Jordan Walker entered the season as a key young player to evaluate after a promising rookie year (.276/.342/.445, 16 homers). He regressed last season and has struggled again this year, posting a .218/.272/.309 line and 31.7% strikeout rate across 331 plate appearances while hitting five home runs. Wrist inflammation and appendicitis interrupted his playing time. Among 249 hitters with at least 300 plate appearances, Walker ranks near the bottom in both on-base percentage and slugging. He offers limited defensive value as a corner outfielder and has shown no sustained offensive adjustments, putting his future everyday role at risk.
The Cardinals have maintained this season is primarily about evaluating young players. It felt like a potential make-or-break year for Jordan Walker, in particular. Walker was viewed as an impact bat when he was a prospect. He impressed with a .276/.342/.445 showing with 16 homers as a 21-year-old rookie. That promising debut feels like an increasingly distant memory. Walker regressed to a .201/.253/.366 line in 51 major league games last year.
The audition has not gone well. Walker has battled a couple health issues. He missed a few weeks in early June with wrist inflammation, then lost around three weeks in the middle of the summer to appendicitis. He has been unproductive when healthy. Walker has managed just five home runs across 331 plate appearances. He's batting .218/.272/.309 while striking out at a career-high 31.7% clip.
Walker is among the bottom ten in both on-base percentage and slugging. Most of the players with similarly poor numbers at least have defensive value to fall back upon. Walker is already in a corner outfield spot and grades as a well below-average right fielder. He hasn't shown any sustained signs of figuring things out offensively. Walker carries a .229/.279/.328 line with poor strikeout and walk numbers in 37 games since his second injured list stint.
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