Ranking the 10 most valuable young players in the St. Louis Cardinals organization

#9 - Jordan Walker

This is quite the tumble for Jordan Walker, who religiously held the number one spot on lists like this for me and many others for quite some time. Looking solely at his performance in 2025, there is no shot he'd be on this list, but all of the promise he still has offensively makes it impossible not to include him.

I, like many others, though, am far more worried about his future than I ever have been. In 142 plate appearances prior to last night's game, Walker was slashing .186/.254/.248 with just two home runs and a 31% strikeout rate. He did mash a huge solo home run for St. Louis last night, but he was sitting at 55% below league average according to wRC+ prior to the game, and if it were not for his pedigree as a prospect, he wouldn't have been on the Cardinals roster anymore.

Of course, he knows that as well, but the Cardinals committed to Walker having the "runway" this year. Just how long that runway goes for remains to be seen, but the club wants to do everything in its power to see Walker get opportunity after opportunity to slug again.

It's not hard to notice Walker's issues with the low and away slider anytime he steps to the plate. It's a pitch he consistently gets beat by. Sometimes he is whiffing through the air as the breaking ball darts away from him. Sometimes, in an effort to avoid chasing, he freezes and sees the pitch catch the outside part of the zone. And other times, he does get the bat on the ball, but drives it straight into the ground for an out.

Until Walker can manage that part of his game and figure out how to do damage more often, he is never going to be close to the player who many. thought he could be.

On the bright side, his defense has improved quite a bit this year. He's in the 79th percentile in outs above average for right fielders this year, after being a bottom-three defender in baseball in 2023 and well below average in 2024. That really is a big win in his development, but it ultimately won't mean a ton if the bat doesn't come back around.

Walker is just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to emerge as a force at the plate. As a 20-year-old in 2023, Walker posted a 116 wRC+ in 117 games for St. Louis. It's crazy to think how much he has regressed over the last two years, but again, it is very possible that he puts it all back together soon to make good on his promise.