Walker's breakout continues as Cards top Mets for 6th straight win

NEW YORK -- The Cardinals were wondering if right fielder Jordan Walker would ever reach his potential in the big leagues.

A top prospect in the organization in 2022 and ‘23, Walker struggled once he reached the big leagues. He has never had a full season in The Show because of inconsistency in the batter’s box and with the glove. Last year may have been Walker’s worst season yet He had a slash line of .215/.278/.306 with six homers and was -11 in defensive runs saved.

“I want to have a better year than I had last [year]. I don’t know if I wanted to prove everybody wrong. I want to show what I can do,” Walker said.

Walker was on a mission to be a major contributor to the 2026 Cardinals, and he is having a season to remember. In fact, Walker added to his highlight reel in the Cardinals' 9-2 victory over the Mets on Wednesday night at Citi Field. He went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, and his biggest hit came in the fourth inning when he swung at a 1-1 pitch and hit the ball over the left-center wall for a three-run homer.

“It just speaks of [his] confidence,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said about Walker. “He truly believes in what he is doing."

Walker is 13-for-28 (.464) over his last six games and has an extra-base hit in five straight. He is just the third Cardinal (Rogers Hornsby in 1922 and Ray Lankford in 1997) in franchise history to have at least 30 extra-base hits, 50 RBIs and 10 stolen bases through their first 64 games in a season.

“Walker deserves 100 percent of the credit. This game is hard. He is the one going out there and actually putting it together, having an approach and being consistent,” Marmol said. “To go from getting beat up the last couple of years to where he is at mentally and physically at the moment, he deserves the credit.”

Not only is he a force in the batter’s box, Walker also improved a ton in the outfield. This year, he’s recorded 5 defensive runs saved. Last year, the Cardinals were afraid to have the ball hit him in right field. Now, if Walker is not in the game, the team wants him in the game as a defensive replacement.

“He is flying all over the field, making plays, throwing people out,” Marmol said. “There is a level of confidence in how he is doing everything.”

At first, it looked like Walker was going to have another lost season in ‘26. It was March 15. Walker still looked lost at the plate, going 6-for-30 (.200) with two RBIs and 11 strikeouts at that point in Spring Training.

But he spent three days working in the team’s hitting lab, located in the back fields at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Walker was going through swing changes in order to see the ball better out of the pitcher’s hand. It was Walker’s idea to take a break from game action to work in the lab, and the Cardinals accommodated him.

Walker said the goal was to slow things down in the batter’s box and be ready for any pitch coming to the plate. In order for Walker to be successful at the plate, he must spread the ball all over the field. The right-handed hitter is known to hit monster home runs into the left-field seats.

“We went over our plan,” Walker remembered. “I went in there with [assistant hitting coach] Casey Chenoweth. … I started hitting off the machine, not thinking much about mechanics at all. I took a few good swings off the machine, and Casey said, ‘It was that simple,’ even though hitting isn’t that simple, but I need to keep it simple for myself. …

“It got to a point where I was hitting the ball the way I wanted to hit it. We kept doing drills, which sped up my mind. I had to eliminate my thought process. I think that is kind of what helps. I try to take that into the game. Think less and hit more.”

Since Walker returned to the field, it has been smooth sailing in all facets of the game. He is one of the reasons the Cardinals are much improved this season and would make the postseason if the season ended today.

“I would love to experience playoff baseball and experience getting a [World Series] ring. That’s the goal. I’m excited about trying to do it,” he said.

When it comes to the best player in baseball, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto are names that come to mind. When asked if he was the best player in baseball, Walker said, “I wouldn't say that in all honesty. But if I try, I can be one of the best players in baseball. Right now, I don’t think so.”