Rick Scuteri/USA TODAY Sports
The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Monday that they have recalled top prospect Jordan Walker from Triple-A Memphis. In a corresponding move, Matt Carpenter has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a lower back sprain.
Walker Rushed to the Bigs First Time Around
The Cardinals seemingly rushed Walker to the big leagues as a 20-year-old in 2023. It was a risk that didn’t pay off as well as they would have liked. The young slugger had a strong spring at the plate and found himself on the opening day roster. It was enough of a challenge offensively, let alone being expected to learn a new defensive position, all while adjusting to Major League pitching.
The young slugger began his career with a 12-game hitting streak but soon slumped at the plate. Walker was already struggling to adapt to his position change on defense when he slumped at the plate, prompting the Cardinals to option him to Memphis towards the end of April. It was obvious that he never should have been on the opening day roster to begin with. He was never given an opportunity to learn the outfield at the minor league level away from the spotlight like he should have been. Furthermore, he probably should have spent the entire year in Triple-A to work on his defense alone. The team obviously wasn’t going to make a playoff push, so there was no reason to rush him.
The young right-handed hitter made his return that June, and it seemed like he had found his swing again. From the time he was recalled, Walker put up an impressive .277/.346/.455 slash line with 14 homers, 16 doubles, and two triples. Undoubtedly, it seemed he had found his footing at the plate even if his defense still needed some work
Walker Had a Rough Start in 2024
To begin the season, the starting rightfield position was Walker’s to lose. However, he entered a horrible slump to begin the campaign. He put up a meager .155/239/259 slash line in 67 plate appearances with no extra base hits to be found. The young slugger was then optioned back to Memphis to work on his launch angle and defense. The Cardinals’ prospect has been there ever since, primarily due to his continued struggles at the plate. Through his first 252 plate appearances back in Memphis, Walker managed only a .234/.300/.357 slash line. Furthermore, he continued hitting the ball on the ground too much. For a player with as much raw power as Walker has, hitting the ball on the ground almost 50 percent of the time is not a good outcome.
However, over the past few weeks, Walker has begun to turn things around in Memphis. He has hit five homeruns and has twelve extra-base hits over his past 16 games. It’s a small sample size, but Walker has an impressive .343/.400/.687 slash line over that time period. Undoubtedly, it’s the best he’s looked all season.
Cardinals Need Better Production Against Lefties
St. Louis has struggled mightily against left-handed pitching this season. They currently rank as one of the worst lineups in baseball against left-handed pitching. The Cardinals have a terrible .233/.296/.359 slash line against lefties this year. Hopefully, Walker will give them a boost where that’s concerned. They need a right-handed bat to help the attack because of veterans not performing as needed. If the Cardinals are to make a run at the Wild Card spot, their performance versus lefties needs to improve drastically.
