MLB Rumors: Best prospects the Braves, Cardinals and Cubs should consider trading

MLB Rumors: Would Cardinals ever trade Jordan Walker?

John Mozeliak is laughing in his office right now reading this article, but stay with me. Outfield is a position of strength for this Cardinals team. Even if Walker were never selected by St. Louis, they’d still have Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Alec Burleson, Juan Yepez and more. This team traded Harrison Bader just last July.

Walker is a can’t-miss prospect who can land the sort of can’t-miss ace the Cards have been lacking for quite some time. Assuming there is one on the open market — say, a Shane Bieber type, who is under contract for a few seasons to come — then trading Walker might make some sense.

In 20 games at the big-league level, Walker slashed .274/.321/.397. His wRC+ considers that around league average. Given his young age and prospect status, that’s actually relatively impressive. It proves he can hang with the big boys, and should only get better with time. Any team would be lucky to have Walker as the class of their system, as he’s ranked the top prospect in baseball by not just MLB Pipeline, but FanSided’s Rogelio Castillo as well.

Walker is undoubtedly the Cardinals best trade asset. It doesn’t mean they would consider moving him, however. Any trade involving Walker would take an ace, and perhaps more coming back the other way. Given Walker is still relatively unproven at this stage of his career, it’s something for St. Louis to consider if they really want to go all-in for a World Series this season.

The Cardinals have started to turn things around. Assuming that continues leading up to the All-Star Break, expect teams to demand Walker in possible trade talks. For most players, St. Louis would be dumb to even consider it.