Kevin

Siegrist

Siegrist, 23, had a 2.77 ERA and 68/31 K/BB ratio over 87 2/3 innings this season between High-A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield. The Cardinals will likely continue to use him as a starter for now, but he could be headed to the bullpen eventually.

The young left-hander will provide some needed depth for the Cardinals’ battered bullpen. Siegrist, 23, has posted a promising 1.95 ERA and 44/10 K/BB ratio this season in 27 2/3 minor league innings. He was a 41st-round pick in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft.

Siegrist has a 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP and 11/2 K/BB ratio over his first 8 2/3 major league innings, and he has yielded only two total hits. The 23-year-old left-hander looks like a keeper for the St. Louis bullpen.

Siegrist allowed one earned run in four innings this spring in the Grapefruit League. The 23-year-old southpaw could climb to the majors at some point this summer.

Edward Mujica has had a terrible month and acknowledged Friday night that he is feeling overall fatigue. Trevor Rosenthal is probably the guy to own in fantasy leagues, but Cardinals manager Mike Matheny will likely use a matchup-to-matchup approach. Hard-throwing left-hander Kevin Siegrist is a darkhorse for save opportunities down the stretch.

Hitting all of the corners with a 97 mph fastball, Siegrist made Shin-Soo Choo, Todd Frazier and Joey Votto look silly in order. The former 41st-round pick has faced 107 batters at the major league level. He has 40 strikeouts and has allowed just nine hits.

Siegrist woke up with the soreness after throwing his first bullpen session of the spring on Saturday. It’s a minor concern right now for the Cardinals, but it could become major if the discomfort lingers all week. Siegrist has fantastic raw stuff and is slated to serve as a setup man this season in the St. Louis bullpen.

Siegrist is a bit behind the other pitchers in Cardinals camp because he was resting through some mild soreness in his left arm. The hard-throwing southpaw should get caught up quickly and is in line to open the 2014 regular season as a setup man in the St. Louis ‘pen. He posted an outstanding 0.45 ERA and struck out 50 batters last summer in his first 39 2/3 major league innings.

Siegrist skipped a scheduled bullpen session on Monday after experiencing some mild soreness in his left arm. If he gets through Thursday’s workout without having any issues, the hard-throwing left-hander will be back on track. Siegrist is expected to open the 2014 season in a setup role behind Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal.

“We need him. We need him right,” said Matheny. “However we’ve got to do that we will. But right now (we’re) not making any major statement about what our plans are.” Rosenthal has been inconsistent all season, and it’s gotten especially bad over the last week. For the year, he holds a 4.91 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, and 33/19 K/BB ratio in 22 innings. Seung Hwan Oh and Kevin Siegrist are both worth stashing in deeper leagues.