Cardinals' young defensive wizards forming top duo in all of baseball

While defense tends to be underplayed in comparison to high-end offensive production or top-of-the-rotation starting pitching, it is a massive advantage for a team to have excellent defense at a premium position like shortstop or center field.

In the case of the St. Louis Cardinals, no one in baseball has a better duo at two of the game's most important defensive positions right now.

Anyone who watched the Cardinals this year has been able to witness how special Masyn Winn is in his second full season manning the shortstop position, and Victor Scott II has used his sophomore campaign to allow his comfort and feel for center field to catch up to his elite speed out there. Eye test alone, they are two of the best defenders in baseball, but the numbers show that to be the case as well.

Winn's 22 outs above average leads all of baseball, and Scott's 14 OAA is third among all center fielders and tied for seventh in the Majors. Their 36 combined OAA is the best in baseball this year among any teammates, with the next closest duo being the 29 OAA that Bobby Witt Jr. and Kyle Isbel have combined for with the Royals this year.

That is an uber impressive number to say the least, and when you compare it to past defensive duos from the last decade, Winn and Scott may end up being the best of the bunch.

Cardinals' defensive wizards Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II find themselves in elite company among the best defensive duos of recent memory

Although the Cardinals have played just 122 games this year, Winn and Scott's combined 36 outs above average is already outpacing top duos who completed their 162-game seasons since 2015, and they have a chance to outrank them all by season's end.

Yes, Cardinals fans should continue to press the organization on acquiring star talent that they are currently lacking. Players like Winn and Scott only get you so far without those elite bats in the middle of a lineup and top-end pitchers working as stoppers in a rotation. But I do think the desire for star talent sometimes causes fans to overlook just how valuable guys like Winn and Scott have been to this club.

Long-term, it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals navigate their place on this roster, as their production now is uber valuable but becomes "less so" when they are getting paid big dollars. But in the case of both players, and especially so Masyn Winn, potential steps forward at the plate could turn them into extremely valuable, high-end supplemental pieces to their roster.

I doubt Winn or Scott can develop into those "stars" that the Cardinals need, but if their defense continues to be this elite and their bats improve over the next few seasons, they can certainly be key pieces around those stars to take the Cardinals to the next level.

There is another advantage that guys like Winn and Scott provide the Cardinals with their presence. Having Winn in their infield and Scott commanding their outfield allows them to potentially take chances on players who may struggle defensively or at least not be a positive asset out there, as their excellence defensively can make up for others' lack of skill in that area.

Winn and Scott are two of the game's best defensive players at arguably the two most important positions, and together, they may be forming the beginning of one of the great defensive duos we've seen in Cardinals' history.