The St. Louis Cardinals are on a nine-game winning streak and well within striking distance of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Nonetheless, that won't stop some in the Cards fanbase from calling for Oli Marmol's job come season's end unless St. Louis makes a postseason push. As impressive as the Cardinals winning streak is, we're in the middle of may. There's plenty of season left, and if the Cardinals are to make any sort of noise come October, they'll need more from outfielder Jordan Walker.
Yes, by now Cardinals fans are unfortunately familiar with this narrative. Walker is a former top prospect who hasn't live up to the billing. He is also still on the St. Louis roster and, until further notice, remains a key part of their future. Marmol has tried to reach Walker in a variety of ways, including making some necessary early-season tweaks to even challenging him in the media. None of it has worked.
“There’s runway in the sense of allowing them to fail,” Marmol said last week,via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We went into the year knowing that this would look different, and we don’t want them looking over their shoulder every week bases on, ‘If I don’t get two knocks tonight, I’m going to be in Memphis.’...But that runway is also not forever. You’re gauging is how they’re responding to the failure."
Oli Marmol and the Cardinals need more out of Jordan Walker
Walker has not responded to failure so far this season. In 34 games, Walker has a WAR of -0.5 and is hitting under the Mendoza line at just .180. It's his worst season to date. What Walker has tried to do is become more valuable in the outfield and on the basepaths, but that can only do so much to repair his confidence and reputation as an easy out.
The Cardinals will not fire Marmol if he has a successful season and Walker struggles. However, assuming St. Louis regresses to the mean, they will judge Marmol – a manager who comes from a player development background – by their future outlook. Has Marmol helped the Cardinals young stars improve the last few seasons?
If the answer to that question is no by end of season, Marmol could be in some trouble.