If Jordan Walker is for real, the St. Louis Cardinals are now World Series contenders

#1 - The Cardinals' lineup is now easily the best in baseball

Around the league, the Cardinals have been touted for having one of the best lineups in the game, boasting high-upside players with a lineup of hitters one through nine in the order. The one "knock" that people sometimes give St. Louis is the lack of a "third or fourth" elite bat, but the emergence of Walker would end any of those concerns.

Sure, teams like the Padres, Phillies, Braves, and Mets can point to their own superstar trios, but none of them have the kind of lineup depth that St. Louis should have this year. On top of Walker, the Cardinals can rely on Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras to be consistent, middle-of-the-order bats all season long. Again, assuming Walker belongs as the third or fourth member of that group, that means the club still has the likes of Lars Nootbaar, Tyler O'Neill, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Dylan Carlson, Juan Yepez, Tommy Edman, and more names who can mash or get on base up and down the order.

Let's say Walker is 80% the player Julio Rodriguez was last year, that's a .270/.335/.490 hitter with 25 HR, 70 RBI, and 20 SB that the Cardinals just added to the middle of their order. Adding that kind of player to the Seattle lineup made them a playoff team, and adding this kind of player to the Cardinals makes them a legit contender.

At this rate, I'm not sure where Walker would slot in on Opening Day, but should he continue his current onslaught, I see him eventually settling in as the Cardinals' two-hole hitter. Just look at how this lineup could stack up with this Jordan Walker ready to go.

1. 2B Brendan Donovan 2. LF Jordan Walker 3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt 4. 3B Nolan Arenado 5. C Willson Contreras 6. CF Tyler O'Neill 7. RF Lars Nootbaar 8. DH Nolan Gorman 9. SS Tommy Edman

Um. Yeah. How on earth do you pitch to that lineup? People around the league have been talking about Lars Nootbaar breaking out this season, and he could be the club's 7th hitter in their lineup. Nolan Gorman, Dylan Carlson, or Juan Yepez, depending on the matchup, could hit 8th. Tommy Edman, who may be a 40+ SB guy this year and is an above-league average hitter, will be the 9th hitter in their lineup. If injuries or slumps happen, Carlson, Yepez, Burleson, or even the likes of Moises Gomez or Masyn Winn could factor into this team.

Yes, starting pitching is a concern, and we'll get to that later, but Walker's emergence gives the Cardinals the kind of lineup that can win ball games in slugfests, and give even the best pitchers in baseball difficulties. Even if O'Neill, Gorman, Nootbaar, or some others don't have incredible seasons, this lineup is excellent. But odds are, multiple of these guys are about to go off as well.

About that starting pitching? Well, Walker just made it even easier for the Cardinals to go out and get that.

#2 - The Cardinals should have no reason to part with the talent necessary to get an ace with Jordan Walker's emergence

Although it would have been nice for the Cardinals to enter camp with a new front-line pitcher, I get the team being a bit hesitant to trade away their young talent before the 2023 season. If they had traded away guys who would go on to mash and then kept players who got injured or underperformed, their lineup would have gone from a strength to a problem.

If Walker is going to be great in 2023, then they don't really have to worry about that anymore. They can afford to part with multiple players from their young core, still have plenty of depth, and be set up for the future in a big way.

Two of Yepez, Burleson or Gorman will have to start the year in Triple-A assuming Walker makes the Opening Day roster. One of Carlson or O'Neill likely becomes a part-time player. Winn, Gomez, and names like Luken Baker and Mike Antico are also waiting in Memphis. The Cardinals don't have to make a trade, but they will be in the driver's seat for any player that becomes available.

One the Cardinals go out and grab that ace, whoever it is, they then have the pitching to matchup with other elite rotations, and a lineup that will be favored against every other order in the league. Could it get any better than that? Well actually, yes. With more young talent on the way, especially in the pitching department, this team could get even deeper in the next few months.

#3 - The Cardinals pitching has internal reinforcements on the way to supplement this lineup

This spring has been about Jordan Walker, but there are other names, specifically in the pitching department, who are giving the Cardinals reason to believe some of their question marks will be answered soon.

While these guys should not, by any stretch, be relied on as front-line starter answers this year, it's intriguing to think about the kind of impact Gordon Graceffo, Michael McGreevy, or even the likes of Cooper Hjerpe or Tink Hence could have on this pitching staff.

Cooper Hjerpe is a name Cardinals fans aren't talking about a lot yet but could end up being the best of their pitching crop. Check out this prospect breakdown from Kyle Reis, who does an incredible job breaking down Cardinals' prospects every year. Reis, like others, is very high on Hjerpe, even ranking him as his 2A prospect in the Cardinals' system. Hjerpe was drafted in the first round in 2022 and could find his way to St Louis before October.

Gordon Graceffo continues to impress so many inside the Cardinals' organization and outside of it, and I would not be surprised if he finds himself in the St. Louis rotation by season's end either. Tink Hence has elite stuff, and while he's still a ways away from being an MLB starting pitcher, he could be a dominant bullpen arm at the end of the season.

This is not me saying St. Louis doesn't need to acquire a front-line starter, they do. But they can also supplement that with their up-and-coming pitching. I didn't even mention newcomer bullpen arms like Freddy Pacheco, Wilking Rodriguez, or Guillermo Zuniga, who all could bolster the Cardinals staff as well.

Call me an optimist, say I'm overreacting, tell me it's just Spring Training, or whatever else you want to say. If this is the Jordan Walker the Cardinals are getting in 2023, he vaults them into World Series contention and gives them the flexibility to improve the roster even more.