Tag: Jordan Walker

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Can’t-Miss Cards?

Jordan Walker (photo by Wes Hale)

Since the St. Louis Cardinals last played in the World Series (2013), the franchise has suited up six prospects of the “can’t miss” variety. These are the future stars who become centerpieces in annual postseason runs. Alas, the six players share two distinct similarities: each has played for the Memphis Redbirds, and each has, in fact, missed.

Oscar Taveras was the Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year with Double-A Springfield in 2012. By the time he suited up for Memphis in 2013, Taveras was the second-ranked prospect in all of baseball. A line-drive machine from the left side of the plate, Taveras battled injuries over two seasons with the Redbirds, but still hit .306 over 46 games in 2013 and .318 over 62 games before being promoted to St. Louis in 2014. He hit a game-tying home run in the only game St. Louis would win in the 2014 National League Championship Series, then died with his girlfriend in a car accident two weeks later. Taveras was intoxicated behind the wheel.

Michael Wacha needed only 15 games at the Triple-A level to convince the Cardinals he was ready for a big-league rotation. After posting a 2.65 ERA for Memphis in 2013, Wacha joined St. Louis and came within an out of no-hitting the Washington Nationals in only his ninth major-league start. He earned MVP honors in the 2013 NLCS, twice beating the Dodgers and not allowing a run in 13 innings. He battled injuries but remained a part of the Cardinals’ rotation for six years, winning 17 games in 2015. Since departing as a free agent after the 2019 season, Wacha has pitched for five different clubs. Now with the Kansas City Royals, he’s four wins shy of 100 for his career.

Alex Reyes was the Cardinals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2015 at the tender age of 21. He struck out 93 hitters in only 65 innings for Memphis in 2016 before a late-season promotion to St. Louis, where he posted a 1.57 ERA over 46 innings. But Reyes only pitched in 20 games over the next four years, sidelined by one significant arm injury after another. He made the National League All-Star team as a closer in 2021, a season he topped for the Cardinals with 29 saves. But he hasn’t thrown a pitch since surrendering a walk-off homer in a wild-card loss to the Dodgers to end that season.

Jack Flaherty was the Cardinals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2017 when he helped the Redbirds to a Pacific Coast League championship by going 7-2 with a 2.74 ERA over 15 starts. He was a certified big-league ace two years later, posting a 2.75 ERA and the most strikeouts (231) in a season for St. Louis since Hall of Famer Bob Gibson retired in 1975. But by 2023, Flaherty was a trade piece, going to Baltimore in return for current Redbirds infielder Cesar Prieto.

Dylan Carlson was the Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2019 when he hit .361 over 18 games with Memphis after a September promotion from Springfield. He lost what would have been a full season at Memphis to the 2020 pandemic, but still took over right field in St. Louis in 2021. Carlson finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting that season after hitting .266 with 18 home runs and 65 RBIs. But injuries have diminished his production. Carlson batted .198 over 59 games this season before the Cardinals traded him to Tampa Bay last week.


It’s unfair to include 22-year-old Jordan Walker among this group of fallen stars, but you can’t help but wonder (if not worry) with Walker posting pedestrian numbers (.252, 7 home runs through Sunday) against Triple-A pitching after leading the Cardinals with a .276 average a year ago. Prospects are fun to rank and track as they rapidly climb the minor-league ladder. But sustainable success in the big leagues remains the goal. And for a franchise now more than a decade removed from its last National League pennant, “can’t miss” must be reconsidered.

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Walker in Memphis

Jordan Walker (Photo: Wes Hale)

Few players have risen through the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor-league system with the star power of Jordan Walker. Twice the franchise’s Minor League Player of the Year, Walker entered the 2023 season as the fourth-ranked prospect throughout the minor leagues according to Baseball America. And Walker had yet to turn 21. He made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster having never played a game at the Triple A level and proceeded to start his big-league career with a 12-game hitting streak. Not the stuff of typical rookies.

Cut to the present and Walker finds himself midway through a 2024 season that hasn’t gone precisely to plan. He again started in right field for St. Louis on Opening Day, but struggled in April with a .155 batting average and no home runs through 20 games. (In 117 games as a rookie with the Cardinals, Walker batted .276 with a .445 slugging percentage and 16 home runs.) On April 24th, the Cardinals sent Walker to Memphis to fine-tune his swing and recharge for his sophomore campaign. Over 43 games with the Redbirds, Jordan has batted .264, slugged .402, and hit three home runs.

“I’m trying to relax,” says Walker. “I’ve shortened my stance a bit. So I’m not as rigid when I start my swing. I feel like I’m seeing the ball better.” How relaxed? Last Thursday, Walker took a nap during an optional team batting practice and proceeded to pick up three hits, including a homer, in a win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. He also threw out a runner at the plate from right field.

Walker says he hasn’t had a conversation with Cardinals’ brass specifically about their expectations for his next promotion to the big club. But he knows it’s about the magic word for hitters at all levels: consistency. “If my swing is where it needs to be,” notes Walker, “if I’m driving the ball the way I’ve been recently, I should be fine. As long as I hit the ball hard, everything should work out.”

