This fading former top prospect should no longer be on the Cardinals' roster

The 2025 season for the St. Louis Cardinals is a platform year. The organization has given the runway for their young core to really prove themselves as either lineup mainstays, depth contributors, or change of scenery candidates.

As we are reaching the halfway point to the month of May, the future looks bright for players like Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Masyn Winn, and Victor Scott II. As these young players are elevating their games to the next level, others are struggling to find success. Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman have been spending the first quarter of the season trying to tap into their hyped potential, but continue to struggle. The platform is not being removed anytime soon, but this level of production is becoming more noticeable when evaluating the future outlook for the organization. The most noticeable performance so far in 2025 is Jordan Walker, and it is time to accept his reality.

Walker has been the most disappointing player on the major league roster so far. You can make the argument that Nolan Gorman has given his lack of any offensive consistency for over three seasons and his limited defensive ability. But Walker is the face of this platform season, as he has the most to prove. The writing has been on the wall for Gorman for a while, as 2025 is becoming his expected last resort.

Walker, on the other hand, has the highest potential of any player from this next young core. The former number four overall ranked prospect in MLB has been given many trials and has produced many errors. His development is a study case of failed development from the current front office and has been at the forefront of his career so far. In 706 career MLB at bats, he has a -1.5 WAR with a 91 OPS+. Every individual season since 2023 has produced a negative WAR. His 2023 season produced a 113 OPS+, which was a good offensive introduction for a then-21-year-old. Walker in 2025 has been catastrophic liability at the plate. A -0.5 WAR and 41 OPS+ is all he has to show for his 122 ABs in 2025. For a defensive liability and an offensive profile on the decline, there is not much hope for Walker to reach his once-hyped potential.

2025 has been a complete turnaround for Walker's defense. He has committed 0 errors so far and has produced a positive 2 defensive runs saved. From his 2023 mark of terrible defense, he was supporting -16 DRS, which shows he has made a dramatic change to his defensive craft. The work ethic appears to still be there, but now it's figuring out how to execute the strategy. Has the strategy to fix his defense hindered his offensive game? Something has, as this was a player who was highly touted for his hitting profile. But the power is lacking, with only 4 extra base hits on the year; the production is dry, with 12 RBI and 11 runs scored; and the consistency is nonexistent, with a sub-.200 batting average and sub-.500 OPS. Walker will be given much more time to prove himself and turn his season around. But following the trend of his career, it does not look promising.