The St. Louis Cardinals have expeditiously turned things around following a 14-19 start to the 2025 MLB campaign. As of this writing, only the Minnesota Twins have won as many games as them since the calendar flipped to May. Want to know who hasn't been a part of the club's newfound success? Jordan Walker.
St. Louis has been thriving despite Walker, not because of him, specifically his efforts at the plate (or lack thereof). The club's former top prospect and the No. 4 overall player in the MLB's 2023 pipeline rankings isn't seeing the ball well. He's undeniably been the weakest link in an otherwise strong offensive lineup, and the Cardinals' brain trust is ostensibly growing impatient.
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Cardinals are losing faith in Jordan Walker
Typically, the Cards have let Walker play through his growing pains. However, he's slowly been getting phased out of the picture as they drift further from a rebuild and closer to the postseason. Meanwhile, fellow St. Louis outfielder who was once highly touted, Victor Scott II, continues to outshine him.
In two of St. Louis' past three games, Walker has been benched in favor of a scalding-hot Alec Burleson. Given the latter's recent production, it wouldn't be shocking to see that remain the case, until he cools off (at least). With the Cardinals suddenly vying for a playoff spot, the margin for error becomes slimmer.
Moreover, Burleson hadn't started in right field this season until St. Louis' 14-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of their doubleheader. Notably, that decision came less than two weeks after Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak publicly expressed frustration with Walker (and Nolan Gorman). Coincidence much? We think not.
Slowly but surely, Walker is running out of time to earn the trust of the Cardinals brass. He's made marked improvements as a defender in the outfield. Yet, that doesn't seem like enough to counteract his hitting struggles.
Walker boasts a .195/.260/.286 slash line with three home runs and 17 RBIs across 133 at-bats. His .546 OPS is well below the league average (.711). Conversely, he's also striking out at an alarmingly high 30.1 percent rate.