Had Walker played four years of college baseball, he’d just now be starting his pro career. Instead, he has a season in the big leagues on his resume, and the weight of expectations for the kind of career that takes a franchise closer to the World Series. Does that weight get heavy? “Maybe a little bit,” he says. “But I don’t think I’ve changed anything, approach-wise or mindset-wise. I just wasn’t as consistent with what got me success in the minor leagues, and what got me success last year. That’s the key. These pitchers are tough. Your swing can feel good, but if you get tough pitches, it’s always tough to hit. But I’m comfortable with my swing, I’m making good swing decisions, and I feel like I can drive the ball. With a simple approach, I’ll catch fire again. It’s an up-and-down game.”

Ben Johnson recently became only the third manager in Redbirds history to win 300 games, but he’s still getting to know Walker, who has now played a half-season, total, at the Triple A level. “With Jordan, it’s a matter of getting comfortable playing every day,” says Johnson. “He’s about to catch fire, any day now. And we’ll get him [back to St. Louis] soon.”

After a slow start, the Cardinals have played themselves into contention for a wild-card playoff spot. In addition to Walker’s absence, the team has suffered lengthy stays on the injured list for Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbaar, and Willson Contreras. That’s virtually half a batting order the club can infuse for the second half of the 2024 season. And it can be safely said, among the four, no one has a higher ceiling of potential than Jordan Walker. Greatness awaits.

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Silver Season

Redbirds shortstop Masyn Winn (Credit: Ben Munson/St. Louis Cardinals)

The Memphis Redbirds have begun their 25th season — 23rd at AutoZone Park — with a flashback of sorts. Way back in 2001, a 21-year-old slugger by the name of Albert Pujols was to be the team’s headliner, having delivered the home run that won the 2000 Pacific Coast League championship for Memphis. Pujols stole the show, though, at the St. Louis Cardinals’ spring camp, made the big-league roster, and 703 home runs later, is bound for the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in 2028.

Jordan Walker would like to be “the next Pujols,” at least by measure of his predecessor’s Rookie of the Year season 22 years ago. The 20-year-old Walker excelled at Double-A Springfield last year (.306/.388/.510), and climbed to fourth in the Baseball America rankings of all minor-league prospects. With a strong performance in Jupiter, Florida, Walker earned a roster spot with the Cardinals and made his big-league debut last week following the annual Opening Day Clydesdale parade at Busch Stadium. Fans of the Cardinals’ Triple-A franchise may not see Walker until St. Louis returns for an exhibition game at AutoZone Park.

Into the headliner’s spotlight for Memphis steps another top-50 prospect, shortstop Masyn Winn. Blessed with an arm that would be the envy of many big-league pitchers — he’s hit the high 90s on throws to first base — Winn brings extraordinary athleticism to a premium infield position, calling to mind Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, the Cardinals’ acrobatic legend of the 1980s and ’90s. Only 21 years old, Winn led the Cardinals’ minor-league system with 36 doubles last season (split between Class A and Double A). He hit .333 and slugged .556 in 18 spring-training games with the Cardinals, but last Friday’s opener at Charlotte was Winn’s first game at the Triple-A level. With the St. Louis middle-infield currently occupied by Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan (both former Redbirds), Winn will have to perform to earn his call to The Show.

• Three familiar faces are back with the Redbirds after extended time in the big-leagues. Dakota Hudson earned Pitcher of the Year honors from the Pacific Coast League in 2018, then won 16 games for the Cardinals as a rookie the next season. But he’s struggled with control, a problem compounded by the fact Hudson can’t overpower hitters with velocity. This is likely a make-or-break season for the 28-year-old righty, at least in the Cardinals’ system.

Juan Yepez slammed 22 homers in 92 games for the 2021 Redbirds, then spent most of 2022 with the Cardinals, shadowing the great Pujols as he learned the ropes in a supporting role (12 homers in 76 games) for St. Louis. But Yepez essentially lost his spot in the outfield/DH rotation to Walker this spring, so like Winn, he’ll need to hit — hard and often — to regain a roster spot with the Cardinals.

Oscar Mercado may have the most compelling story as the Redbirds open their season. Mercado played an electric outfield for the 2018 Redbirds and stole 31 bases in 100 games for Memphis. But a crowded Cardinals outfield led to a trade to Cleveland, where Mercado finished 8th in voting for the 2019 American League Rookie of the Year. He’s battled injuries for the last three years, though, and signed a free agent contract with St. Louis last November. Still only 28 years old, Mercado finds himself in somewhat of a Groundhog Day season, aiming to prove himself a major-league talent five years after doing precisely that here in Memphis.

• There’s a new playoff format for Triple-A this season. The International League (and Pacific Coast League) will award a first-half champion on June 25th, then a second-half champion at season’s end in September. The two teams will play a best-of-three series for the league title, then face the opposing circuit’s champ in Las Vegas on September 30th for the Triple-A National Championship.