JUPITER, Fla. -- For his two years at the MLB level, Jordan Walker has insisted that he is a bit different from others in that he doesn’t think about baseball -- or his place in it -- much once he leaves the ballpark. He’s usually able to disconnect from the game, he said, by binge-watching TV series with his girlfriend or playing video games alongside close friend and teammate Masyn Winn.
Last season, however, was an exception, Walker said. When he struggled early in 2024 with the Cardinals, got demoted to Triple-A Memphis on April 24 and success still proved to be sporadic, Walker found himself taking rough at-bats and nagging thoughts home with him more often.
To better process the frustration, Walker purposefully reminded himself that he’s still just 22 years old and in the infancy of what he hopes will be a long career. He made note of growth not always being linear and told himself that life’s road can sometimes be filled with potholes. And just because Walker's first two MLB seasons haven’t gone how he wanted, it doesn’t mean he can’t right his career in the season ahead.
“That can be my problem sometimes -- that I want it all to happen right away,” Walker said following a particularly strong day at the plate in camp with the Cardinals. “Honestly, I don’t think about my age that much, but I still want to be great and great in comparison to all other Major Leaguers.
“Maybe I think about it too much and that might be too extreme, but who knows? But I know I still have that desire to be great.”
Signs of potential greatness came screaming out of Walker’s bat on Wednesday with what he was able to do in live batting practice at-bats. Against Cardinals ace Sonny Gray, Walker uncorked a laser into left-center for what likely would have been a double. Minutes later, Walker turned on a fastball from Steven Matz and hit another rocket into left.
Those kinds of mini-successes, Walker said, are products of him having fun with the game again and being freer at the plate. Demoted to Triple-A Memphis each of the past two seasons when he struggled to lift the ball the way the Cardinals want him to, Walker feels he often grew too mechanical and was thinking far too much at the plate.
Under new hitting coach Brant Brown -- someone Walker describes as “always on and always ready to get after it” -- he is finally starting to unleash some of the power in his massive 6-foot-6 frame.
“Brownie’s done a really good job with body stuff and how each player moves, and he’s laid out his plan with me and it all starts in the pre-workout routine,” Walker said. “One thing that Brownie has been good about is pointing out the things I was good at when I was a prospect and what I did at the end of 2023 when I was hitting good. He has me so excited.”
Whereas Walker’s friendship with Winn is to the point that they almost consider themselves brothers, he turned to another former Cardinals top prospect for advice when he struggled at times the past two years. Nolan Gorman, who hit a team-high 27 homers in 2023, but struggled in 2024 and ended up in Memphis, has been a sounding board for Walker.
“We both were high school Draft picks, we both played third base coming up and I got a little time in the big leagues before he came up in ’23,” Gorman recalled. “I’m just trying to help guys where they need it. I’m not the most talkative person, but if it’s warranted, I want to help when I can. [Walker] is so smart, he has a good head on his shoulders and he likes to talk. So I just try to give advice when I can.”
Walker made the Opening Day roster out of Spring Training in 2023 and proceeded to set modern-day records by beginning his MLB career with a 12-game hitting streak. Despite those flashes of greatness -- he also had a historic 5-for-5 day last September at Yankee Stadium -- his path has included two demotions and numerous dry spells. None of that, he stresses, has deterred how he feels his career will eventually play out some day.
“I have dreams about All-Star Games, the World Series and about being a Hall of Famer,” Walker said candidly. “This right here is not the stuff you dream about -- being in the hot sun at 7 a.m. and putting in work. But this is what I need to achieve all my dreams. I just want to take everything step by step and continue to dream about those kinds of things.”