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Jordan Walker’s Silver Slugger nomination caps remarkable turnaround for Cardinals

Have yourself a year, Jordan Walker!
ByJosh Jacobs
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Aug 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Aug 16, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I know, I know, we've said this so many times already, but honestly, it needs to be said again. What an incredible turnaround we just witnessed from Jordan Walker! And now the St. Louis Cardinals' right fielder is a finalist for the 2026 National League Louisville Silver Slugger Award in the outfield. His teammate, Alec Burleson, is a finalist for the award at first base.

Walker is joined by fellow finalists Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs, Jackson Chourio from the Brewers, Corbin Carroll with the Diamondbacks, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres, and James Wood from the Nationals. This is an awesome group, and it's quite an honor for Walker to be among them.

Just a year ago, it was hard not to wonder if Walker even had a future with the Cardinals. Coming off two incredibly dissapointing years after his breakout rookie campaign, Walker looked lost at the plate, and he needed to rebound quickly in 2026 if he was going to be a part of the Cardinals moving forward. And boy, did he ever.

Credit to the Cardinals for not giving up on Walker, even when things looked really rough during spring training once again. The Cardinals saw the work Walker was putting in, kept betting on his talent, and once the regular season began, Walker was mashing home runs left and right on his way to a breakout campaign.

Walker finished 2026 with a .269/.327/.466 slash line, slugging 29 home runs and driving in 102 runs (fifth in the NL), finishing with a 119 wRC+, which was tenth among all NL outfielders. Remember, Walker had posted a 71 wRC+ in 2024 and 66 wRC+ in 2025, so this climb back to success was about as incredible a story as there was in baseball this past year. In fact, if you go through baseball history, only Derrick Lee really compares as a player who struggled as badly as Walker and turned things around as he did.

It seems unlikely that Walker will win the award this year, but being nominated is a huge honor in itself. Now, if Walker had played away from Busch Stadium this year, he would have been a very strong candidate for the award.

If Jordan Walker didn't play at Busch Stadium, he may have gotten his first Silver Slugger with the Cardinals

Busch Stadium was so hard to hit in this year, especially for power hitters. Walker's power is so special that he can hit bombs in any ballpark at any time, but it is noticeable how much better his power was away from Busch in 2026.

Walker, like Burleson, posted much better numbers away from Busch Stadium this year, including leading all National League outfielders in slugging percentage (.513), home runs (19), and RBI (71) away from home.

To be fair, though, Walker did not do himself many favors in the second half, as he struggled to keep the production going. Had Walker been able to stabilize himself better, he would have had a strong case even with his Busch Stadium home games factored in.

Congratulations to Walker on the nomination!

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