JUPITER, Fla. -- As if he hadn¡¯t already stated a strong enough case as to why he deserved to make the Cardinals' Opening Day roster, Victor Scott II further showed off his massive improvements as a hitter by smashing a two-run home run off Astros All-Star left-hander Framber Valdez on Friday.
Not only did the left-handed Scott homer off one of the game¡¯s best left-handed pitchers, but he drilled a Valdez slider -- a pitch batters hit just .233 against in 2024 -- 404 feet over the wall in right field. No sweat, a much-improved Scott said later in the day.
¡°I saw [the pitch] well, but I didn¡¯t even really swing hard,¡± Scott said matter-of-factly. ¡°If I had to put it in golf terms, I¡¯d say it was like an 8-iron and about 160 [yards] out to put it on the green. The swing wasn¡¯t super malicious or anything. It really was just an easy swing.¡±
Scott¡¯s Friday feat was nearly matched by starting pitcher Michael McGreevy, another spring standout who is hopeful of earning a spot on the Cardinals' Opening Day roster. McGreevy, Scott and others will find out their fate on Sunday when St. Louis unveils its final roster.
McGreevy, who impressed the Cardinals in 2024 when he made his MLB debut and went 3-0 in four big league games, pitched five scoreless innings against the Mets on Friday to finalize his spring r¨¦sum¨¦. The 24-year-old right-hander pitched to a 1.08 ERA over 16 2/3 innings in five spring appearances. He allowed just two solo home runs and struck out 12 hitters without walking one. McGreevy said how he pitched this spring was akin to the motivation he got from holding his own at the big league level in 2024.
¡°I think this was my best spring, to date, and it was really, really good for me,¡± McGreevy said. ¡°It gave me confidence that the stuff still plays. It gives me the confidence to keep building and sticking to the routine because the routine works. All the stuff I did during the offseason is paying off.¡±
The Cardinals coaching staff has been debating the merits of a six-man starting staff for the past two weeks, and the direction the team goes with that decision could determine the fate of McGreevy and left-hander Matthew Liberatore.
Liberatore, who found success as a reliever in 2024 with three wins and seven holds, could always return to the bullpen if the Cardinals stick with a five-man staff. Pushing starting pitchers too far beyond their pitch counts early in the season, manager Oliver Marmol said, would be one of the primary reasons the club would opt for a six-man staff.
¡°Early on, pitch count is a real thing, and you want to make sure you get through April healthy,¡± said Marmol, who also stressed the importance of having relievers who can pitch on consecutive days or cover multiple innings out of the bullpen. ¡°That [health] is a big part of it.¡±
Scott was a big part of the Cardinals' offense this spring while competing with incumbent center fielder Michael Siani for the Opening Day center field job. If the competition was based solely on numbers, Scott would have cinched a spot long ago with the way he has hit throughout camp. However, the Cardinals place an immense value in the defensive element of center field and Siani could be the choice there because of how he fielded his position throughout the 2024 season.
Scott was the Cardinals' Opening Day center fielder in 2024, but that came about largely because of injuries to Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson and Lars Nootbaar. Scott was ultimately optioned to Triple-A Memphis four times when he struggled to hit MLB pitching. However, he used the offseason to adapt his swing and to study at-bats by Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew and Cardinals legend Willie McGee.
All that work paid off in the form of a Spring Training where Scott hit .366 (15-for-41) with four homers, two doubles, a triple and seven RBIs over 15 games. Scott is hopeful that showing a much more athletic approach at the plate -- and one that helped him drill a slider from Valdez -- will convince the Cardinals that he is better prepared to hit big-league pitching this time around.
¡°I¡¯m extremely proud with what I¡¯ve done, and now I¡¯ll just let the chips fall as they may,¡± Scott said. ¡°I¡¯m ready and I¡¯m prepared. I¡¯m ready to show the consistency I¡¯ve been showing all Spring Training.¡±