Is this former top prospect finally putting it all together? 

If you told a Cardinals fan in 2023 that, within about three years, Jordan Walker would look like one of the most impactful power hitters in the Major Leagues, that person would probably smile and nod and say that all sounds about right.

If you told a Cardinals fan the same thing one month ago, they would probably be taken aback.

The journey from then to now for Walker has been a roller coaster ride. A first-round Draft pick in 2020, Walker excelled in his first two seasons in the Minors, slashing .310/.388/.525 with 33 homers in 201 games. The power he generated from his massive 6-foot-6 frame was legit, but Walker earned plus scouting grades across the board and entered 2023 as the No. 4 prospect in baseball.

He was a part of the Cardinals' 2023 Opening Day roster at just 20 years old and more or less lived up to the billing over 117 games, with 16 homers and a 116 wRC+. His arrow was pointing straight up -- before it took a sharp U-turn.

The next two seasons were very disappointing as Walker hit just 11 homers over 162 games, posted a 30.7% strikeout rate and had a 68 wRC+. This season was widely viewed at the outset as a make-or-break year for the 23-year-old, but his spring results offered little encouragement. It was fair to wonder if he should even make the team out of camp.

Then a funny thing happened: The regular season began.

Walker has scorched the ball through 12 games. His OPS is 1.049. His wRC+ is 191. Many of his Statcast metrics are at or near the top of the league. On Wednesday, Walker homered for the fourth time in his past five games, putting him one homer shy of matching his 2025 total, which spanned 111 games.

It's not just the results that are vastly different. We're watching a player who has altered the amount and type of contact he's making, and it seems to have finally unlocked all of that immense potential Walker possessed when he was viewed as the next big thing in St. Louis three years ago.

Here's a closer look at why Walker is succeeding in the big leagues at never-before-seen levels.

All stats updated through Wednesday's games.

Better decisions and more aggression at the plate

Walker has always swung for the fences -- his 78.1 mph average swing speed since the start of last season is the third-fastest among qualified players. He's unleashed a fast swing -- any swing at 75 mph or more -- 78.5% of the time during that span. Only the Rays' Junior Caminero has logged a fast swing more frequently.

But that velocity doesn't mean a whole lot when you're flailing at pitches and contacting air.

Walker's whiff rate last year was 35.6%, the sixth-highest among players who took at least 500 swings in 2025. His chase rate was also elevated at 34.1%. This year, Walker has cut into those two numbers significantly, so they now sit at 32.6% and 28.0% respectively. He said during Spring Training that an offseason workout regimen helped give him a more fluid stride and more controlled swing. He wasn't "crashing" or lunging forward as often, thereby allowing him to track pitches better.

A lot of players tinker with their setups and swings during the winter and carry optimism into the new year that better outcomes lie ahead. Of course, it doesn't always play out like that. Case in point: 2025 Jordan Walker, who made multiple adjustments heading into that year but experienced a lot of failure.

However, it appears Walker's most recent changes have led to better decisions as to what pitches he should and should not go after. It's resulted in a strikeout rate that has fallen by 3 percentage points from 2025 (31.8% to 28.6%). That's still a fairly high K rate, but over the course of 500 PA, a three-point cut in strikeout rate can ostensibly lead to 15 more batted balls in play. When you consider Walker's penchant for solid contact -- a career 46.3% hard-hit rate -- any sizeable strikeout reduction makes a difference.

• Walker unleashes 100.6(!) mph throw home among latest defensive highlights

It also appears that Walker's ability to lay off pitches out of the zone has given him more confidence to attack within it. He hinted at this during the spring as well.

"The reason I feel like I wasn't [swinging more often at in-zone pitches last season] is I was afraid to chase," he said. "I was crashing, as I said, and not seeing the ball as well. Giving myself a better chance to hit, I'll be able to track it better."

Walker's in-zone swing rate last year sat around the middle of the pack at 66.9%. This year, it has jumped to 71.9%, and the results when he does unleash on in-zone offerings are striking.

Walker on in-zone pitches, 2025: six homers and 26 barrels in 256 at-bats, 13.2% barrel rate, .383 slugging percentage

Walker on in-zone pitches, 2026: five homers and eight barrels in 36 at-bats, 29.6% barrel rate, .806 slugging percentage

A swing that accentuates his strengths

OK, so Walker is making better swing choices and more contact. The type of contact he's making is important to detail, too.

Whenever his bat and the ball meet, it usually gives off a loud sound; Walker's hard-hit rate this season is an outrageous 70.0%, second-highest among qualified batters. But that wouldn't mean as much without an alteration in his swing path.

Walker is creating more loft thanks to an average swing path tilt of 33 degrees, up from 31 degrees in 2025. That's leading to many more balls coming off his bat at an ideal attack angle rate -- the percentage of competitive swings that have an attack angle between 5-20 degrees. Walker's ideal attack angle rate has increased by 17 points from last year, up to a stellar 64.6%.

That has also helped him elevate the ball much more often. Walker's airball rate -- his percentage of fly balls, line drives and popups -- ranged annually from 50-53% through 2025. For 2026, it's at 63.3% entering Friday's game against the Red Sox. That gain is buoyed by a near doubling of last year's fly-ball rate (22.3% to 40.0%), while Walker has done a good job of reducing popups (9.2% to 3.3%).

In short: Walker's swing, which comes at you at full throttle almost every time, is allowing him to keep the ball off the ground and drive it in the air more often. That's a perfect combination for someone with so much natural pop. When everything comes together, you can end up with something like what Walker produced on April 4: A 459-foot grand slam in Detroit.

As with all stories at this time of year praising a player's promising start, we must mention the small sample size disclaimer. We'll see if Walker can make this more than a two-week hot streak. However, he's always had the tools to be a game-changing slugger. Pairing his raw talent with recent swing changes and his growth in plate discipline has given Cardinals fans reason to believe the Walker we're seeing in the batter's box now is the one who's here to stay. Considering he doesn't turn 24 until next month, Walker's plate discipline may improve as he ages into his physical prime.

His future in St. Louis seemed somewhat nebulous coming into this season, but Walker currently looks like a foundational piece for the next great Cardinals team. That was his outlook in 2023, too. He just took a winding road to get there.