Rating how concerned we should be about slow starts from different Cardinals' bats

Jordan Walker

The curious case of Jordan Walker. On the season, Walker is in the 89th percentile in average exit velocity and 64th percentile in Barrel%, but here's the problem, his average and slugging continue to underperform as he is hitting the ball on the ground at far too high of a rate.

This was the issue that Walker was running to last year and caused him to spend about a month in Memphis to work on hitting more line drives and fly balls. Once Walker was recalled in June, he was having far more success at the plate, but it seems like he's gotten back into some of those bad habits once again this season.

My concern level of Walker long-term is pretty minimal. He has all of the talent in the world and has already shown the ability to produce at a high level for long stretches in a sustainable way. It's easy to forget he's still just 21 years old, younger than many of the top prospects who have yet to debut, so he has plenty of time to develop into the All-Star bat we think he can become.

For this season though, my concern level is raised a bit, mainly because I was anticipating a breakout season, not a sophomore slump. It's still so early in the season, so that breakout may be right around the corner, but he may need some more time and seasoning before he gets to that point.

I don't think Walker will end up making another trip to Memphis, but if things don't get better by the end of April, I wouldn't be shocked to see St. Louis make the move to help him work through his struggles.

Concern level: 6