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Despite coming off a last-place season in 2023, the St. Louis Cardinals have hope for the future. Major league-ready prospects like shortstop Masyn Winn and outfielder Victor Scott II have looked impressive, and they appear to be cornerstones of the Redbirds’ future.
But in the eyes of one former MLB executive, the rising star who will have the most impact in 2024 is second-year outfielder Jordan Walker.
“Last year, I predicted Walker would be a breakout candidate and win National League Rookie of the Year,” The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, a former Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals general manager, wrote on March 19. “I was wrong on both counts, but that’s not going to stop me from going back to the well.”
Walker, 21, leaped directly to the majors without playing at the Triple-A level and posted 16 home runs and 51 RBI in his rookie season while hitting .276 in 117 games.
Considered the team’s crown jewel at the time, Walker had an up-and-down year in many ways. He reeled off a 12-game hitting streak to start his MLB career but was eventually demoted to the minors before April had ended.
He eventually returned and settled in to become a Redbird regular. Now in Year Two, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound powerhouse has the potential to take the next step forward.
Former Executive has Faith in Jordan Walker
Bowden has been a proponent of Walker since his days in the minor leagues, and he wrote in his column on his “2024 All-MLB Breakout Team” that it may all come together for the young star this season.
Getty ImagesJordan Walker in 2023
“Why? Because I think I was just a year early and I feel the Cardinals mishandled Walker at the start of last season, demoting him to the minors in April when he didn’t deserve it and making him learn a new position, right field, at the major-league level,” Bowden wrote.
“However, I really believe in this player and think he will hit for both average and power and eventually become at least adequate defensively in right field,” he wrote.
Is Walker the St. Louis Cardinals’ Next Superstar?
There are many reasons for Bowden’s belief in Walker’s abilities. He closed out his rookie campaign strong, hitting .339 with five home runs over his last 30 games.
Jordan Walker’s last 30 games:
.339/.392/.545/.937 154 wRC+
397 wOBA 8.0 BB% 19.2 K%
He’s still just 21 years old and I can’t wait to see what he does in 2024 💪💪💪
For Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, that’s a good sign of what could be on the horizon for his rising star. The Redbirds skipper recently commented on the advances Walker has made as he transitions to his sophomore season in the big leagues.
“He’s been really diligent with staying more closed, not spinning as much and kind of coming around the ball pull-side, being able to stay on the pitch on the outer half the other way and hit that ball with more authority,” the Cardinals manager Marmol said, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story.
“This guy has got unbelievable power,” he said, according to the story. “I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. But he’s been working with [hitting coach] Turner [Ward] on just staying on the baseball a little bit more.”
Walker will get to unleash some of that power on March 28, when he and the St. Louis Cardinals open the 2024 campaign against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.
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