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JUPITER, Fla. — When thinking back to his first at-bat against two-time All-Star Framber Valdez during Friday’s Grapefruit League contest between the Cardinals and Astros, Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II feels the results could be telling of the adjustments he’s made as a hitter since the end of the 2024 season.

In his first of two plate appearances vs. the lefty who is slated for his fourth consecutive opening day start for the Astros, the 24-year-old Scott lifted a 1-2 slider that sailed 404 feet over the right field wall at Roger Dean Stadium for a solo home run.

The home run was Scott’s fourth in 41 at-bats this spring training. It was his third in the previous three games he’s appeared in and it came off a left-hander who allowed left-handers to hit two homers in 107 at-bats against them last season.

“It (the home run) feels great. It tells me a lot,� Scott said Saturday after taking batting practice on the backfields of the Cardinals complex in Jupiter, Florida. “The work I’ve been putting in is quality, it’s efficient, which has been allowed me to be efficient on the field. With all that said, it’s just important to hone in on those little details that I’ve worked on that I became a savant to, to be able to include those in-game and to apply them in-game.�

Scott added a walk against Valdez following a seven-pitch encounter in the fifth inning to improve his on-base percentage this spring to .469 in 49 plate appearances. He entered the final weekend of spring training with a .366 batting average and a .756 slugging percentage to go with five stolen bases and sure-handed defense as he looks for a breakthrough to the majors as the Cardinals starting center fielder — a role he began the 2024 season in.

Coming off a rookie year where he hit .179 in 145 at-bats in the majors and .210 in 314 at-bats in Class AAA, Scott used his offseason to continue refining a swing change — one that included the introduction of a leg kick — he made last summer while in the minors. The efforts include work with Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown, minor league hitting coach Casey Chenoweth, and his Michael Butler, Scott’s personal hitting coach at the facility where he trains in Atlanta, Georgia.

The changes are ones Marmol said give Scott “the ability to cover the plate better and have an answer to cutters coming in.� That keeps the 24-year-old from “spinning off� on cutters or trying to pull them. Instead, Scott is more flexible in how he covers the plate in order to drive the ball to the opposite field.

Marmol said the changes have been “real positive.�

The results have been evident.

“You don’t really want to give them, as in pitchers, too many holes in your swing, because they’re good at exploiting it,� Scott said. “As we saw last year, it wasn’t the best year for me. I had holes in my swing, they exploited it. ... The swing adjustments that you’ve seen — that everyone has seen — it started to come into play pretty quickly. It’s cool.�

Liberatore’s spring start

In his first start of spring training after working exclusively from the bullpen during his Grapefruit League opportunities, left-hander Matthew Liberatore allowed on run, two hits, and two walks in four innings on Saturday vs. the Miami Marlins. He struck out two batters in an outing where 44 of his 71 pitches were strikes.

The outing gives the 25-year-old Liberatore, a 1.62 ERA in 16 2/3 innings and a 0.78 walks and hits allowed per inning pitch across six spring training appearances. Though he worked in relief for five of his six games, Liberatore pitched two or more innings in each outing.

Incoming decisions

Cardinals manger Oliver Marmol said his club’s 26-man roster for opening day would be finalized and announced as early Sunday morning before the team’s final Grapefruit League.

As the Cardinals consider beginning the season with a six-man rotation, that impact of having eight days off they have between opening day on Thursday and the end of May and what that does to for the rhythm of rotation members is part of the discussion. Being able to structure their pitching staff to avoid high pitch counts early in the year in efforts of maintaining a healthy pitching staff is also part of the equation.

Prospect Michael McGreevy has contended for a rotation spot and posted a 1.08 ERA in five starts. Long reliever Kyle Leahy, who has not allowed a run in 11 innings, has also made a case to begin the season in the big-league bullpen. Liberatore’s role in the majors and how that factors into the rotation plans has yet to be announced.

A decision on the Cardinals’ starting center field job has yet to be announced.

Contreras, Maton, etc.

In his only plate appearance Saturday vs. Miami, Willson Contreras belted a 435-foot home run to center field that jumped off his bat at 111.8 mph, per Statcast. Contreras, who started at the designated hitter spot, was pinch-hit for following his lone trip to the plate in the first inning. The removal was not related to an injury. With the home run, Contreras improved to a .511 on-base percentage in the Grapefruit League.

Phil Maton, the Cardinals’ lone big-league free agent acquisition, worked around two singles to pitch a scoreless inning of relief in his Grapefruit League debut. Maton, 31, joined the Cardinals on March 13.

Closer Ryan Helsley and left-hander JoJo Romero both threw scoreless innings of relief. For Romero, the scoreless inning kept his spring ERA to 0.00 over nine innings.