4 Cardinals players who are dragging the team down this year

Jordan Walker

Outfielder Jordan Walker was one of the biggest pieces of the 2025 transition year, as the team is expecting him to make good on his top prospect status after spending parts of the past two seasons with the big league club. While Walker's Spring Training stats did not look like anything spectacular, his approach at the plate was noticeably different, as he put forth an effort to lay off the outside breaking ball. He also missed about a week's worth of games after stepping on a rogue sprinkler, so he got about 15-20 fewer at-bats than the team would have liked.

Coming into the season, Walker was guaranteed a full season's worth of at-bats, a necessary opportunity for someone who has not been given a fair shake at developing since being drafted by the Cardinals. After his selection, the Cardinals shifted him from third base to the outfield despite his having never played there, and in his next year, he was aggressively promoted after a decent spring, but his peripheral stats and launch angle needed some work, so he was sent up and down a few times during the year.

Walker shook off the spring rust with a nice start to the regular season campaign, beginning the year with a five-game hitting streak, resulting in a .389 average with a home run and two of the hardest-hit balls in the league as tracked by exit velocity. The early Statcast numbers pointed to Walker as a breakout candidate, as he ranked in the top five in the league in many bat-tracking statistics. This inspired confidence from me, especially as his improved plate discipline and defense pointed to Walker realizing his potential and finally putting it all together as a 22-year-old.

However, that offensive outburst was short-lived, and Walker has been in a bit of a rut since the calendar turned to April. In the most recent seven-game road trip, the right fielder was 1 for his last 23, and his pitch recognition seems to have fallen back to his 2024 struggles. While his walk rate is up to an improved but still low 7.4%, his chase and strikeout rates have increased to bottom-tier offensive levels. Walker only has three extra-base hits on the year, and his OPS sits at a paltry .533, and it is not like he is necessarily getting unlucky since his expected stats are just as bad.

If the team were off to a good start and in the division race, there may be more of a clamor to end Walker's runway, but that does not seem to be a reality with the organization attempting a transition period. The outfield depth in the minor league also does not have many options pushing Walker to perform for his job, as the most likely options in waiting are Matt Koperniak, who is already 27 years old and another lefty, or Chase Davis, a former first-round pick who is off to a strong start with Double-A Springfield.