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Counting down the 20 most important Cardinals in 2023: #15 Jordan Walker
Each day leading up to Opening Day, our Redbird Rants team will be counting down the 20 most important St. Louis Cardinals for the 2023 season. Here are the players we have covered thus far.
At #15 on our list is the hottest prospect in baseball, Jordan Walker. While he's cooled off after an insanely hot start to Spring Training, following the Cardinals' March 14 game, Walker is hitting .405 with three home runs, seven RBI, seven runs, and a 1.135 OPS in 37 at-bats.
Stepping back a bit, Walker was selected in the first round (21st overall) by St. Louis in the five-round 2020 amateur draft out of Decatur, GA. Since there was no minor league season that year, his professional debut had to wait until 2021. It sure was worth the wait.
In his first 27 games at Low-A Palm Beach, Walker hit a stunning .374/.475/.687 in 122 plate appearances with six homers and nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (21). Promoted to High-A Peoria, he slowed down somewhat but still batted .292/.344/.487 with eight long balls and a poor BB:K ratio of 15:66 over 244 PA. For the full season, he also chipped in 14 steals, being caught just twice.
Bumped up to Double-A in 2021 at the tender age of 20, Walker got right back to clobbering the ball, hitting .306/.388/.510 in 536 PA with 19 home runs, 100 runs scored, 68 RBI, and 22 steals in 27 attempts. His 1:2 BB:K ratio was more manageable (58:116 overall).
The Cardinals sent Walker to the Arizona Fall League, where he not only kept thumping the ball - posting a .286/.367/.558 line with five homers in 90 PA - but he also continued the transition to the outfield he started during the '22 regular season.
With Nolan Arenado entrenched at third base in St. Louis, Walker's transition to the outfield grass is his best opportunity to reach the major leagues, aside from the designated hitter spot, which is rarely reserved for a single player these days. How quickly Walker gets to The Show is still to be determined, but he's expected to hit the ground running.
Why is Jordan Walker important for St. Louis in 2023?
Managing expectations for Walker was going to be challenging after his strong minor league performances and his youthfulness, and his smashing debut this spring in Jupiter, FL, has only enflamed the heat surrounding the youngster.
The Cardinals outfield has been a work in progress for several seasons in a row. It briefly looked like things would settle down with Tyler O'Neill in left, Harrison Bader in center, and Dylan Carlson in right. However, Bader's trade to the New York Yankees at last year's trade deadline shook things up, with Carlson moving to center and Lars Nootbaar getting a chance to shine, and Corey Dickerson around for some veteran depth.
With Dickerson off to Washington as a free agent, the kids are gonna play in the outfield. Juan Yepez and Alec Burleson are looking for playing time, too, but Walker has put himself firmly in the mix for an Opening Day roster assignment.
While everyone expects great things from Walker, many young players struggle in their first taste of the big leagues. Turning 21 on May 22, he certainly has time to develop his skills, and he still might begin the year in Triple-A.
The Cardinals shouldn't need Walker to be great to do well this year, which is why he's only No. 15 on this list. If the rest of the young outfield meets reasonable expectations, the veterans like Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Willson Contreras have typical strong seasons, and the middle infield works out well with Tommy Edman at shortstop and a combination of Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman at second base - with everyone getting some time at DH - the offense should be one of the league's best.
St. Louis fans are eager to see Walker in Busch Stadium, crushing baseballs with the bat and running them down with his 6' 5" frame. He has the ability to be a truly special player, the talent to be the next Cardinals star. Whether it's on Opening Day, mid-April, June, or later, Walker is coming fast. And when he does get to St. Louis, he's likely to be there to stay for a long time.
Next. 4 more STL standouts from this spring. dark