The Cardinals are getting two very different answers from two young players as September unfolds.
Thomas Saggese has turned his latest opportunity into a real run, while Victor Scott’s brief return has only made his case tougher to sell. With injuries piling up and roster moves reshaping the bench, St. Louis is using the final month to figure out who belongs in the mix going forward - and who may not.
Saggese was brought back on Aug. 28 after Blaze Jordan landed on the injured list, and the early numbers before that promotion were rough. In 76 at-bats, he had hit .184/.244/.276 and struck out 26 times in 2026.
Since rejoining the club, though, he has looked like a different hitter entirely. From Aug. 30 through Sept.
7, Saggese has put together an eight-game hitting streak and posted a blistering .536/.559/.964 line while striking out only five times in 34 plate appearances.
That kind of stretch can change the conversation quickly. Saggese doesn’t bring the power profile teams usually want from a corner infielder, but the Cardinals don’t have many clean answers at third base right now.
If he keeps producing, he could push himself into a longer look there next year. Another possibility is a utility infield role, with Jordan staying at third.
Either way, Saggese has gone from a player who looked squeezed out to someone who might still give St. Louis a useful bat during the rebuild.
Scott’s situation has gone in the opposite direction.
When the Cardinals called up the center fielder on Sept. 1, the idea seemed straightforward enough: give him one more shot to show the improved bat could hold up and see whether his speed could become a real weapon late in the season. Instead, St. Louis has mostly kept him out of the starting lineup and used him as a pinch-runner and defender.
Even in that role, things have gone sideways. On Sept. 6, manager Oli Marmol sent Scott in to run at first base for Joshua Báez, and Scott was picked off.
The next game brought another chance. This time, Scott pinch-ran for Iván Herrera in the top of the eighth, and with no outs, Alec Burleson drilled a deep flyout that should have let Scott advance to second.
He stayed put at first, and Burleson was visibly frustrated, shouting at him from the dugout.
That kind of hesitation is a problem for a player trying to prove he can help at this level. Scott has been known for causing problems on the bases at Triple-A Memphis this season, but that hasn’t carried over to the majors. Instead, the Cardinals have seen a runner who looks unsure of himself, and that doesn’t help a player already hanging around the edge of the roster.
Saggese may be playing himself into a future role in St. Louis.
Scott, meanwhile, is giving the Cardinals more reason to question whether he can be the kind of major league base thief they hoped for. For President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom, this final month is still about collecting information - and the club is learning plenty.
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