Jordan Walker snubbed of offseason award after breakout season with Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of work to do this offseason as they look towards the future, but they should still take some time to enjoy the successful 2026 campaign. Despite finishing below .500 and missing the playoffs yet again, St. Louis learned plenty about their roster and has to feel good about some of their franchise players.

After locking up JJ Wetherholt to a long-term extension after a phenomenal rookie season, the Cardinals will enter the 2027 offseason looking at who their next fixture will be. Half of the offense put up above-average performances with the bat last year and the starting rotation proved to be capable of handling a full workload, so Chaim Bloom has plenty of options for who to sign next. One of those players is Jordan Walker, who may still need to prove himself after a breakout 2026 season before getting a new paycheck.

Even if Walker does not get the new deal this offseason, he has plenty to hang his hat on. He was named an All-Star, won the Home Run Derby, and was nominated as a Hank Aaron Award finalist, but he was still snubbed out of an additional offseason award. The MLB Players' Association just announced their 2026 Players Choice Awards finalists and while JJ Wetherholt was honored, Walker was left off the list.

Jordan Walker's breakout season with Cardinals not enough for additional MLB hardware

MLBPA announced their award finalists for the Players Choice Awards that have been an annual honor since 1992. The Cardinals' only mention is for Outstanding Rookie, which is no surprise to see Wetherholt on the list along with TJ Rumfield and Sal Stewart, three first-year players who are battling it out for Rookie of the Year. Where Walker could have figured into the conversation, though, is the Comeback Player of the Year award.

The three finalists for the NL's best comeback story are Sandy Alcantara, Martin Perez, and Zack Wheeler. While some versions of this award are usually reserved for players who missed time with injury and came back to a better version of themselves. This year, though, none of these three were hurt last season and were simply coming off of mediocre seasons. Each of these three have more established careers than Walker, but "coming back" after average seasons should not outweigh what the Cardinals outfielder did this season.

After a decent debut season, Walker was unable to build off of his rookie year and was one of the worst overall hitters in all of baseball over the last two years. He was demoted in 2023 and 2024 and then spent time in Memphis last year rehabbing multiple injuries. By the start of the 2026 season, Walker had career totals of 27 homers and 112 RBIs and a batting average in the low .200s. This season, the massive outfielder matched his homer total and added a couple more for good measure and was just 10 RBIs short of doing the same. He also trimmed his strikeout rate and raised his batting average more than 50 points this season.

Jordan Walker has gone from change-of-scenery bust status to a player that fans want to see stick in St. Louis for the long haul. That type of career shift should have been enough to garner some love from the other players along the league, but a potentially better award would be if MLB added some type of Breakout Player award as well.

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