Masyn Winn, Victor Scott lead hitting-happy bunch of Cardinals prospects

ST. LOUIS – The future is forefront for a St. Louis Cardinals team that just traded some key pieces and appears on track to miss the postseason this year.

Lead executive John Mozeliak is hopeful the big-league birds will be competitive again next season, and much of that will largely depend on the development of the baby birds. At the Triple-A and Double-A levels, the Cardinals have quite a few prospects hitting their way to major-league aspirations.

Lately, infielder Masyn Winn and outfielder Victor Scott II are the ones setting the bar high. Both have a unique skillset of top-notch contact and speed. Winn is leading the charge a little more with the hits, and Scott a little more with the legs.

Winn, a 21-year-old shortstop and 2020 first-round draft pick, earned ample opportunity in spring training while many Cardinals regulars competed in the World Baseball Classic. Winn led the team in hits (18), runs scored (11) and stolen bases (4) and proved a sparkplug on the verge of a big-league promotion. His case keeps growing stronger by the day with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

Winn was named the Cardinals’ top minor-league hitter for the month of July with a slashline of .359/.427/.750. And he hasn’t slowed down since the turn to August. On Thursday, Winn delivered four hits, drove in three runs, scored four times and ended up a triple shy of a cycle. He now has 119 hits this season, third-most for anyone at a one specific level of the minor leagues this season.

After the departure of Paul DeJong and a season-ending injury to Brendan Donovan, two middle infielders, it seems Winn is knocking on the door more than ever for his big-league call. Mozeliak said Tuesday after the trade deadline he could possibly see Winn getting promoted this year, but did not disclose a timetable.

General manager Mike Girsch doubled-down on those comments and said Friday in a Bally Sports Midwest interview, “We want him to continue to have success and when it makes some sense for us and everything lines up, I think we’ll get him up here at some point later in the year.”

Winn is ranked the top prospect in the Cardinals farm system, per MLB Pipeline. To listen to his one-on-one interview with FOX 2’s Joey Schneider from 2023 Spring Training, .

Scott, a 22-year-old outfielder and 2022 fifth-round draft pick, can stack up hits in a hurry, and that’s what he’s done to the tune of a .350 batting average with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals. If his name sounds vaguely familiar, it should. He represented the Cardinals in the 2023 Futures Game last month, finishing with a single and two stolen bases.

Riding an 11-game hitting streak into Saturday, Scott has multiple hits in seven of those contests. Power isn’t necessarily his forte with just one extra-base hit and no home runs during that stretch, but Scott makes up for it with flashy speed incomparable to most around minor league baseball.

Scott has 73 stolen bases between Springfield and Single-A Peoria this season, more than anyone in the minors right now aside from Rays prospect Chandler Simpson (81). Scott has successfully swiped a base on around 90% of his attempts this season, and he’s averaged around one stolen base per game since July 15.

If Scott continues to build on his strengths, he could provide the Cardinals a dynamic they haven’t had in decades. Vince Coleman was the last to speedster to swipe 70 bases in a season in a St. Louis uniform. Coleman stole 143 bases in his best minor-league season in 1983. Scott is not quite on that pace, but will be racing toward rare company of 100 steals and should finish close to that at his current trajectory.

“It’s just a really crazy experience,” said Scott told Ozarks Sports Zone on his season in a recent interview. “Making this jump is a lot to take in, but it’s definitely a cool experience, and I’m blessed to have this experience.”

Scott is ranked the 25th best prospect in the Cardinals farm system, per MLB Pipeline, with 2025 currently his estimated arrival to the big leagues.

But That’s Not All

The St. Louis Cardinals’ top-two affiliates (AAA – Memphis Redbirds & AA – Springfield Cardinals) are both averaging around five runs a game and in the hunt for the International League and Texas League titles because of big-time bats. Others adding to Winn’s and Scott’s contributions include…

• Memphis first baseman Luken Baker, who even with a brief MLB stint, leads Triple-A with 27 home runs and ranks second with 82 RBI.
• Memphis outfielder Moisés Gómez, who after breaking the Cardinals single-season minor league home run record last year, has 23 big flys again, fifth most at the AAA level.
• Springfield infielder Thomas Saggese, who was just acquired in the Jordan Montgomery deal but is making an immediate impact. His 79 RBI are second-most for anyone at the Double-A level this year and his 18 HR rank within the Top 10 for AA.
• Springfield first baseman Chandler Redmond, who hit a home run cycle last year and continues his big-time slugging. He has 26 home runs this season, boosted by eight in each of his first two months.