Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Let The Victor-Mania Begin!

Episode Date: March 27, 2024

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Let the Victor Scott the second era begin. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm a National Radio Sports anchor. Born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals fan. And I'm your host for Locked on Cardinals, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network covering your team every day.

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match, up to $100. So the word came down early this afternoon. Before we get to that, actually, let me give this breaking news. Jordan Montgomery signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona Diamondbacks, Eduardo Rodriguez was their big signing as far as pitchers go this offseason and hasn't been good. I think he's dealing with an injury too. So they went out and got Jordan Montgomery because they can. And I missed opportunity for the Cardinals, but Jordan Montgomery going to the Diamondbacks.

Anyway, word came down earlier this afternoon. Let's focus on the Cardinals now, not X Cardinals, that outfielder Dylan Carlson is going to start the season on the injured list due to an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder, which is not great news. It's not the worst news. but certainly not the best news either. We were hoping that, you know,

he would just be, oh, he's bumped up, he's bruised, he's a little sore, but he's going to be fine. But AC joint sprain, not great, not great, Bob. And it's a bummer for the team, for the fans, and especially for Carlson, because everything seemed to be working out for D.C. He was finally healthy. He was feeling confident.

He was going to be the starting center fielder for the foreseeable future with Tommy Edmund on the shelf for God knows how long. And then tragedy strikes on Monday. And there's second to last game of the spring. He collides with right fielder Jordan Walker on the gap. Walker dives for the ball, takes out Carlson's legs, sending him tumbling to the warning track.

He lands on that left shoulder, gets removed from the game. And apparently he had a drooping left arm and looked dejected in the clubhouse. He knew something was up. It wasn't just going to be something small. And then we find out sprained AC joint. He'll join Tommy Edmund and Lars Newpar on the disabled list to start the season. And it's just a massive blow to a guy who, like Newbar, it's not that he's out there doing anything wrong. He's playing hard.

He's just playing the game of baseball and is dealing with weird and unfortunate injuries over and over and over again. But, and there's a butt here. In response to Carlson's IEL stent, the team has decided to keep Victor Scott the second on the 26-man roster. and reports are that he will get the starting not in center field on Thursday against the Dodgers. He is your new starting center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. And when asked about Scott's role with the club, manager Ali Marmel said today, he is our starting center fielder. He's here to play.

So they're not going to just baby him and just be like, all right, well, maybe he'll get in a bat here. They're throwing him right into the fire, which was the whole idea when we were having the discussions about whether or not he should make the team or not. because if you're going to keep them, you play them. And if you're not going to keep him, then you put him somewhere that he is going to play. And that idea was Memphis. Now, this is something that is going to excite fans because Victor Scott was arguably the most exciting player for the team at camp this spring.

For those of you who may not be up to speed on exactly who Victor Scott the second is, let me give you a quick rundown. First off, he's been on this show before, which is great. He was really courteous and joined us one of the first guys I got a chance to talk to. He is currently the number four prospect in the organization, according to MAPE Pipeline, fifth round draft pick out of West Virginia in 2022. And when you looked at those college numbers, there wasn't really a whole lot there that was like, you know, stood out to you. You know, it didn't.

There wasn't nothing about these. There's 124 games, had 254 in college with metal bats, 11 home runs, 755 RBIs, nothing all that special. But then your eyes go down over here to the stolen base section. and you see 62 of them. And that stands out a bit. That stands out a bit. In his final season at West Virginia,

he steals 38 bases in 55 games. And as most of you know, Major League Baseball has made some role changes to get a little more action going on the base paths. And that's great for a player like Victor Scott, who has all the speed. And when he gets on base, it's something to watch.

You know, in his first full season in the minor leagues last year, which was 132, League games. He stole 94 bases, 94, which died him for the most at any level of minor league baseball and his 21 more. Then Ronald de Cunia Jr. stole to lead the major leagues with 73. He did that in 159 games. Not saying that same caliber catchers and stuff are at those levels, but the other impressive number about Victor's stolen base total of 94 is how many times he was thrown out? 14. Only 14 times. 87% success rate. That's pretty good. Started the year at A ball where he played 66 games, hit 282 with two home runs, 29 RBIs,

44 runs scored and was 50 of 57 in the stolen base department while also accumulating a 365 on base percentage. He ends up getting promoted to AA Springfield, and he doesn't slow down. In fact, he gets better. He speeds up. Another 66 games at AA hits 323, seven home runs, 34 RBIs, 51 runs scored 44 or 51 in the Stolen Base Department and has it on base percentage of 373. So we got better. He then gets selected to go to the Arizona Fall League. He accepts the invite. He plays 23 games there. It's 286,

three home runs, eight RBIs, 19 runs scored and goes 18 of 21 in stolen base attempts with an OBP of 388. Up again. So I did the math for everybody in his full combined season of 2023, when you include A ball, AA and the Arizona Fall League, Victor Scott played in 155 games. He hit 301, pop 12 dingers, drove in 71, scored 114 runs, and stole 112 bases. Oh, and if you're wondering if he's good at anything else, yeah, he won a minor league goal glove in the outfield.

