4 deserving Cardinals players who'll be squeezed off the Opening Day roster

Victor Scott II

The Victor Scott II hype train is alive and well, and it's definitely not a done deal that he will begin the year in Memphis. But given the Cardinals' patience with prospects and how they viewed him coming into camp, it's much more likely he has a Masyn Winn-like trajectory this year, rather than a Jordan Walker-esc story.

What do I mean by that? Well, coming into camp last year, Walker and Winn were both expected to begin the season in Triple-A. But after a really strong camp from both youngsters, it became clear at the end of camp that Walker would be a part of the Opening Day roster, while it never quite felt like that would happen for Winn.

Now, I do believe Scott is a lot closer to getting the nod than Winn was, but with how Dylan Carlson has looked in recent weeks, I do believe they'll roll with him in center field, one of Brendan Donovan or Alec Burleson in left field, and have Michael Siani be their backup center fielder until Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman return.

Scott has looked really impressive on the field thus far, posting a .777 OPS, wrecking havoc on the basepaths, and playing excellent defense in center field. Even so, he still has less than 900 plate appearances in the minor leagues and has yet to spend any time in Triple-A, which I think will ultimately cause the Cardinals to be patient with Scott to begin the year.

With less than a week until Opening Day, we should have our answer on the status of Scott sooner rather than later. The Cardinals have a two-game series in Arizona against the Chicago Cubs to finish off their Spring Training schedule, so I imagine they'll make a decision before they travel to the West Coast for that trip and the opening series in Los Angeles.