Coach of Yankees slugger could unlock Jordan Walker's potential with the Cardinals

Plenty of buzz has surfaced about how the St. Louis Cardinals may be ruining the development of former top prospect Jordan Walker by attempting to turn him into a type of hitter that he never was. Walker is hitting just .242 with six home runs with Triple-A Memphis, and President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said that Walker needs to produce in Memphis before receiving a promotion.

But as the organization scrambles in an attempt to transform Walker into a more well-rounded hitter, the answer for Walker could be literally just down the road. The Cardinals only need to look about 30 miles northwest to find the man who helped Aaron Judge, another long-limbed outfielder, develop into one of the most feared hitters in the major leagues.

In St. Peters, Missouri, lies the Teacherman baseball facility, run by Richard Schenck. a former college baseball player whom Judge has frequently consulted throughout his career to work on his hitting. Schenck works with several other major league hitters, and he has provided a few online insights of Walker's swing that could help Walker return to starring in right field at Busch Stadium.

The cautious and insular Cardinals unsurprisingly don't have any players who currently consult with Schenck about their hitting, and the Cardinals likely want to keep it that way, relying on their internal coaches to iron out the kinks in Walker's offense. But it's worth noting that the Cardinals have not developed a bona fide star hitter in their system since Albert Pujols, or perhaps Matt Carpenter. Walker still holds a sky-high ceiling, and the Cardinals might need to take a risk and see if Schenck can unlock something that the team hasn't been able to coax out of Walker.

Schenck's proximity to St. Louis could make members of the Cardinals unique beneficiaries of his lessons. If the Cardinals are averse to letting Walker access Schenck, they could allow a hitter with less prospect capital to seek out his services as a test run. 

Schenck has proven that he can help tall hitters sync their long levers and make the most of their skills, and there looks to be no reason that he couldn't replicate that with Walker. If the Cardinals are willing to swallow their pride and permit Walker to consult Schenck for advice and instruction, they might just learn something that could help not only Walker, but every other hitter in the system.