4 Cardinals players it is already fair to be worried about

Jordan Walker

Things were going better for Jordan Walker this season out of the gates, but it has quickly regressed back to how he looked last season.

Walker has seen an uptick in his average (.239) and on-base percentage (.299), but his slugging percentage is at an all-time low (.338), ultimately still grading out as a well below-average hitter this year (84 wRC+).

The Cardinals don't want Walker to aspire to be a fine bat, they expect him to be a difference maker. He's far from that right now. I'm not doubting his ability to become that just yet, but I think we need to be honest about how much he is still struggling.

Walker cannot get by with a 29.9% strikeout rate and a .099 ISO. Those are really bad numbers for anyone, but especially a bat you had such high hopes for. Walker is among the worst in baseball at hitting the ball hard consistently, barreling up the baseball, is chasing pitches at a very high rate, whiffing at an even worse rate, and his walk rate has regressed back down to well below-average.

Yes, let's remember that Walker is still just 22 years old, and Brant Brown is likely still working with him on plenty of things. Walker seemed very excited and receptive to the coaching he was receiving this offseason, so I do not doubt he is working hard to get back on track.

On the positive side of things, Walker has actually looked a lot better defensively this year. He's actually grading out positively in outs above average thus far, and while his jumps still leave a lot to be desired at times, Walker has mostly avoided disaster plays in the outfield while actually making positive, difference-making plays as well.

Obviously, that's a great step in the right direction for a player with terrible metrics defensively over the last two years, but I could also see this helping him at the plate eventually as well. Most players agree that what happens in the field impacts them at the plate, and if he's not constantly worrying about terrible plays he's making in the field, it can help him find more comfort in the batter's box.

Like I said already, I'm not ready to give up on Walker, but he's certainly trending toward "Nolan Gorman territory" for me now. He's not there yet, but if things are not moving up and to the right for him by the middle of the season (and especially the end of 2025), he'll be a guy who you can no longer just guarantee playing time. Like Gorman this year, he'll have to start earning that runway.

For now, the Cardinals should continue to commit to their original plan of giving Walker the ability to play every day. We could very well look back at his numbers again in June and see that all he needed was time to figure things out. Until then though, it's more than fair to worry about Walker. It has been a year and a half since we've seen the really positive results that got us all excited about his upside.