Ranking the St. Louis Cardinals' 10 most important young players and prospects

#9 - Victor Scott II

It's hard not to get down on a prospect if their first taste of big-league action goes poorly, but there is very little reason to knock Victor Scott II for his rough stint in St. Louis, other than to say that he is not ready for that level yet offensively.

That is not an inditement on Scott at all. He said it himself recently, he needs to work on some things at the plate, and the MLB level is not the ideal place to do that. Would he love to be back in St. Louis right now? I'm sure of it. But he's making the most of this opportunity to develop, and that is going to help him out a ton in the long run.

Why am I still high on Scott? Even if his bat never gets to a level where he's a league-average hitter or better, his 80-grade speed and plus-plus defense in center field will always be extremely valuable tools. Even while he was producing like one of the worst hitters in baseball in April for St. Louis, the club was having a hard time putting him on the bench due to his game-changing plays in the field and on the basepaths.

Will Scott be a star? It's hard to say. We are far too quick to give that label to young players, myself included. It's not hard to imagine Scott being one of the most exciting and dynamic players in baseball though at some point, and if you take a chance to listen to my interview with Scott while he was stealing headlines during Spring Training, you'll see why myself and so many others are high on Scott's talent - because he has the makeup to make the most of it.

Scott remains one of the most important players in the Cardinals organization for a number of reasons. One, his speed has the ability to change games in a way no one else can. Just look over at the Cincinnati Reds right now and how much Elly De La Cruz is breaking games with his speed. Imagine someone who is even faster and even better at the art of swiping a bag - that is who Scott is. He stole 94 bases in 132 games last year. This dude is legit.

His defense has the potential to be phenomenal, and if he can continue to grow in his ability to read fly balls off the bat and optimize his routes to the ball, he'll have the best range in the game at its most important position. Cardinals fans have seen how impactful elite defense can be with even someone like Michael Siani in center field, so imagine a better version of that defense from a guy who is also leading baseball in stolen bases.

And lastly, Scott's bat has continued to take strides forward. When he was drafted, he was more of an athlete than a baseball player (John Mozeliak's words, not mine), but he's become more and more polished as he's spent time in the system, and as he begins to unlock how he uses his lower-half at the plate, you'll see a guy who hits more line drives than the pop-ups that were plaguing him early in the year, and again, becoming an extremely impactful player.

Another reason for Scott's ranking on this list is just his floor as a player. Even if things do not turn out as the Cardinals would hope, Scott is going to be a productive big leaguer just based on his speed and defense. The bat has the potential to raise his ceiling significantly, and I would bet he figures it out.