Cardinals coach Willie McGee recently expressed confidence in Fowler's ability to up his performance once the regular season begins, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "I don't count veterans out. Dexter, (Matt) Carpenter . . . I don't worry about their springs," McGee said. "They'll figure it out. They'll have to."

EDGE Analysis

The veteran outfielder had generated an unsightly .097 average (3-for-31) in 12 Grapefruit League games before play was paused, but McGee draws upon his own experiences as a player and his first-hand knowledge of Fowler's talent to make his assessment. McGee, whose current responsibilities include overseeing the big-league club's outfielders, notes he learned to focus much more on process and gradually increasing his frequency of hard-hit balls as his spring training slates unfolded. As such, he feels Fowler, who slugged 44 extra-base hits (24 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs) and posted the second-highest hard-contact rate of his career (37.4 percent) in 2019, can eventually flip the switch once the games start to count. The 34-year-old may need to do just that to keep a significant role, however, as the Cardinals have a plethora of talented young outfielders that could all be viable options for manager Mike Shildt this season if rosters are expanded significantly as expected.