JUPITER, Fla. 鈥 Cardinals prospect Victor Scott II isn鈥檛 just a blur of speed on the bases. While his 94 stolen bases last season drew a lot of attention, he brings play-making ability and excitement to the field as well as the base path.
鈥淓xcitement鈥 was the word that rolled off the lips of Cardinals legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith during a radio appearance on 101 ESPN St. 不良研究所导航网址鈥 鈥淭he Opening Drive鈥 on Tuesday morning.
Smith, renowned as one of the best defensive players in Major League Baseball history, offered his assessment of Scott as he said, 鈥淭his young man, Victor, I think he鈥檚 a Cardinal.鈥
Scott, a 2022 draft pick who is non-roster invitee to major-league camp, has put himself in the discussion to make the big club out of camp thanks in part due to the injury to center fielder Tommy Edman.
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As if he were proving the point Smith made earlier in the day, Scott made an eye-opening defensive play followed by a display of elite speed to reach base safely 鈥 both in the same inning on Tuesday afternoon.
In the second inning of the Cardinals鈥 spring training win over the Miami Marlins, Scott made a diving catch to seemingly snare the baseball off the grass and steal a hit from Jon Berti with a runner on first base and no outs.
Then in the bottom half of the second, he reached on a bunt single that loaded the bases in what turned into a seven-run inning.
Asked after the game about his interactions with Smith, Scott spoke glowingly of his time with the Cardinals legend.
鈥淛ust talking to him about how he approached the game, how he handles big situations,鈥 Scott said of his interactions with Smith. 鈥淛ust those simple things. He鈥檚 an infielder so kind of make his infield in my outfield mind, trying to get that correlation.
鈥淏ut he talked to me about just the game and being able to handle those big situations. Just learning, as a young guy, from the old guys 鈥 just being able to be a student of the game was probably the biggest takeaway he had. He鈥檚 an awesome dude. I鈥檓 happy he鈥檚 around to give everyone in the clubhouse information if need be.鈥
So far this spring, Scott has provided an offensive presence with a .364 batting average and a .447 on-base percentage. He has just one fewer walk (four) than he has strikeouts (five). He has stolen four bases and been caught stealing once.
His defense may go overlooked at times because of his gaudy stolen base totals, but he won a Gold Glove as the best defensive center fielder in Minor League Baseball last season.
Defense has remained a primary focus of Scott during his first major-league camp.
鈥淛ust being able to consistently play defense at a high level, getting the best jumps,鈥 Scott said of his goal coming into this spring. 鈥淲orking on that in the offseason was probably the biggest thing I was trying to target.鈥
Understanding body movement helped him with his jumps last season, but he said he took a deeper dive this offseason and really tried to lock in on lateral movements, visual cues and auditory cues to help him develop better reaction times.
鈥淧eople see kind of the game I play and say, 鈥楾he only reason why he鈥檚 a good defender is because he鈥檚 fast,鈥欌 Scott said. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 want to make that the case. I鈥檓 a good defender because I get good jumps, and then, yes, speed helps. But being able to get a good jump can take away that double or that triple, all those extra-base hits in general.鈥
The ball that seemed destined for the grass in center field served as a perfect example of how Scott combined speed and instinct with preparation, practice and recognition.
He cleared the first hurdle, which on a sunny afternoon in Florida is simply getting a good read on the ball off the bat. That allowed him to get a good jump.
In his mind, before the play, he鈥檇 already assessed what sort of play he鈥檇 have to make on a ball hit in that location in front of him. Off the bat he saw the trajectory of the ball, the sort of line it was traveling on, and he knew a head-first slide would be the only way he鈥檇 give himself a chance to make the catch.
He also knew that if the ball fell, he had a good chance of the ball 鈥渄eadening鈥 as opposed to skipping past him.