Cardinals’ patience paying off as Jordan Walker becomes one of MLB's best hitters

It feels like it was many years ago, but in fact, it was 2023. 

Jordan Walker was MLB’s No. 4 prospect, stepping onto the field with the St. Louis Cardinals as a major-leaguer for the first time. That year, he didn’t disappoint. 

He finished with a .276/.342/.445 slash line and 16 home runs in 420 at-bats, though he was briefly demoted to Triple-A, a level he had skipped prior to making his debut.

From there, his career rapidly started spiraling out of control. Walker’s production slowed drastically, posting OPS numbers of .619 and .584 in back-to-back years, earning himself further demotions to Triple-A. Even at the Triple-A level, Walker’s production never fully recovered. 

However, this season, something has clicked, and Walker has never been better.

Jordan Walker has quickly become of MLB’s hottest hitters 

In just 15 games this year, Walker has already tallied a league-leading seven home runs. His stat line sits at .327/.393/.745 after Sunday’s loss to the Boston Red Sox in what has been a breakout season for the 23-year-old outfielder. This outburst from Walker is a clear sign that he can hit the ceiling scouts projected for him before his major-league career began.

Is anyone expecting him to sustain this level of performance? No, hitting a home run in roughly every other game can’t be expected of any player. But his underlying metrics, though only a sample size, reveal that he can be an MVP-level player.

According to Baseball Savant, Walker is among the very top in bat speed, launch-angle sweet spot, hard-hit rate, barrels percentage and average exit velocity. Aside from his tendency to whiff while drawing walks at an average rate, there isn’t much for Walker to improve upon. 

And if he is able to cut down on the strikeouts while maintaining his elite metrics, it wouldn’t be surprising if he were a serious contender in the NL MVP debate.