Cardinals: Jordan Walker quickly quieting concerns about his defense

After a spectacular play on Friday night, St. Louis Cardinals prospect Jordan Walker is quickly quieting concerns about his defense.

When it comes to St. Louis Cardinals prospect Jordan Walker, the conversation typically starts with how elite of a hitting prospect he is. Then it often shifts to his limitations defensively, and that’s where things get complicated, especially when it comes to his future.

Will he be a third baseman? First baseman? Outfielder? Designated hitter? At this point, no one really knows.

But the Cardinals have always believed that Walker, 19, would improve defensively as he developed more in the minors. On Friday, in one of his first games in Double-A, Walker made a spectacular play defensively where he dove to his left and threw the runner out while sitting on his butt behind third base.

Of course, this does not mean that Walker is suddenly an above-average defender. But what it does mean is that he is showing improvement and that’s all the Cardinals can ask for. He remains at least 12 to 18 months away from debuting in the majors and his position remains unclear, especially with Nolan Arenado’s status beyond 2022 up in the air.

If Walker is serviceable enough defensively where the Cardinals don’t have to put him as the designated hitter on most nights, it makes them even more dangerous. It gives manager Oli Marmol more options. It also maximizes his talent and gives them a core, if Arenado does not opt out after 2022, that includes Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill, Nolan Gorman and Walker.

Wow.

Walker’s continued development defensively will be crucial for the Cardinals going forward and will be a storyline that’s worth watching closely throughout the season. So far, however, things are starting off about as well as the organization could have hoped as he works toward a promotion to Triple-A at some point this season.