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Cardinals Hitting Coach Pinpoints Cause of Jordan Walker’s Recent Struggles

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Anthony Kazmierczak | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 8:01 PM ET

Following an impressive July, St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker came back down to earth last month.

In 22 games in August, Walker slashed .205/.244/.295 with just three extra-base hits, seven RBIs, four walks and 25 strikeouts. Per CBSSports.com, he has a .386 OPS and 37.2 strikeout rate over his last 16 games.

Ahead of Tuesday nights game against the Athletics, Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown joined the Gashouse Gang on KMOX Radio and gave a candid response when asked about the young star's topsy-turvy season.

"On his daily structure level is, at some point in time, he's going to have to devote kind of more focus on preparation," Brown said. "We've had long conversations with this, it's not only looking at film on the starter but also being able to come in and the first day of a series, just take a look at all the bullpen guys, like all the information and videos available. Just so we're not getting snuck up on when a guy comes in."

Ever since making his Major League debut on March 30, 2023 at the age of 20, Walker has had an up-and-down career, causing some to second guess the organization's decision to promote him when they did.

Across 117 games during his rookie season, he batted .276 with 16 home runs, 51 RBIs and seven stolen bases, living up to the hype of a first-round selection. The following year, Walker struggled out of the gate, opening the season batting .155 before being optioned to Triple-A Memphis in late April. As a result, he saw action in just 51 games in 2024, slashing .201/.253/.366 with five home runs, 10 walks and 50 strikeouts.

This season, Walker's struggles have continued. He is hitting .220 with five home runs and 34 RBIs across 91 games. To make matters worse, his strikeout rate has ballooned from 22.4% in his rookie year to 31.7% this season.

Walker is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game. Recent call-up Nathan Church will be in right field and bat ninth in his place.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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