The St. Louis Cardinals entered the 2024 campaign with one of the most promising offenses in all of baseball on paper, and yet they ranked 22nd in runs scored, tied for 22nd in home runs, and tied for 15th in OPS. It was an underachievement that compelled the organization to more or less clean house, firing hitting coach Turner Ward and replacing him with Brant Brown as part of the team's sweeping staff changes this winter.
Virtually everyone on the team other than Willson Contreras, Alec Burleson, and maybe Masyn Winn disappointed at the plate, but it felt as if nobody struggled more than Jordan Walker, a player who was once seen as one of the best prospects in all of baseball.
Walker had a bit of an up-and-down rookie year in 2023, but still finished that season with 16 home runs and a .787 OPS in 117 games played. There was reason to believe that with a season under his belt already, Walker would take off, but the opposite happened: The 22-year-old slashed .201/.253/.366 with five home runs and 20 RBI in 51 games, struggling so mightily that he was sent down to Triple-A less than one month into the season. He finally got the chance to play regularly for the Cardinals down the stretch and did look better, but it was still a far cry from what he was supposed to be.
The Cardinals hope that the Brown hire will help Walker thrive at the MLB level, and the early returns are quite good. Walker has made it known just how comfortable he feels with his new hitting coach, and he has two hits, including a double, in his first five spring training at-bats. But while Walker has looked good, fellow young outfielder Victor Scott II has looked even better.
Victor Scott II looks even better than Jordan Walker with new Cardinals hitting coach
Scott wasn't as highly touted as Walker, but he was still one of the top prospects in the Cardinals organization ahead of the 2024 campaign. He wound up making the team's Opening Day roster thanks in large part to injuries to Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, and Dylan Carlson, but looked completely overmatched at the MLB level, recording five hits in 59 at-bats (.085 BA) before being sent down after just 20 games of action.
Like Walker, Scott was called back up to the MLB level and played more when the Cardinals were out of contention. He even played a bit better, but still not up to expectations.
Well, Scott wound up having an excellent game on Tuesday, recording two hits in three at-bats against the Toronto Blue Jays. He led off the game against Max Scherzer with a triple, and drilled a home run off of Bowden Francis in his next at-bat. Scott excelled on Tuesday, and has three hits in his first five spring training at-bats to go along with a walk and a stolen base.
Victor Scott II puts one on the roof! 💣 pic.twitter.com/f2iFjIlBi9
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) February 25, 2025
Sure, spring training doesn't mean much at the end of the day, but when did we see this at all from Scott last season? He hit the ball with authority against two quality MLB starting pitchers in his first two at-bats on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old has a legitimate shot to make the team's Opening Day roster if he continues to hit like this. The Cardinals having Walker, Brendan Donovan, Nootbaar, and Michael Siani on their roster makes it so that they don't need to roster Scott, but if he has a strong spring, there's no reason not to when the Cardinals say they want to prioritize playing time for younger players this season.