Walker continues raking for High-A Peoria

September 12th, 2021
Jordan Walker was promoted to High-A Peoria at the end of June.Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com

The end of the Minor League season is approaching, and is finishing on a tear.

Baseball’s No. 59 overall prospect notched his first career multihomer game, leaving the yard with a pair of blasts and driving in all of his team’s runs as High-A Peoria fell at Quad Cities, 8-3.

Walker gave the Chiefs an early lead on Sunday afternoon when he swatted a one-out solo shot to left-center field in the top of the first inning on the third pitch he saw from Quad Cities starter Christian Cosby.

After striking out in the third, the No. 3 Cardinals prospect again took Cosby deep on the second pitch of his at-bat in the sixth inning. The two-run homer to left-center came two batters after a double to center by Peoria’s Francisco Hernandez and gave the Chiefs a short-lived lead at 3-1. Quad Cities responded with a seven-run bottom of the sixth to seize the advantage for good.

The blasts continued a recent power surge for last year’s 21st-overall pick. After hitting just three home runs combined in July and August, Walker’s two Sunday homers gave him four over his last five games. The slugger’s three RBIs put his September total at 11 through nine games, more than double his total (five) in 22 contests last month.

It isn’t just power that’s coming along for the third baseman. Walker has at least one hit in every game this month and has tallied at least one in 26 of his last 30 contests. Over that time, the 19-year-old has boosted his slash line from .277/.326/.446 entering play on Aug. 3 to .324/.396/.549. He now boasts 13 homers and 44 RBIs for the season between Peoria and Low-A Palm Beach.