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At 20 years, 312 days old, Jordan Walker is the youngest #STLCards position player to make his Major League debut since 1981.
Welcome to the bigs, Jordan Walker! pic.twitter.com/j5yIDZkDdh
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 30, 2023
Jordan Walker was obliterating baseballs today (Exit Velo):
105.3 mph
105.8 mph
107.0 mphYeah, that’s a good sign. #stlcards
— Cardinal Metrics (@CardinalMetrics) April 1, 2023
How would you folks feel about these results from the rookie?
.302/.376/.483 (.860 OPS)
10 HR
39 RBI
13 SBThat’s an odd looking (feasible?) combination of numbers for a full season. Maybe they think he will get about 40 doubles to go with the 10 HRs to make those numbers work out. Or maybe they think he’ll be a part-timer, but why with that slash line? Or maybe they think he’ll get injured.
I think he’ll do better than those numbers. I won’t cite any fancy ones, but in the “Bold Predictions” thread, I guessed .275/17/60, and a good chance at NL ROY. I’m sticking with that. I noticed in both ST’ing and in his PA’s thus far in the 2 games that count, that even when he isn’t successful he seems to work PA’s into deep counts and that’s always a good sign. Moreover, the more I see him swing the bat, the more I’m impressed by the controlled and fluid motion of a very nice looking RH’ed rip, which leads me to believe that he’ll consistently make solid contact. I’m getting spun up keying this in about the young rookie…I may need to change those numbers to .305/32/98…Haha!
Jordan Walker is currently 3rd in the league with 12 batted balls that went 100+ MPH. #STLCards
— Cards Convo ™ (@CardinalsConvo) April 6, 2023
He’s ripped quite a few scorchers for outs. No doubt that they’ll eventually find a few breaches in the IF and gaps in the OF alleys. He generates some power and looks like he runs pretty well, so he could eventually be a guy who collects quite a few TB’s.
It's been 111 years since a rookie 20 years or younger opened their career with a hit in 12 consecutive games.
Welcome to the history books, Jordan Walker! pic.twitter.com/wl3xMNJvsM
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 12, 2023
I have a hypothetical question that really has nothing to do with Jordan Walker specifically.
Imagine a leadoff hitter who plays in most of his team’s games and has about 600 at bats for the year. He never has more than one hit per game, usually going one for five, and ends the year with a BA just over .200 with no HR, a few doubles and 28 RBI’s. Nevertheless, he hits in every game and ends up with a 145 game hitting streak. Is he a great hitter or a terrible hitter?The key factor in that hypothetical is lead off man. If he goes 1 for 5 he is terrible. If he goes 1 for 4 with a walk he’s gold atop the lineup with a hefty OBP.
I’ve never gotten overly excited about hitting streaks one way or another. Often there is a fair amount of luck involved, not to mention the official scorer’s mood, what he had for breakfast or if wifey was sweet to him that morning.
As to Walker’s D, I imagine part of the training process for transitioning was to take it easy going to the wall or stands down the side. Leave the aggressive spectacular plays for later. The key is to stay in the lineup. That would be prudent and sensible. He’s doing that. Last night he came in on one and ended up in a sprawl with a leg sort of awkwardly caught under him. No harm done, but I wonder how many people soiled their panties watching that happen.
For me, it is not about the hitting streak literally. It is what that tells us about him:
1) Adapting to MLB quickly, which was hardly assured since he has no Triple-A experience.
2) Not swinging for the fences, but is taking the ball where it is thrown.Bottom line, no matter how one counts it or calls it, a good start is far better than the alternative.
Two good observations about Walker, BW. My first look at him was in ST’ing, but I think #2 carries the most weight. I’ve been really impressed by the consistent fluid motion and genuine overall control of his swing. He covers the entire plate nicely and works his PA’s into deep counts. And I know this sounds silly, but he even seems to look good when he K’s…Haha! It’ll really surprise me if his success doesn’t continue.
I like to point out that a lot of guys look good in AA. Right about now Walker is probably thinking we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. About 40 PAs in they started getting a line on him. 60 PAs in they’ve got it dialed in. Giant hole in the swing. Because of his stance and swing, he pulls off and misses those sliders by a lot and they just feed them to him, mixed with FBs on the outside half that he can’t tell from the sliders.
OBP now below .300, OPS below .700. OPS+ has fallen into the 80s. WAR is somewhere around -0.4 depending on source. K rate going up. Can’t take a walk. Ever.
Nobody is breathlessly reporting the exit velocities lately. Have to wait for him to tie into a mistake.
I noticed last night Gordon got back there on one, called Walker off apparently and made the catch over his shoulder on what should have been the right fielder’s play coming in with the ball in front of him. It was a sad spectacle if you knew what you were seeing. Failure to take charge of a play like that is going to get somebody hurt. That’s why it is not done like we saw last night.
At some point it will be accepted that he needs a year in AAA to learn how to hit something besides AA meatballs and develop something above rudimentary OF defensive skills. Right now he does not belong in an MLB batters box nor in an MLB outfield.
After just 16 games, this seems premature. Walker isn’t the problem right now.
Cardinals with an OPS+ lower than Walker currently:
Tommy Edman
Tyler O’Neill
Willson Contreras
Dylan Carlson
Taylor Motter
Andrew KniznerSo, if you sent Walker down, the guys to get more playing time are hitting worse than he is.
Patience seems to be in short supply.
3/20 BB/K, similar to his ST numbers. Elite players have gaudy OBP’s. Work the zone young man, take the walks when they are there.
Totally agree with BW, patience sorely lacking here! Of all the reasons you could blame this terrible start JW is not one of them! I think the fans patience with FO is getting just as short!
I don’t have a problem with giving Walker some AAA time, if nothing else than to work on his defense, but promoting Motter over Yepez and Mercado is a head scratcher.
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