When the 2024 season started, outfielder Victor Scott II was the St. Louis Cardinals No. 4 prospect and rode a strong spring into an Opening Day start at center field. Scott would be sent down and called up three times after that. Most recently, Scott was called up Tuesday for his fourth big league stint of the season.
Make-or-Break 2025 Ahead for Victor Scott II
The first thing that catches the eye of baseball evaluators for Scott is his speed. The 23-year-old is in the 99th percentile of the League for sprint speed. His average of 30 feet per second was tied for third fastest in baseball this season. Only the Kansas City Royal’s Bobby Witt Jr. and Philadelphia Phillies’ Johan Rohas had faster sprint speeds. Scott II has the same average sprint speed as young Cincinatti Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz.
Scott II is fast out of the batter’s box as well. He averages 4.12 seconds from hit pitch to first base. That rate is MLB’s 10th fastest. His stolen base opportunities were limited by playing in just 50 games this season, but he was a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.
The speedster is also decent in the field. His Outs Above Average sits at three for 2024, which is above league average. He caught two percent more balls than expected in his limited MLB time this season.
Problems at the Plate
The reason Scott struggled to stay long with the Cardinals this season was his bat. His slash line across 151 plate appearances this year was .171/.212/.277. Strikeouts were a problem for him as well. His MLB strikeout rate was 27.8 percent. His walk rate was just four percent.
Spring was a different story for Scott. He had strong batting numbers in spring training, slashing .317/.404/.366. A myriad of injuries gave Scott the opportunity to start with the Cardinals at the beginning of the season. Tommy Edman was still recovering from an offseason injury, Lars Nootbaar started the season on the IL, and a collision in the outfield during spring sraining landed Dylan Carlson on the injured list as well.
The high batting average and on-base percentage made Scott appealing to the Cardinals entering the season. One of the fastest sprinters in the MLB getting on base 40 percent of the time certainly seemed like a recipe for runs.
Scott II’s bat didn’t inspire much confidence in Triple A this season either. With the Memphis Redbirds, Scott II had a slash line of .210/.294/.303. While it was better than how he fared in St. Louis, his time in Memphis wasn’t screaming to put him back in the Show.
A Completely Different Landscape Entering 2025
The Cardinals still have hope that Scott can be a part of the organization’s future. While played enough MLB games to lose prospect eligibility, he’s still just about six months removed from being top five in the organization’s farm system.
The outfield will look completely different when Scott is competing for a spot next spring. Edman and Carlson were both moved at the 2024 trade deadline. Fellow highly rated young outfielder Jordan Walker will be entering the 2025 season as a bit of a question mark after spending most of his season in the Memphis as well.
Other young talented outfielders had breakout seasons in 2024. Michael Siani proved to be one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. Alec Burleson proved to be one of the best offensive ones. Burleson’s role will depend heavily on the future of former MVP Paul Goldschmidt, who is entering unrestricted free agency. If Goldschmidt isn’t in Jupiter, Florida with the Cardinals for Spring Training, Burleson may end up taking most of his reps at first base.
Nolan Gorman has fallen out of favor for the organization as well. If the team decides not to bring him back for 2025, utility man Brendan Donovan may be playing more infield than outfield as well to take up innings at second base.
Looking Ahead to Spring Training
As it stands now, the Cardinals don’t have a single outfield prospect on their top 30 list that has played past Double A. Nootbaar and Siani seem to be locks to be on the Opening Day Roster as outfielders barring injury. Walker will likely be there as well. After that there’s a lot of sorting out to do. Some players may be flexed to different positions. The Cardinals may explore free agency to add an outfield bat.
The Cardinals will be watching Scott closely the final week of the season and in the Spring. He hasn’t instilled much confidence this year, but he remains a highly touted prospect. The organization could really use some consistency from him at the plate in order to be flexible in the other roster spots they need to address. If the Cardinals want to embrace the youth in their organization, Scott could be a key part of that.
Main Photo: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
