The St. Louis Cardinals come off their first last-place finish in more than 30 seasons looking to instill youth and speed into their offense. Last season's team, winner of only 71 games, stole a mere 101 bases despite the new, appealing MLB rules. That was well below the league average and a far cry from the Vince Coleman Runnin' Redbirds days. Perhaps young SS Masyn Winand OF Victor Scott II can restore things back to that era a bit and aid fantasy baseball managers as well.

    Winn led off Sunday's spring training game against the Houston Astros, reaching via base hit in each of his three plate appearances, and he also stole a base. Winn, 21, has stolen 62 bases over the past two seasons in the majors and minors combined. Scott, hitting at the bottom of the lineup for the second consecutive game, drew three walks over the weekend and created havoc on the bases, including his first steal. Scott, 23, stole 95 bases by himself across two minor league stops in 2023.

    The Cardinals boast a solid power core of 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 2B Nolan Gorman and 3B Nolan Arenado. Additionally, C Willson Contreras and OFs Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbaar surely will contribute. However, after that, things are unclear. 2B/SS/OF Tommy Edman, 2B/OF Brendan Donovan and OF Dylan Carlson are all established veterans, but low-upside statistical options. Meanwhile, Winn and Scott are fast, excellent defenders and enticing hitters, and they should be a large part of the club's future -- including this season.

    Winn struggled at the plate upon his big league promotion last season, hitting a punchless .172 over 137 PAs, all of it while batting ninth, but we should ignore those numbers. Winn has plus bat speed and draws walks. Though Donovan offers the lineup a better on-base profile and versatility, and Edman is still mending from offseason wrist surgery and might not be ready for Opening Day, Winn should earn the starting shortstop role. He might lead off, too. Winn is not yet a factor in ESPN standard points leagues, but he is an intriguing later-round selection in NFBC formats.

    Scott might be this season's Esteury Ruiz, but he is also a considerably better baseball player. Ruiz stole 67 bases for the Oakland Athletics, but he struggled to reach base and was quite terrible defensively. Scott, a left-handed hitter, posted a .367 OBP across two minor league seasons and he thrives in center field -- a Cardinals need. Scott starred recently in the Arizona Fall League, drawing 12 walks (versus eight strikeouts) and stealing 18 bases over 23 games. He might not win a big league job initially, but it should not be long. Remember the name in roto formats for sure.

    Spring training injuries

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