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 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 ever. 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 three 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.
Entering the game, Walker ranked third in the National League among position players in bWAR (3.3), was tied with Liam Hicks for fourth in RBIs (48) and tied with Kyle Schwarber for second behind Matt Olson in total bases (137). His 16 homers ranked fifth in the NL, too.
“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,” Cardinals manager Oliver 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. St. Louis has won six straight games and improved their record to 37-28.