If you're the St. Louis Cardinals, you have more than likely been impatiently waiting for the 2024 MLB Opening Day since the final out of the 2023 regular season. That's because the Cardinals are looking to redeem what was one of the worst seasons in team history last year.
The Red Birds won just 71 games last season, their worst since 1995 when they went 62-81. It was also the first time since 1990 that the Cardinals finished dead last in their division. Last year's lackluster season is an anomaly in St. Louis. Losing 90 games plus, placing last in the NL Central, and not making the playoffs just doesn't happen all the time like it does for others within the division.
But the Cardinals had been on this bit of a downward trajectory for years now. They were getting older and quickly, and perhaps not moving ahead toward modern-day baseball like a lot of the rest of the league had done. Prior to last season, sure, they made the postseason four straight seasons, but in three of those, they never made it past the Wild Card round and overall went 1-9 in those series.
So, that means it's time to get younger, right? Well, that's what the Cardinals brass is hoping, though that, in and of itself, is not an easy, quick fix. In the recent MLB Pipeline rankings, which ranks all 30 teams' farm systems, the Cardinals were ranked 22nd overall:
“The Cardinals remade their farm system at last year’s Trade Deadline – the acquisitions of Roby and Thomas Saggese particularly stand out – but there are still familiar faces in Winn, Hence, and Victor Scott II occupying three of the top four spots in our rankings,” per MLB.com “While the depth of the group is improved, the farm still lacks high-ceiling types, keeping in the lower third here.”
That may not sound as encouraging as Cardinals' fans would like, but this seems like a total rehaul for St. Louis, starting back to last year, and it flows to all levels of the organization's rosters. However, one of those names automatically stands out, and that's outfielder Victor Scott II.
Outfielder Victor Scott II has a good chance of making the Cardinals' 2024 Opening Day roster
This speedy outfielder has been blazing his way through the minor leagues since he was taken in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Going between High-A and Double-A in the minors last season, Scott tied the MILB lead with 94 stolen bases, plus a Minor League Gold Glove to go with it.
In this new era of baseball with bigger bases and fewer pick-off moves, that could bode well for the Cardinals' offense. The question, however, will be how productive he can be overall at the plate. In eight Spring Training games so far in 23 plate appearances, Scott is slashing .250/.348/.350. He has four runs on five hits with three walks, one triple, one RBI, and one stolen base.
What makes him a sneaky call-up for the Cardinals' 2024 Opening Day roster is that the team is suffering through some injuries to their starting outfielders. The team announced that they could very well be without Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman on Opening Day. Nootbaar was diagnosed with two non-displaced fractures in his ribs, while Edman is still on the mend recovering from his wrist surgery he had during the offseason.
Does that guarantee Scott a spot on Opening Day? No, because there's still Dylan Carlson, Alec Burleson, and Michael Siani on their 40-man roster. The Cardinals could always choose not to rush him out too fast by keeping him off a major league roster. But if he continues to impress this spring, along with the team's injury woes, St. Louis may have no other choice but to make him part of their 2024 Opening Day plans this season.
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