Jordan Walker

[st.lewis11]

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I'm sorry........I just don't have faith that Jordan Walker will ever be a star. He has the physical tools, but he simply never impressed me as a hitter, except for an occasional long ball. Heck, Randal Grichuk had athletic tools, showed flashes of stuff to tease us......I'm thinking that's what we have in Walker.

Yeah, I keep hearing he's so young, but plenty of guys were already quality hitters when around his age. (Soto, Cabrera, Griffey, etc.) I sincerely hope Walker proves me wrong, but I have doubts about him being able to be a middle of the order bat.

[Magneto2.0]

Soto, Griffey and Cabrera are 3 of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball though

Walker had a 116 wRC+ in his rookie season at 21 years old. To put that in perspective, Elly De La Cruz wRC+ last year was 84.

He seems very streaky, which is the only thing I have taken away from him so far. So he'll be frustrating where he has dry spells, but I think he ends up being a very good hitter once he reaches his full potential.

[TGantz]

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I'm sorry........I just don't have faith that Jordan Walker will ever be a star. He has the physical tools, but he simply never impressed me as a hitter, except for an occasional long ball. Heck, Randal Grichuk had athletic tools, showed flashes of stuff to tease us......I'm thinking that's what we have in Walker.

Yeah, I keep hearing he's so young, but plenty of guys were already quality hitters when around his age. (Soto, Cabrera, Griffey, etc.) I sincerely hope Walker proves me wrong, but I have doubts about him being able to be a middle of the order bat.

You're not alone.

I thought a young Jason Heyward was going to be a legendary player. He was so athletic, had the defense part handeled, and had a sweet looking swing. He passed all of the eye tests when watching a player. He just never maintained a superstar level.

Now I trust the baseball opinion of those smarter than me on the underlying stats. I ignore my doubts when I see Walker swinging too late like he has a Fred Flintstone bat or unable to hit anything on the outside corner. I also remind myself that he's really young still.

I know he's streaky but I would prefer if he has a hot streak pretty soon.

[MrCrowesGarden]

Soto, Griffey and Cabrera are 3 of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball though

Walker had a 116 wRC+ in his rookie season at 21 years old. To put that in perspective, Elly De La Cruz wRC+ last year was 84.

He seems very streaky, which is the only thing I have taken away from him so far. So he'll be frustrating where he has dry spells, but I think he ends up being a very good hitter once he reaches his full potential.

That's the thing though, doesn't he have to be a star hitter to make up for the defensive ineptitude? I'm certainly not casting him off.

[dmarx114]

Soto, Griffey and Cabrera are 3 of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball though

Walker had a 116 wRC+ in his rookie season at 21 years old. To put that in perspective, Elly De La Cruz wRC+ last year was 84.

He seems very streaky, which is the only thing I have taken away from him so far. So he'll be frustrating where he has dry spells, but I think he ends up being a very good hitter once he reaches his full potential.

Well said, agree with everything.

[jagtrader]

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I'm sorry........I just don't have faith that Jordan Walker will ever be a star. He has the physical tools, but he simply never impressed me as a hitter, except for an occasional long ball. Heck, Randal Grichuk had athletic tools, showed flashes of stuff to tease us......I'm thinking that's what we have in Walker.

Yeah, I keep hearing he's so young, but plenty of guys were already quality hitters when around his age. (Soto, Cabrera, Griffey, etc.) I sincerely hope Walker proves me wrong, but I have doubts about him being able to be a middle of the order bat.

It depends what the expectations were. I don’t think he’ll ever be the best player on a good team if that’s what we’re talking about. A better coaching staff might get more out of him. He’s still a valuable guy to have.

Heyward is a good comp from a hitting standpoint because they both have dreadful swing mechanics.

[Magneto2.0]

Soto, Griffey and Cabrera are 3 of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball though

Walker had a 116 wRC+ in his rookie season at 21 years old. To put that in perspective, Elly De La Cruz wRC+ last year was 84.

He seems very streaky, which is the only thing I have taken away from him so far. So he'll be frustrating where he has dry spells, but I think he ends up being a very good hitter once he reaches his full potential.

That's the thing though, doesn't he have to be a star hitter to make up for the defensive ineptitude? I'm certainly not casting him off.

I think he will be a star hitter, I don't know about him being a top 5 hitter of his generation like the aforementioned guys are.

He's made some improvements on defense this year, which is a good step. I don't think he'll ever be a plus defender (at least not in the outfielder) so your overall point of him of him having to hit very well to be valuable, I agree. And I think he will.

I think any nervousness around Walker, at least currently, is premature and a product of Dylan Carlson failures. Meaning since we recently just saw a highly touted outfield prospect pretty much flame out, fans are looking at all our big name prospects through a very cynical lens.

[jagtrader]

Marmol is batting Walker seventh with Contreras, Nootbaar, Carlson and Edman missing. That tells you what the staff thinks of him right now. A worse hitting option than the backup catcher or fifth outfielder.

When you see his hips open like they do, you see why. If he tries to stay closed, he’s late on everything, even a hanging slider at the top of the zone. Some of it might just be slumping. But there are issues to iron out and it’s not an easy fix.

He’s so strong and athletic he can put up numbers anyway. But the ceiling is limited and he’ll fall off a cliff as he ages. Like Heyward.

[CardsofSTL]

His swing has looked a bit longer this season to me but I don't have anything to back it up. I am not giving up hope on him but I would rather see some positive adjustments sooner than later.

[MrCrowesGarden]

Soto, Griffey and Cabrera are 3 of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball though

Walker had a 116 wRC+ in his rookie season at 21 years old. To put that in perspective, Elly De La Cruz wRC+ last year was 84.

He seems very streaky, which is the only thing I have taken away from him so far. So he'll be frustrating where he has dry spells, but I think he ends up being a very good hitter once he reaches his full potential.

That's the thing though, doesn't he have to be a star hitter to make up for the defensive ineptitude? I'm certainly not casting him off.

I think he will be a star hitter, I don't know about him being a top 5 hitter of his generation like the aforementioned guys are.

He's made some improvements on defense this year, which is a good step. I don't think he'll ever be a plus defender (at least not in the outfielder) so your overall point of him of him having to hit very well to be valuable, I agree. And I think he will.

I think any nervousness around Walker, at least currently, is premature and a product of Dylan Carlson failures. Meaning since we recently just saw a highly touted outfield prospect pretty much flame out, fans are looking at all our big name prospects through a very cynical lens.

It’s not just Carlson though. How many Cardinals prospects seem to peak in their rookie seasons? Not that you can’t play them, but you hope they’ll build off a good rookie season and then just never do, capping out as average?