Luke

Scott

It’s great to see Scott getting a chance to play over Preston Wilson against right-handers. He’s not going to stay this hot forever, but he could remain a significant upgrade. Wilson will remain in the lineup against left-handers.

Jason Lane should take over as his platoon partner. Scott is currently batting .413 with three homers in 75 at-bats. He’s still not a great choice in mixed leagues, but now it looks like he’ll have value in NL-only leagues the rest of the way.

One of yesterday’s homers was a grand slam, and he drove in seven runs in all. Scott is hitting .278/.403/.534 in 176 at-bats. The Astros aren’t going to call him up unless they lose an outfielder, but he could be productive if he gets the chance.

He scored a run and was caught stealing for the first time this year, but is now batting a ridiculous .433. If this keeps up, so will Scott’s PT.

He also got a talking to from manager Phil Garner after he failed to break for first following a dropped strikeout in the fourth. He was thrown out by a step rather than making it to first easily, and the play was magnified when Aubrey Huff followed with a homer. Scott did his best to make up for the miscue with his two-run triple the following inning.

A schedule heavy on the lefties has put Scott on the bench with some frequency lately, but he still needs to be in there against right-handers. He has five homers among his 22 extra-base hits in 115 at-bats against righties. To put that in perspective, Brad Ausmus has 17 extra-base hits in 387 at-bats this year.

Scott is working his way back from shoulder surgery, so the Rays don’t want to push him too soon. The 33-year-old is 0-for-4 over his first two spring games. He is expected to serve as the club’s primary designated hitter this season.

Just 1-for-4 entering the ninth, Scott put the cherry on top of a 12-2 win by taking Carlos Villanueva deep. Tampa’s primary designated hitter is now batting .333/.379/.741, and has posted five extra-base hits and 12 RBI in just nine games. One season after a shoulder injury sapped his power, Scott is looking primed to be a big-time contributor in mixed leagues.

Scott took live batting practice Thursday afternoon, but hasn’t made enough progress to play for the first time since Sunday. Stephen Vogt will get another start at DH in his absence. There’s a good chance Scott will return on Saturday when the Red Sox send righty Clay Buchholz to the hill.

Scott hit for Reid Brignac in the seventh inning but wasn’t used defensively. There’s a good chance he’ll be available to DH on Saturday against right-hander Clay Buchholz.