September roster expansion candidates for the Cardinals

Jul 7, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman

(59) hits a RBI single during the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs in game one of a baseball doubleheader at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Candidate #6

Xavier Scruggs

I really really want to root for this guy. I was all about him coming up earlier in the year when Adams went down with the quad injury. I thought he was going to come up and spark the offense. However, Scruggs has really struggled in his opportunities with the big club this year. He was hotter than anybody in June when he first came up going 9-23 from June 19-30.

However, once the calendar turned to July he went ice cold going 2-19 from July 1-10, Scruggs was then sent down and hasn’t returned since. Granted that is a smallish sample size for a hitter, it led to the organization looking outside for help at first base.

Call to the Pen

More telling for Scruggs is the fact that he only had 2 extra base hits from June 19-July 10, which is not what the club needs from a first baseman.

This next month for Xavier could be quite interesting for his career. While he is under team control for the next two years, the club could choose to not offer him a contract in the offseason if he comes up and doesn’t perform again. I am a fan of his and want him to do well but with other 1B in the organization knocking on the door the writing could be on the wall for the 27 year old.