As he continues to develop as a hitter with Class AAA Memphis, Cardinals prospect Victor Scott II reached base three times and collected his fourth extra-base hit in 14 games since he was optioned from the majors over two weeks ago.
The 23-year-old speedster went one-for-two with an RBI triple and two walks as Memphis’s leadoff hitter during a 12-4 loss to Norfolk. Scott lined a 2-1 cutter from Norfolk righty Garrett Stallings to right field, raced around the bases, and slid feet-first into third base to beat the throw from Orioles’ top prospect Jackson Holliday for two-out, RBI triple that scored Jared Young from first base.
The triple was Scott’s first in Triple-A and the extra-base hit marked his first since May 1, when he doubled and homered in two at-bats after coming in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning to replace rehabbing big-leaguer Dylan Carlson.
People are also reading…
Upon his return to the minors after inconsistencies at the plate in the majors, Scott is 10-for-54 (.185) with a .254 on-base percentage, five walks, and 11 strikeouts. He’s been successful on six steal attempts and has been nabbed on the base paths once.
Here are other notable Cardinals prospect performances:
Right-handed pitcher Max Rajcic, Class AA Springfield: Searching for consistency after mixed results in his start to the Double-A season, Rajcic twirled six scoreless innings and struck out a season-high nine batters. Rajcic, the Cardinals minor league pitcher of the year in 2023, allowed five hits, a walk, and hit a batter in Springfield’s 2-0 win. He stranded a runner on base in each of his first three innings of work before, benefited from a double play on a lineout in the fourth, and escaped trouble in the fifth by collecting back-to-back swinging strikeouts to leave runners on first and second base. The 22-year-old bookended his start by collecting a swinging strikeout in the sixth inning on his 98th pitch of the night. The quality start — Rajcic’s second of the year — improved the former sixth-round pick’s record to 4-2 and lowered his ERA to 6.00 over 27 innings. In his first six starts of the season, the righty has maintained a 1.48 WHIP and collected 29 strikeouts.
Left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews, Class Low-A Palm Beach: Mathews, the Cardinals minor league pitcher of April, held Jupiter hitters to three runs and struck out eight while walking one in 6 1/3 innings during his start. Mathews, 23, was handed his first loss of the season in Palm Beach’s 4-1 defeat. He produced a 36% whiff rate with his five-pitch mix and collected at least two swings-and-misses on each pitch he utilized on Friday night, per Statcast. Five of the 15 swings-and-misses he collected came on his changeup. The Stanford University product’s fastball was called for a strike nine times and reached a maximum velocity of 96.3 mph. The lefty who struck out 38 batters in his first 18 innings logged six or more innings for his third consecutive start and delivered his fourth start with at least eight or more strikeouts. Across six starts to begin his professional career, the 2023 draftee has a 1.47 ERA and 51 strikeouts to 11 walks over 30 2/3 innings.
Right-handed pitcher Michael McGreevy, Class AAA Memphis: The former first-round pick was removed from his start against the Tides after allowing eight runs on seven hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings. Two two-out walks in the first inning were followed by a double that plated a run and a single that pushed across another two. Following the three-run first frame, McGreevy gave up a double, a single, walked a batter, and allowed a single that scored another run before he could record the first out of the second inning. After a swinging strikeout and a flyout, McGreevy gave up a bases-clearing triple on a 2-2 fastball he placed low-and-away to Norfolk’s Billy Cook. He then saw another run score after Nick Maton’s soft flyball to left field dropped for a double after Moises Gomez and Thomas Saggese collided as the two attempted to field the ball. Maton’s double ended McGreevy’s outing. McGreevy’s troublesome outing boosted his ERA to 6.28 over 38 2/3 innings.
Outfielder Won-Bin Cho, Class High-A Peoria: The 20-year-old had his average drop to .198 following a zero-for-three night at the plate that included two strikeouts. Cho, who started in center field during Peoria’s 4-1 win over Beloit, is hitless in 13 at-bats to begin May. That stretch includes eight strikeouts to one walk over five games. Before his quiet start to May, the Korean-born prospect had a .233 average and a .321 on-base percentage over his first 20 games to start his first season in High-A.