JUPITER, Fla. – Now halfway through spring games, two hot-hitting prospects are the talk of town for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Victor Scott II and Thomas Saggese, both considered among the Cardinals Top 5 prospects in MLB Pipeline’s new rankings, are making a case for a big-league promotion sometime this year. And depending on who you ask, they’re both quite possibly making a case for the Opening Day roster.
Scott enjoyed a 3-for-3 game Tuesday with a stolen base and two runs scored. Saggese enjoyed a 4-for-4 game on Sunday with six RBIs. After finishing among the minor league leaders in hits last year, Scott and Saggese are two of just three Cardinals with at least 10 spring hits to this point.
But that’s not all. Scott’s four stolen bases rank second among all MLB players this spring, coming off a minor-league season in which he swiped 94 bases. Saggese’s .971 OPS (on-base plus slugging) mark ranks second among qualified Cardinals this year, coming off minor-league season with 26 home runs and 111 RBIs. Stats aside, both have shown the ability to set the table and add to big offensive rallies.
Simply put, it’s hard to ignore their spring success.
On the other hand, translating that into the big leagues isn’t always easy, quick or guaranteed. For instance, Jordan Walker broke spring camp with the Cardinals Opening Day roster last year, but was optioned to the minor leagues roughly one month after his MLB debut to make adjustments.
The Cardinals have some pretty important decisions to make soon on Scott and Saggese, 23 and 21 years old respectively. Opening Day is roughly two weeks away. Neither are on the Cardinals’ 40-man MLB roster, so their promotions would also necessitate corresponding roster moves.
The Cardinals front office ultimately has to decide what they feel is best for the development of Scott and Saggese as ballplayers. The team could promote one or both ahead of schedule if they feel they can make an everyday impact immediately, presumably not just riding the bench. The team may also opt to have both start the year at Triple-A Memphis for more seasoning.
Cardinals lead executive John Mozeliak, when recently asked about Scott, was not committed to one path or the other quite yet.
“I think we have to be a little bit more patient with (Scott),” Mozeliak told The Athletic’s Katie Woo last week. “Clearly, he’s opened up some eyes early on, but we have three weeks of camp left, so a lot of time to still make some judgments and decisions.”
One factor that could potentially help Scott and Saggese break camp is the current state of the Cardinals outfield. Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman are dealing with nagging injuries and may not be ready for Opening Day, so the Cardinals could have some shoes to fill on the big-league squad.
Scott, a natural outfielder and speedster, would make plenty of sense to patrol center. Saggese has mostly played infield to this point of spring, so getting him in the outfield could be a stretch, but perhaps the Cardinals could get creative to get his bat into the lineup, possibly by moving utility specialist Brendan Donovan to left field on a temporary basis.
“I’ve always known from an early age, and for whatever reason, I’ve been very confident that at my very best, I know I can make it,” Saggese recently told MLB.com’s John Denton. “I’m not sure why, but that’s kind of the only thing in my life like that. I know I can produce in the big leagues.”
Regardless where Scott and Saggese stand internally, it seems they’ve made good impressions on manager Oli Marmol.
On Scott: “He’s studious. Being around him, it’s interesting how he goes about his process. He’s constantly learning, taking notes, and asking questions. … He has an idea of what he’s trying to do out there. There’s room to becoming an even better baserunner.”
On Saggese: “He’s been exactly as advertised. Good organizations have depth, and we’ll continue to run him out there. He works hard. He loves the game. Loves learning about the game.”
FOX 2 ran a poll to collect fan views on Scott and Saggese’s chances of making the Opening Day roster. Among those voter results…
- Around 44% say both should break camp with the Cardinals.
- Around 40% say Scott, but not Saggese, should break camp with the Cardinals.
- Around 16% say neither should break camp with the Cardinals.
What transpires for Scott and Saggese over the next few weeks remains to be seen, but both are certainly giving the Cardinals front office things to think about with this year’s big-league team, one seeking a bounceback after one of their worst records in decades (71-91) last year.
The Cardinals will face the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road in their Opening Day matchup on March 28.
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