Jordan Walker made the jump to the majors from Double-A and slid right into the Opening Day lineup at Busch Stadium in 2023. Now, more than two years later, it truly feels like the Cardinals have finally created a dynamic that gives Walker the best chance of big-league success.
That goes beyond the influence of a new hitting coach and the club鈥檚 commitment to consistent playing time. Those elements remain key, but just pointing to two things would stop short of the full picture.
The combination of coaching personnel, communication, timing, experience and maturity as well as the promise of playing time gives Walker, the 23-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder dubbed the No. 4 overall prospect by Baseball America entering 2023, a chance to become an impactful big leaguer.
When asked during the most recent homestand about the difference he felt knowing he had 鈥渞unway鈥 to learn, fail and play through ups and downs in the majors this season, Walker offered an interesting response that leaned into his interaction with the coaching staff much more than regular playing time.
The Cardinals鈥 Jordan Walker celebrates after hitting a two-run double in the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday May 24, 2025, in 51黑料.
鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 really just the communication with me,鈥 Walker said. 鈥淭alking with them. They always ask where I鈥檓 at, where my head is at, (encourage me to) keep going, what can I do to help. I think that鈥檚 been really, really good.
鈥淭hen, honestly, when I do fail it feels bad. I鈥檓 doing everything I can to not do it. When it comes working to get out of it when I鈥檓 in a slump or something like that, I don鈥檛 think that part has changed. I think my mindset, the mental stuff, the communication with hitters coaches and (outfield coach Jon Jay)聽鈥 I think that鈥檚 what鈥檚 really been beneficial for me and helped me mentally.鈥
For the season, Walker has batted .215 with a .273 on-base percentage and a .310 slugging percentage with a strikeout percentage of 33.1% (among the bottom 2 percentile of all big league hitters) in 47 games.
Sidenote: He played just 51 games in the big leagues last season.
Recently, the 6-foot-6, 270-pound former first round pick鈥檚 offense has taken steps forward. In his previous 15 games entering this weekend鈥檚 series in Texas, Walker slashed .273/.289/.432 with 11 RBIs.
The strikeouts are still there to the tune of a 37.8% clip in that stretch. He walked just once, explaining his low on-base percentage.
Walker鈥檚 offense remains a work in progress, and progress is the most important thing he and the Cardinals can hope to see right now.
This winter, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged the聽addition of hitting coach Brant Brown this offseason was aimed largely at improving the development of the club鈥檚 young hitters, including Walker.
The first time Walker spoke to reporters this offseason, during Winter Warm-Up at Busch Stadium, he was about a half-step away from a kid on Christmas with his enthusiasm, energy and joy talking about the optimism and excitement he had about working with Brown.
While the daily monotony and the inevitable struggles of the season have taken some of that exuberance down a peg, Walker said he still starts every day at the ballpark by getting dressed, stretching and then getting into the cage to work with assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen and/or Brown.
Walker clearly stated he feels the mental side of things and his mindset have been a significant difference for him, and the communication with the staff clearly plays a pivotal role.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard sport to play,鈥 Walker said. 鈥淲hen things are going wrong, you don鈥檛 always know what鈥檚 going wrong. Sometimes you鈥檝e got to talk through it. When things were going wrong, I didn鈥檛 always know it.
"So being able to sit down in the office and talk to any one of them and have a good conversation on what I feel, what they see and how they can help is definitely beneficial to me.鈥
What's hard to know is how much of that ease Walker described should be credited to new voices on the staff like Brown and Jay and how much should be credited to Walker being more willing to seek out the staff and more receptive to their input.
鈥淛ordan has been really good at being open to feedback, both on the defense and offensive side, and committing to a routine that allows him to feel prepared and play with more confidence,鈥 Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said. 鈥淚f anything has changed, it鈥檚 been that style of communication. He鈥檚 been way more comfortable coming and letting you know how he鈥檚 feeling.
鈥淛ust in conversation, there鈥檚 a comfortability to it that I don鈥檛 feel like was there previously. I think it鈥檚 just the more time, the more comfortable he has gotten being himself.鈥
Walker鈥檚 experience and maturity now compared to his arrival as a wide-eyed rookie in 2023 surely plays a significant part.
Of course, the assurance of playing time likely and understandably factors into Walker鈥檚 receptiveness.
It鈥檚 not like the slightest stumbling block might be the excuse needed to replace Walker in the lineup dealing with in an outfield logjam that included Tyler O鈥橬eill, Dylan Carlson and Lars Nootbaar as well as Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson as options in 2023.
Whether the change is more on Walker鈥檚 part or on the coaching staff鈥檚 part, it has yielded a different type of dialogue.
鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 feel like he has to have everything together,鈥 Marmol said. 鈥淭his is part of the process, and you鈥檙e going to grow. You don鈥檛 have to know all of it today. He鈥檚 comfortable with that right now. I feel like that鈥檚 been the biggest change.鈥
Nobody is proclaiming Walker 鈥渇ixed.鈥 He's still got room for big improvements, and he has to show consistency.
There are no guarantees. But the change both Walker and Marmol describe in how he communicates with the staff is reason to believe Walker has a real chance to continue growing with the Cardinals as opposed to needing a change of scenery in order to find success.
