It feels like anytime the St. Louis Cardinals come up in conversation, the attention immediately shifts to the drama surrounding the Nolan Arenado trade rumors. We all know that it is inevitable that the Cardinals are about to enter a rebuilding stage, and they have made moves that correlate with that mindset. But this doesn't mean that 2025 will be bereft of bright spots.
The Cardinals have a young, talented prospect in Jordan Walker that they can build around. At just 22 years of age, Walker possesses a great deal of power but struggled in the 51 games he played last year, hitting just .201 with five homers and 20 RBIs amid multiple demotions to Triple-A. Walker has yet to live up to his enormous hype, but he's still got youth on his side, and the coaching overhaul St. Louis underwent over the winter seems to be paying dividends already.
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Jordan Walker and new Cardinals hitting coach meshing well
Despite his struggles last season, Walker has proved that he can be succesful at the big-league level. Walker made his MLB debut in 2023 and appeared in 117 games that season, hitting .276 with 16 home runs and driving in 51 runs.
To return to this level or better, Walker is putting his faith in his new hitting coach Brant Brown. According to John Denton of MLB.com, it sounds like these two are already meshing well with one another.
“Brownie’s done a really good job with body stuff and how each player moves, and he’s laid out his plan with me and it all starts in the pre-workout routine,” Walker said. “One thing that Brownie has been good about is pointing out the things I was good at when I was a prospect and what I did at the end of 2023 when I was hitting good. He has me so excited.”
Walker admits that he could have been pressing too much last season as he does tend to get caught up in wanting immediate results and not trusting the process it takes to reach superstardom at the highest level. By pointing out his successful moments instead of only focusing on the adjustments that need to be made, Brown has earned Walker's trust. Although the Cardinals may not be contenders in 2025, fans will get to see how bright the future is in St. Louis if the work Brown and Walker are doing in the offseason translates to the field.