The Cardinals select a center fielder Victor Scott II to Triple-A Memphis today, as first reported by Tamar Sher of KMOV. A partner who plays outside Nathan Church will return from a 10-day IL today and replace Scott’s roster, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. The week will likely see a lot of action in the central area.
It is the first time Scott, 25, has been selected since the 2024 season. He spent all of 2025 in the majors and was a regular player in 2026 despite no offensive results. He is hitting .194/.276/.258 (57 wRC+) in 184 turns at the plate so far. Scott has only six extra-base hits (two homers, four doubles).
Scott swiped nine bases but was caught four times; that’s already as many times as he was caught stealing in all of ’25, when he swiped a total of 34 bags. His 29.7 ft/sec fastball is still high, sitting in the 98th percentile of major leaguers, but it’s down half a foot from last year’s 30.2 ft/sec, which tied him for the top in the game. Scott’s 8.7% walk rate is about even, and his 23.9% strikeout rate isn’t bad, but he has the sixth-most strikeouts among the 235 players to account for at least 150 plate appearances this season.
Defensively, Scott is still very good, although not at the same level as 2025. Last year, he was credited with 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average in 1087 innings. This year, with 471 innings in the middle, the OAA rated Scott as a good but neutral outfielder (3), while DRS dropped him to 2.
If Scott stays in the minors for at least 20 days, this will burn the second of his three years of major league options. It’s unlikely to affect his potential free agent and arbitration periods, as he is less than three weeks away from reaching two years of MLB service time. If Scott spends the entire season in Triple-A, he would not reach two years of service, thus giving the St. Louis is one more season in control of the club, but it seems like he will be back at some point, whether he’s working his way up the roster or because the Cardinals are getting injuries in the mix of big league games.
Church, also 25 years old, has struggled at the plate himself, but not to the same extent. He took 156 plate appearances and converted a .247/.282/.390 slash (88 wRC+) with five homers, six doubles, a 3.8% walk rate and a 21.2% strikeout rate. He also makes harder contact at lower than average levels, but not at the same low level as Scott. Church also has the most productive record for Triple-A; he slashed .335/.400/.521 in 242 plate appearances there last year. Scott’s only Triple-A career came back in 2024, when he hit .210/.294/.303 (58 wRC+) in 362 trips to the plate.
The rest of the Cardinals’ outfield mix seems pretty set. Lars Nootbaar is back after missing the first few months of the season and should see regular action at left tackle, as well as time at center. Jordan Walkerin full blast, focused in right field. (Nootbaar could play right field if the Cards give Walker a day off or a DH breather.) Nelson Velazquez, Jose Fermin again Bryan Torres all of them can meet from time to time. Fermin and Torres have less chances in the infield with Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn again Nolan Gorman getting regular work (though Gorman doesn’t hit enough to justify regular at-bats for the remainder of the season).