So one of the best defensive outfielder's in all of the minor leagues. So you can see why people were excited, and I was excited, to see him coming into spring training this year because we didn't get a chance to watch, you know, games in the minor leagues, you know, it's not that easy. So he gets to spring training and he doesn't disappoint there either. Appears at 14 games, hits 317, Zen run scored, four stolen bases, OBP of 404, and he continued to flash the leather that made him that Gold Glove Award winner in the minor leagues. That had numerous nice catches.

And the plan, despite all of this, was to send Scott to AAA. Memphis to start the year, let him get some time down there, hadn't played above double A yet. And when he was ready, or when the team needed him, we give him a call, he comes up, and the story would continue. But we got to speed things up now because the team needs him now. The team needs him now. He was already arguably the best defensive outfielder on the roster. And he also adds the stolen base dynamic and threat that the Cardinals really don't have a lot of, especially with Tommy Edmund out. So I want to talk more about him being a threat and a difference maker on the base paths and what else he can do for this team and how the outfield is going to

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It was fun, you know, she was really, really good, but it was a tough game against West Virginia. Iowa just snuck by Victor Scott the 2nd's alma mater. So that was entertaining, and I suggest that you take your time and look at not only the men's games, but the women's as well,

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Pick more, picks less. It's that easy with price picks. Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day and have to turn down the volume because all of the shouting make the switch to Lockedon Sports Today? You don't have to deal with that. A free 24-7 sports streaming channel is programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest sports stories without all the screaming. Locked on sports today brings you can't-miss analysis. Opinions and news streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. It's part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Again, thank you. you guys from making Locked on Cardinals' first listen every day. Leave your comments on YouTube as well as on Twitter X anytime you want. Feedback always welcome and encourage. Can't wait to hear what you guys have to say about the news that Victor Scott the second is now going to be on the opening day roster and not only be on the roster, he is your new starting center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, the Carlson injury is a big old bag of sock, no doubt about it. But

when one door closes, another one opens up. And me being the pretty positive guy. for the most part. I'm going to focus on the silver lining to all of these injuries. That is Victor Scott being on the team rather than the loss of DC, Newton, Tommy. Nothing we can do about that now. Got to move on. So when you talk about things that the Cardinals team does well, or what are some of the key attributes of this team that makes it a perennial division winner chance to make the playoffs this year? Speed is not really near the time. Speed is not really near the top. In fact, it is way down at the bottom. Not a lot of speed on this roster. And that's going to change. Now that Victor Scott the second is here and is going to be starting and playing every day.

The Cardinals are not a fast team. When it comes to stolen base threats outside of Scott, you've got Mason when? When he gets on base? He has struggled to do that a bit this spring, struggled a little bit at the end of last year. We're hoping he'll break out of this funk and be all right. But he's got wheels, but he's got to get on base first. Jordan Walker. soccer got wheels can get you a what 20 25 stolen bases if he plays a false season which is great for someone who's six six two 50 uh but you know your normal suspects are anato goldie gorman contraris they're hardly threats to run all that much and both newton carlson are out and even if they were in they're not stealing a whole lot either maybe you get 10 to 15 out of those

guys, if you're lucky. But there's just not a lot of stolen base threats on this team. Michael Ciani's got some speed. But Victor Scott is going to change that dynamic real, real quick. I previously used former Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton as an example of what Victor Scott can do for this team this year. He can offer elite defense, something Billy Hamilton did very, very well for the Reds for a number of years. And when Billy Hamilton got on base, which was not a lot, Granted, same thing goes with Victor Scott. When he gets on base, and we hope he does it a lot better than Hamilton dead, but he's going to be a problem.

He's going to be a problem out there. He's a distraction. At the very least, he's a distraction to the pitcher, to the catcher, to the infielders, and his speed just, it just causes havoc out there. It bothers people when he's on first or second or even on third. you saw it in the games that were televised when he was on the pitcher and the catcher were all weirded out man they were so concerned with what was going on with Victor that they kind of lose focus away from the hitters so the threat of causing um you know getting a stolen base and being in motion it's a good thing for the St. Louis offense you know if he's batting leadoff which I don't know if he will I assume Donovan is still going to be entrenched there but maybe he does whoever he gets. He's gets on in front of. Maybe he's down at the bottom with Mason, when gets on in front of guys like Donovan and then Goldie and Gorman and R and when that happens. That's good news for the Cardinals'

