Jordan Walker cannot be stopped right now, and Cardinals fans can’t stop pinching themselves, wondering if this is all a dream or if he’s finally reaching the promise that followed him as a prospect.
Still just 23 years old, Walker turned on a slider in the middle of the plate for his fifth home run of the season -- his fourth big fly in his past five games -- on Wednesday in the Cardinals' 6-1 victory over the Nationals. The 107.8 mph missile off his bat flew a Statcast-projected 405 feet to center field, just past the outstretched glove of Jacob Young. Walker is now tied for first in the Majors in home runs (five) and ranks in the top 12 in RBIs (12), slugging percentage (.682) and OPS (1.049).
We are only 12 games into the season, and it feels like we are already running out of words to describe how incredible a turnaround this has been for Walker. The former top prospect was one of the worst hitters in baseball over the past two seasons, and he has already matched his home run total from 2024 and is one homer away from tying his total from ‘25.
Even back in Spring Training, there were major question marks regarding whether Walker looked ready to face big league pitching. In 44 spring at-bats, Walker slashed .205/.255/.273 with just one home run and 16 strikeouts, and he constantly looked defeated and at a loss for answers.
Now I’m not sure anyone knows how to beat him at the plate. Oh, how the tables have turned.
This homer was particularly notable because it came off Nationals right-hander Brad Lord, whereas the majority of Walker’s damage thus far had come against left-handed pitching. Walker had posted a 1.917 OPS against lefties over his first 11 games while managing just a .634 OPS against right-handers. The expected numbers had still favored Walker’s process against righties, though, as he posted a .265 xBA, .521 xSLG and .380 xwOBA entering Wednesday.
All offseason, the Cardinals tipped their hand regarding their hesitancy with Walker, as president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was very open about his desire to bring in a power-hitting right-handed bat to aid the team's lineup. St. Louis was still going to give Walker everyday at-bats, but it clearly did not believe in him as a middle-of-the-order option in the winter.
A short absence from the lineup for Masyn Winn last week jolted Walker into the cleanup spot, a move the club seemed to be hesitant to make earlier to avoid running his good mojo. Since being moved to the fourth spot in the Cardinals’ lineup, Walker has continued to produce, slashing .294/.368/.824 with three home runs and four RBIs. The Cardinals seem to have found that powerful right-handed bat for their lineup, someone more than capable of providing protection for JJ Wetherholt, Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson.
Oddly enough, the Cardinals were 1-3 in all other games Walker homered in this year, but six innings of one-run ball from Michael McGreevy and a strong performance from the bullpen helped the club put together one of its most complete wins of the season. Five of St. Louis' seven wins this year have been in comeback fashion, so it’s nice to see the young birds control a game from start to finish.
As the Cards return home to face the Red Sox this weekend, they do so with a seemingly new No. 18 in their lineup. Gone seems to be the young outfielder who was constantly searching for himself at the plate, and in his place stands a confident slugger ready to shape the future of this young St. Louis team.