Entire Cardinals position group has something to prove in 2026

As Spring Training approaches, the St. Louis Cardinals are seemingly set with most of their roster, especially after trading Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners. The Cardinals' outfield appears to be written in pencil in the lineup, but each of the three presumed starters has something to prove this upcoming season.

Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, and Jordan Walker are all in need of productive seasons in 2026.

The trades that Chaim Bloom has made so far this offseason have all taken away from the major league roster and provided options and depth for the pitching group. Those traded pieces came from the rotation and the corner infield positions, leaving spots open for the young Cardinals roster to step up. Another oft-mentioned group that Bloom could have chosen to deal from was the St. Louis outfield, but nothing ever seemed to materialize other than some rumblings and rumors around the league.

This means that as of late January, Bloom and the Cardinals staff appear to be happy enough with the current setup in the grass despite the entire group having individuals with underwhelming performances to this point in their respective careers. Even while rehabbing double heel surgery, Lars Nootbaar is the expected left fielder, with elite defender Victor Scott II in center and former top prospect Jordan Walker manning the grass in right. If we were in 2024 (or maybe even 2023 for some people), there would be a palpable excitement surrounding that outfield alignment. How things can change.

Lars Nootbaar vs. Health: Round 4

It is still hard for me to comprehend, but Nootbaar is entering his sixth year of major league service with the Cardinals. The story on Noot since being selected in the eighth round of the 2018 draft is that he had the potential to be an above-average hitter thanks to his plate discipline, strong build, and work ethic. All of those remain true, but we still have yet to see Noot reach his full potential despite putting up eye-catching numbers on Baseball Savant's expected stats and Trackman hitter tracking.

Over his five seasons with the Cardinals, Nootbaar has played a total of 527 games, averaging about 105 contests per year. He has been above-average by measure of OPS+, with Baseball Reference putting him at 109 for his career. While healthy, Noot has been solid but has yet to put his offseason work onto the field thanks to injuries and inconsistency. According to his career splits, the outfielder has his best numbers in the months of July and August, with the other months not even really being close to those two. As we have seen, Noot needs consistent playing time (and health) in order to get in the groove of the season and remain a productive player. If his rehab goes well, which we have admittedly heard little about, Nootbaar should be the everyday left fielder with an opportunity to play his way into extension talks, or trade chatter for teams in postseason contention.

Victor Scott II - He can catch it, but can he hit it?

I will admit before going too far that Victor Scott II has been dealt a tough hand when it comes to developing into a major league hitter. When he debuted in 2024, he had a total of 163 professional games played with a whopping zero of them coming above Double-A. He showed well in Spring Training, but was still thrust onto the Opening Day roster after a final-day injury to Dylan Carlson.

While VSII was coming off a 2023 campaign that saw him hit .303 and steal 94 bases, only half of his games came while he was in Springfield. Unsurprisingly, Scott struggled massively in his first taste of the big leagues and has been working to adjust to the major league pitchers ever since. Through his first 191 games, Scott has a .206 batting average with 39 stolen bases and 32 extra-base hits. While power is not a major part of his game, he has flashed double-digit homer potential but is currently hindered by his 25% strikeout rate. That rate is not absolutely miserable, but when his major tool is speed, he has to find a way to make contact with the ball to give himself a chance to get on base. His whiff rate is near the bottom of the league, but VSII expressed confidence that the failure he faced so far, as well as the offseason work he has put in, will result in big things for the center fielder in 2026.

Jordan Walker - He can sometimes catch it, but can he also sometimes hit it?

Regarding right field, the Cardinals still have not done much to address the outfield as the promised runway from 2025 actually shows up heading into this season. That means that former top prospect Jordan Walker should be expected to receive 500 at-bats in 2026.

Whether you like it or not, with the current state of the team, this is the plan that makes the most sense as the 23-year-old enters his fourth big league season with just one minor league option remaining. Every year has brought something different for Walker, ranging from starting a new position, to being called up the big leagues, to seemingly always tweaking something with his swing.

Going into 2026, though, Walker should have the opportunity to just focus on himself without the pressure of needing to perform on every single pitch. The athletic specimen was lauded coming out of high school as a potential power and speed threat, but he has not been able to put either of those together on a consistent basis. During the second half of last season, Walker did seem to find something, as he raised his OPS over 40 points from the first half (to a still below-average .602) and also stole seven bases. He credited Scott and JJ Wetherholt for teaching him some baserunning cues that he looks to bring over for the entire season this year. If he can approach his minor league performance that shows him as a career .845 OPS guy with a nice mix of homers and steals, Walker could once again be someone to keep an eye on for 2026.