Cardinals coaching staff believes young hitters are heading in right direction

The St. Louis Cardinals are at an interesting spot in the season with John Mozeliak saying his goodbye to the organization at the end of the month but also trying to balance a competitive roster with giving young players opportunities to show their stuff. Even though JJ Wetherholt and others are currently in the minor leagues, the current major league roster is full of hitters in their mid- to late 20s who are in need of that evaluation.

Among those currently on the roster, Masyn Winn, Victor Scott II, and Alec Burleson are all budding young players who have impressed the coaching staff with their approach to this season. Even if the results are not there yet, both manager Oli Marmol and hitting coach Brant Brown specifically shouted out these three guys as ones who have bought into the process. Their comments, which can be heard during a great interview with The Gashouse Gang on KMOX, show that even with the frustrations of this season, there is still time for others to reach their full potential. The entire interview is worth a listen, but these specific comments can be found around the 30-minute mark.

Masyn Winn, Victor Scott II, and Alec Burleson all drew praise from the Cardinals coaching staff.

In the interview, both Marmol and Brown spoke very transparently about the roster and the changes they have seen or at least explained the process behind the adjustments they wanted to see at the plate. Each of them praised Winn's, Scott's, and Burleson's changes this year, even if the results are not up to their potential just yet. When talking of Masyn Winn specifically, Marmol said that the shortstop has the chance to be a really special player who is continuing to improve offensively while still playing Platinum Glove level defense. He also mentioned his approach with two strikes is encouraging for his future development with the bat, along with his ability to hit "some doubles and a couple homers."

" "Where Masyn is today, compared to where his ceiling is, it's not even close""

Oli Marmol, Cardinals manager

The manager was next to touch on the electric center fielder Victor Scott II, who just returned from a short stint on the injured list due to a sprained ankle. For the season, the speedster has an 81 WRC+ but again, Marmol thinks he's not near his ceiling. Scott started the season hot with a .271 batting average, 14 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases through April, but he saw those numbers fall all the way through the All-Star break. Now that he has returned from the IL, Scott should be expected to be in the lineup most every day, as the team believes in his future with the organization and needs to see him take the next step offensively.

Finally, both Marmol and Brown praised outfielder Alec Burleson's performance this year while also touching on how professional their conversations have been and what discussions they have had as adults. The manager first said that Burleson's approach has shifted to swinging more in the zone and noted how difficult that is to do at the MLB level. When Brown had his chance, he had plenty of positive things to say about Burly. Brown first said how quickly Burleson bought into the process, but then said that there were times they disagreed with ideas and had to have tough conversations. Along with this, Brown said "that's what professionals do" as they try to problem-solve together before he added, "At the end of the day, you're going to do what you want to do, but I might disagree with what you do... and that's okay", which was a different approach than he took when speaking of other hitters.

Overall, this entire interview was one of the best I had heard with manager Oli Marmol, and it was great to hear Brant Brown speak so directly. At the end of the day, the fans do not get to see the behind-the-scenes action or step into the clubhouse to see what actually goes on to prepare for games, but it appears that the young core for the St. Louis Cardinals is taking to the coaching staff well.