Cardinals have a Victor Scott II problem that has a .904 OPS solution

The St. Louis Cardinals are having a much better 2026 season than most anyone could've anticipated. Jordna Walker is breaking out as a legitimate MVP-caliber player, and JJ Wetherholt has been awesome in his rookie season.

But it's not all perfect. This is still a rebuilding team, and some issues need to be fixed. This year was not meant to be a contending season, but if the Cardinals do want to contend, they have a big problem to fix.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report identified Victor Scott II in center field as the team's biggest problem in 2026. Fortunately, the answer is in-house with a .904 OPS prospect waiting for his turn in the Major Leagues.

Cardinals have a simple solution for their Victor Scott II problem

"Because of his range on defense and his base-stealing ability, the Cardinals have given Victor Scott II a long leash to try and prove that he can hit MLB pitching," Miller writes.

With Scott showing no such potential this season, with his brutal .187 batting average and .507 OPS, and 48 OPS+ across 139 at-bats, change is needed. Fortunately, they have an easy answer: top prospect Josua Baez.

"If they're in it to win it, they simply have to call up Joshua Baez, right?" Miller writes. "He has as many home runs (nine) in his last 14 games at Triple-A Memphis as Scott has in his 243-game MLB career."

The Cardinals came into the 2026 season with the hope of seeing Scott develop into a successful hitter at the MLB level.

MORE: 5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker's breakout for Cardinals

He had a .601 OPS last season, which wasn't great, but a step in the right direction from his .502 OPS in 2024.

But his struggles this year are too much, and if the Cardinals want a solution to this problem that might also benefit their future, it would be to promote Baez.

This season at Triple-A, the 22-year-old has a .254 batting average with a .904 OPS  with 16 homers, 5 hits, 38 runs scored, eight doubles, three triples, and 39 RBIs with 18 walks and 11 stolen bases in 197 at-bats.

He's a much better hitter than Scott and isn't a bad defender at all. It would make a lot of sense for the Cardinals to promote Baez to replace Scott. While this problem is a big one for the Cardinals, the fix is very simple.

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