Springfield. The 21-year-old, signed as an international free agent in 2021, is slashing .426/.462/.830 in June, and in 47 games, Bernal has 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 41 RBIs, with just 32 strikeouts against 24 walks. He is currently tied with Jac Caglianone, who recently made his MLB debut for Kansas City at Busch Stadium, for the Texas League lead in homers and two behind Caglianone in RBIs.
Amazingly, JJ Wetherholt (No. 1) has been even hotter this month. With eight multi-hit games out of the 12 he has played, Wetherholt has posted a June slash line of .463/.600/.683. For the season, the 22-year-old shortstop is tied atop the Texas League in batting average (.322) with Caglianone, and Wetherholt leads the league with an on-base percentage of .443.
Ixan Henderson Consistently Sharp at Double-A
Ixan Henderson (No. 25) has been the leader of the Springfield pitching staff, going 3-3 with a 1.95 ERA. Over 11 starts, Henderson has 70 strikeouts and 22 walks in 60.0 innings, and the 23-year-old left-hander has allowed three earned runs or fewer in every start, going five-plus innings in five of them.
Max Rajcic (No. 23) had a rough start to the season, but an optimistic May has given way to a dominant June for the right-hander. Rajcic’s ERA was at 7.88 after four April starts, but he allowed three runs or fewer across five outings in May, and just three total in his three June starts.
Relief pitcher Ricardo Velez – a 26-year-old right-hander who was released by the Wichita Wind Surge on March 6 and signed by the Cardinals on April 15 – has been impressive for Springfield. In 25.2 innings over 11 appearances, Velez has allowed five earned runs on 15 hits and eight walks with 23 strikeouts.
His June has been particularly hot. In three appearances covering 6.2 innings, Velez has given up just two hits and no runs with two walks and 10 strikeouts.