offense. I absolutely hate that Dylan Carlson got hurt. I do. I was really rooting for him this year. You guys know that. But it's hard not to be a little bit giddy about all the possibilities that Victor Scott offers this team. And you just hope that his bat is up to the task against major league pitching this spring he seemed fine to me show discipline at the play was willing to take walks never really seemed overwhelmed by by anybody he saw i don't suspect that he's going to struggle as much as people might think you know because speed makes such a difference even if he's hitting you know ground balls and stuff like he's going to beat things out like hits that'll be groundouts for other people with lack of speed he's going to turn him into hits so i i'm just really excited to

see him at the major league level. Now, as far as the rest of the outfield goes, to start the year, you're going to have Brennan Donovan and Alec Burleson and left field, Victor Scott and Michael Ciani in center, and then Jordan Walker and right. And the odd thing about this grouping, which it just kind of stands out to me is that only Jordan Walker swings from the right side. Everybody else, left-handed hitters. You know, you face a lot more right-handers than you do lefties at the major league level. So I guess that's a good thing. Alec Berluson, former second round pick in 2020, He won that AAA batting title in 2022 when he hit 331. Last year it's a rookie, played sparingly, got some work in the corner outfield spots and at first base.

Kind of had that come to Jesus talk with the coaching staff and management this offseason who wanted him to work on some things. One of those being his physique, they wanted him in better shape to compete for a spot this spring. And Burleson did everything they asked of him. He trimmed down. He looked good. He dropped weight. looks great at the plate, hit 375 this spring, had another couple of hits today.

One home run, eight RBI, seven walks, just four strikeouts. Even in his playing the outfield, he looked pretty good. Looks a little more nimble out there, a little more agile. But you can see him in the DH role a lot due to the injuries that are going on. You could see him being a DH, Gorman playing second, Donovan out and left with scouting center, Walker, and right, and that be like your best defensive and probably your normal starting lineup for the foreseeable future.

Donovan, that super utility guy, he'll get used and left, as I mentioned, with all these injuries, but certainly at some point we'll play his fair share of second base, but you're going to see them all over the place. Like, they're going to use them everywhere. I know people were starting to squirm a little bit about Michael Siani, possibly being a starting outfielder on this team. I was to. You're not alone.

But now that Victor is in, and it's been established that he will be the starting being center fielder and play a lot. Siani slides right back into that fourth, fifth outfielder slot where he's probably going to excel. He's perfect for this situation. Strong defensive player, very good speed, another left-handed bat off the bench, and can be someone who is a defensive replacement late in games for Burley, Donovan, Walker. Like, say you get into a situation late in the game, you want to switch it up and become the best defensive team possible. Gorman at second is not your best defensive second basement. You would move Donovan. If say he started in left, you move Donovan over to second. Siani can go into left field and then you would have

Walker and right and then Scott and center. You could do that. That could be a move that you make. But there's different combinations that Ali's going to be able to maneuver with. So, and then obviously a pinch runner late in a game. You got a guy on second and they don't have a lot of speed. Boom. Siani, you're coming in, dude. And, he can make things happen for you. So what happens when Newport returns? That I don't know. We'll have to wait and see.

If Victor is productive, I don't know how you send him back. But if he struggles, then he can go back to Memphis and just work on his craft a little bit more. And we'll move on from there. Speaking of moving on, let's get to today's final spring game against the Cubs where I don't know if you watched it, but future NL.Sai Young award winner, Kyle Gibson was on the mound today in his final tune-up. And holy crap, did he look good? We'll get into it next on Locked on Cardinals.

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And the free fire TV channels app Lockedon Sports today is here for you 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Locked On, plus our national shows covering every league. Find Locked On Sports Today, now available on the Free Fire TV channel's app. It is no secret that beating the Cubs is fun. We love it, just like Cubs fans love beating the Cardinals. We love it when we can beat the Cubs. And I don't care if it was just a spring training game.

That atmosphere on Monday and then today, that was cool. Like it was cool seeing all those people out there on the grassy knoll behind the outfield wall packed house there. Was it Sloan Park where they play in Arizona? Cool atmosphere. And it had the feel of a meaningful game. So it was kind of nice to go to the Cubs home and sweep their butts. That was nice. You know?

And then you're off to L.A. outside of losing Carlson over these last two games, this was a really good confidence booster for the team. Would I rather have Carlson stayed healthy and lose those two games? Sure, but I don't have choice in that. Can't turn back time. But in these final two games, specifically today, let's talk about today's game.

We already went over yesterday's game. But a couple of guys who really needed a jump start as we go to the regular season, number one, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, And number two, starting pitcher today, Kyle Gibson. Both of them have had not so great springs. But perhaps today is a turning point for both of them and getting them into the right direction as the regular season begins. Let's start with Goldie, who was barely hitting over 100 coming into today's game.

