Struggling outfielder Victor Scott II was out of the starting lineup on Friday as he and the Cardinals work to make stance changes that might help him improve upon his .197 batting average for the season.
ST. LOUIS – The Cardinals and center fielder Victor Scott II appear to be at something of a crossroads just 24 games into the season what with the speedster struggling at the plate and team insisting that he make changes to his approach.
Scott, who came into Friday in an 0 for 16 skid that dropped his average to .197, was out of the starting lineup in the series opener against the Mariners. Nathan Church, the Opening Day starter in left field, started in center on Friday night, while Jose Fermin opened in left field.
Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol insisted before the game that Scott hadn’t been benched and could very well be back in the starting lineup on Saturday against Seattle’s Bryan Woo.
Scott, 25, spent Friday’s pregame working on his approach with hitting coach Brant Brown. The Cardinals are hoping to get Scott’s hands into a lower position so that he can load quicker and prepare for the spin that pitchers have so often used to befuddle him at the plate.
Scott’s continued struggles at the plate have limited his effectiveness on the basepaths. He came into Friday having stolen just three bases in five tries and having scored just six runs. Thus far, he has nearly four times as many strikeouts (19) as walks (five) and he has just one extra-base hit on the season.
“Today was a good work day for him,” Marmol said of Scott. “There were good conversations in Miami that day as far as what Vic feels and what the hitting department feels needs to take place. He had a good work day today early, continuing through (batting practice) and then we’ll go from there.”
Scott's hitting woes are nothing new
Scott was the team’s Opening Day starter in center field in 2024 following a rash of injuries, but he played just 53 games at the big-league level because of his struggles at the plate. After hitting .179 as a rookie, Scott worked on his swing throughout the winter and hit .216 with 15 doubles and five homers in 2025. He was nearly invincible on the basepaths, stealing 34 bases in 38 attempts. However, he still struck out 111 times compared to 42 walks.
This season, Scott has posted a low chase rate (22.9 percent), but his whiff rate (31.9 percent) and strikeout rate (26.4 percent) have soared. At issue again is spin. While he’s hit .345 on at bats that end with fastballs, he’s hitting just .083 against breaking balls and he’s 0 for 8 on off-speed pitches. In 2025, he hit just .218 against off-speed pitches and only .168 on breaking balls.
The Cardinals are hopeful that mechanical changes will lead to more success in the coming days for Scott.
“I’ll get feedback on how the work day went and then determine if he needs another day (off) or we fire him in there (on Saturday),” Marmol said.
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