MLB analyst calls out Cardinals for another failed development case in Jordan Walker

It's been a rough couple of seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals who went 71-91 last season and are off to an 11-14 start 25 games into the 2024 campaign.

One player that St. Louis was hoping would be a major contributor for them and simply hasn't been in these two seasons is Jordan Walker, a player who was considered one of the top prospects in baseball entering the 2023 campaign but has not found his footing at the MLB level.

Walker was up and down from the majors to the minors last season but finished strong, giving Cardinals fans hope that he'd have a big year in 2024. Unfortunately, he hit just .155 in his first 20 games of the season and did not hit a single home run leading to the team ultimately sending him down to the minors.

With Walker struggling as mightily as he did, it's fair to question whether there's something that the Cardinals could've done differently with him. MLB Network host Greg Amsinger certainly believes that the Cardinals could've handled this situation better.

MLB analyst blames Cardinals organization for Jordan Walker's struggles

Amsinger goes on a two-minute rant blaming the Cardinals for how they've handled Walker.

The crux of his argument has to do with the Cardinals sacrificing for the betterment of the player. He's arguing that instead of hitting Walker seventh or eighth as they did for most of this season, they should've hit him second or third since that's what he had done his entire life. That's how Walker would've been most comfortable.

There might be some validity there. Walker might have to prepare differently mentally knowing that he's hitting at the bottom of the order instead of the top, but is that really why Walker struggled as mightily as he did? And would moving him to the middle of the order where there is objectively more pressure really help with that?

Ultimately, the major leagues are about winning. Hitting a player who is hitting .155 without a single home run in 20 games second or third is not conducive to winning. It's on Walker to show that he deserves to hit at the top of the order, and he failed to do so.

The Cardinals were treating him as if he was a top prospect, despite what Amsinger said, by playing him every day even through his struggles. Doing more just to cater towards Walker would not benefit the team one bit.

It's unfortunate that Walker wasn't hitting, but it's hard to blame the Cardinals for not hitting him higher in the order. If anything, they can be blamed for promoting him if he wasn't ready, although he was able to hit at an above-average level last season. Sometimes it's on the player to improve, and Walker for whatever reason did not do that.