First inning, though, he rips a pitch from Cub starter, Shotai, and the Naga. That off the bat, I genuinely thought it was a home run. I had no, I never thought it was going to stay in the ball. part. Never thought it was. He mashed that sucker. And it was just a missile. And Cody Bellinger went back and was like, oh, and it goes over his head off the wall in center field. Um, ends up scoring on a bloop single by Nolan Gorman. And it was with two out. So I think goalie thought I was going to get caught. And when it fell in front of Bellinger, he was still kind of just jogging around third base. And they're like, hey, butt in gear, dude. I know you haven't been on base much, but come out. But,

And you know how when you're at a driving range and you're hitting golf balls and you're down to the last ball and you smoke it? Like, boom, right down the fair way. And that's how you end your bucket. That's kind of what it was like today when I think about Paul Goldsmith's last hit. He ended on a good one, right? That's what you always try to aim to do, whether you're hitting golf balls or you're out of batting cage. You always want to end on a good one. And hopefully that good one carries over into Thursday.

game. The Cardinals did end up tagging Shotai Imanaga for four runs. Three of them earned eight hits over three innings of work. I know our boy Andrew Wang over at Newt News podcast loves that. He's a big proponent of the Cardinals not getting him in the offseason. He's very much down on him. So I know he's smiling about what happened today. On the mound for the Cardinals, Kyle Gibson, who gives up a lead off single. And we're like, oh, boy, here we go again. Grab, grab your your beer because here we go again. But then, but that induces the six four three double play. Crawford, Gorman. Nice turn there before striking out Cody Bellinger to end the inning and the threat. And that was about it. Gibson looked really, really good today, a billion times better than

any of his other starts this spring. He ends up going five innings. He does allow one run, a solo shot by Mike Talkman in the third inning, I believe. I think it was the third inning. But solo shots, they're going to happen. But he allows four total hits on the day. The Cubby strikeout nine times. You heard me right. Ed Rooney style, nine times against Kyle Gibson. And according to Derek Gould, eight of those punches came on his slider,

which was dancing today. And then pretty usual this spring, the bullpen comes in, and for the most part shuts things down. The Cubs got another solo shot off of Andrew Kittridge. And it wasn't even a bad pitch. Like you're not going to knock Kittridge for throwing a ball low and in. And Christian Franklin was the name of the hitter. And he just went down and got it.

Sometimes the hitter just wins. It wasn't a bad pitch at all by Kittridge. By Gallegos, shut out inning, one hit, two strikeouts. Kittridge, other than the home run, strikes out three in the inning. Jojo Romero, no runs, no hits, one strikeout. Helsley, no runs, no hits, no walks, even better. And one strikeout. Bullpen was good.

But offensively, the Cardinal score seven runs on 14 hits, as I mentioned earlier. Alec Berluson, two for three, Yvonne Herrera, two for two with his second home run of the spring. Michael, I'll show you who can't hit Siani, goes two for three with a run scored. I'm becoming a Michael Siani fan. I am. I am. I'm not going to buy a jersey or anything weird to curse him because that's usually what happens. The last thing I bought a current player on the Cardinals roster was that Tyler O'Neill

towel from when he wasn't even 27 yet. like he was still his old number. And you saw what happened there. That was after his MVP caliber season. Just nothing after that. So I'm not buying anything from any of these players. I'm just going to root for him. And I'm rooting for Michael Siani.

I like what he's offered. He's a lot of fun to watch flying around the bases. And I hope we see a lot of it. Hope we see a lot of it here in 2024. Cardinals win this one seven to two. They sweep the Cubs in their two games series. And now it's off to Hollywood to face. juggernaut, known as the Dodgers and all the Shohetoha-O-Tani drama that's going on with his betting stuff.

The Cardinals did make final roster cuts today, and as I predicted, John King, who's been sick, so he hasn't really had a chance to pitch much recently, but didn't have a great spring. It got an option to Memphis, and that means that Ryan Fernandez is on this team. So good for him. Riley O'Brien on this team, Andre Palante, on this team, this ballpen on paper. looking pretty good, looking pretty good. See how they do in the regular season. We're going to talk more about the final roster,

what it looks like, the 26th man and the 40 man, because now there's going to have to be a move, now that Victor Scott is going to be active. They're going to have to move somebody, probably Jared Young, in my opinion. I think Jared Young's in trouble here. But we'll find out. We'll find out what has to happen.

They don't have to really announce it until Thursday morning, but we'll see what happens. But we'll talk more about the final roster and the 40-man roster in tomorrow's episode. Thank you guys for making Locked on Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven't already, please give us follow on TwitterX at L.O. underscore Cardinals and at JD. Sports Radio. Please like and subscribe on YouTube.

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You're the best fans in baseball for a reason. I'll see you next time on Lockdown Cardinals.