Beyond the bat: Cardinals' Jordan Walker putting it all together

The bat is legit. Jordan Walker is becoming the hitter we all expected him to be, but the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him in the first round to be more than just a bat. Now in his fourth big league season, Walker is putting all aspects of the game together.

Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker measures as elite with the bat, glove, and wheels.

At the beginning, middle, and end of Spring Training, worry was at an all-time high around Jordan Walker as he continued to whiff at alarming rates along with concerning reports about his attitude in the clubhouse. There has not been much follow-up or conversation about the latter point, but the first shows even more how spring performance can be overanalyzed and picked apart as players work through adjustments. Getting game at-bats for the first time in five months is different from taking swings off a tee or another pitcher getting ready for the season in a training facility, and that is why we typically hear how pitchers are ahead of hitters early in the year. After scuffling to a .217 batting average through April 3, I think it is safe to say that Jordan Walker has caught up.

While Walker was always a bat-first prospect, the Cardinals and prospect evaluators saw him as more than that, touting his speed for a guy built like an NFL tight end and his projection to grow into a solid fielder once he moved off of third base, with many outlets expecting an eventual home at first base. With Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado at the corners, the Cardinals made the decision to move him to the outfield during his second pro season, and then year three, he was called up to the bigs. Not only did Walker struggle at the plate, but his defense graded near the bottom of the league and his baserunning was mediocre at best. That has all changed.

Beyond the mammoth homers and the more disciplined at-bats, Walker has been making an impression in the outfield and on the bases. According to Baseball Savant, Walker just missed the top 10% of fielders, with his defense measuring up in the 89th-percentile thanks to two outfield assists, including one that left his hand at over 100mph to nail the runner at the plate. Now in his fourth season of consistent time in the outfield, he has already improved from a negative fielder by measure of Outs Above Average to being a solid fielder in right. Besides the arm, he looks more comfortable tracking fly balls and confident in his range, definitely helped by his top-10 speed.

The fastest players in baseball come as no surprise for the first nine, with Trea Turner at the top and teammate Victor Scott II coming in at fifth. But lo and behold, rounding out the leaderboard is 6'6", 250-pound Jordan Walker. The old saying is that speed never goes into a slump, so even as Walker regresses towards the mean, the hope is that he can still eke out a few hits with his elite wheels. That probably will not mean him laying down a bunt, but legging out a grounder or taking an extra base can do a lot to get out of a tough stretch.