Cardinals Rookie Jordan Walker’s Development Takes Some Twists

Baseball people often talk about the development of players not being a linear progression. Case in point: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker.

Walker has had his ups and downs this season despite not even turning 21 until May 22.

Considered one of the top prospects in the game, Walker made the Cardinals’ opening day roster following an outstanding spring training. That was a bit of a surprise because the Cardinals’ roster seemed overstocked with outfielders.

Walker then made an immediate splash in the major leagues by hitting safely in his first 12 games. It tied the major league record for the longest by a player 20 or younger to start a career.

Walker hit .319/.360/.489 during the streak with a pair of home runs. Then he stopped hitting, going 5 for 26 in his next eight games and getting demoted to Triple-A Memphis despite still having a season batting average of .274.

The move admittedly caught Walker off guard.

“Things don’t always go the way you want them to,” Walker said.

Walker had made the jump to the major leagues after playing for Double-A Springfield last season and hitting .306/.388/.510 in 119 games with 19 home runs and 22 stolen bases.

The Cardinals felt some time at Triple-A would not only help Walker develop his game more but allow him to relax. It had the opposite effect, though, as he went 8 for 52 (.154) in his first 14 games with Memphis while trying to prove he should be back in St. Louis.

“When I first got down there, I put too much pressure on myself,” Walker said.

Then Walker got a piece of advice from teammate Taylor Motter, who is in his 13^th professional season, that turned things around. Motter told Walker he needed to catch more ball out front, which is baseball parlance for hitting the ball earlier.

Walker batted .312/.403/.541 with three home runs in his next 15 games. When outfielder Lars Nootbaar was placed on the injured list with a bruised lower back contusion last Friday, Walker was summoned to the major leagues.

Motter’s words helped relieve some stress for Walker.

“Once I started relaxing at the plate, that’s when things got better,” Walker said. “I know it might just sound like I say it over and over again but a lot of my problems at the plate come when I get a little tense and everything like that. Once I found I took a deep breath and relaxed, I felt more comfortable at the plate. I need to learn not to let the game speed up on me, for sure. Play my game. Play relaxed. I think that was the big lesson.

“What that happened. I felt a lot more comfortable at the plate and I started driving the ball.”

Whether he can carry that over to the major leagues remains to be seen.

Walker started all three games over the weekend when the Cardinals were swept in a series by the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He went 2 for 12 with a walk and a strikeout in the small sample size.

However, the Cardinals are encouraged by what Walker did in Memphis and certainly have great expectations for a player they drafted in the first round in 2020 following his graduation from high school in Decatur, Ga. Walker was rated as the second-best prospect in the game by Baseball Prospectus going into spring training this year while Baseball America and MLB.com both had him at No. 4.

“He was taking much better swings at the plate at Memphis,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “There was no thought on our end or his of this (swing adjustment) being something that is not do-able. It’s a small adjustment that needs to be made and we needed to get ahead of it. He’s started to trend in that direction, which is great. We’re excited to have him back.”