The St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of competition this spring for different roster spots. The outfield is one area that could have a slightly different look.

Lars Nootbaar is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day after double heel surgery in the offseason, which leaves the starting left field job open for the beginning of the season. But there could be more competition than fans originally expected.

On Thursday, Jordan Walker went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and watched his batting average drop to .200 this spring. While he is expected to make the Opening Day roster and be the starting right fielder, it might not be long before he runs out of chances.

Walker may be running out of runway

Walker has just six hits this spring, all of which have been singles. The Cardinals want to see him hit the ball in the air more frequently, but the young outfielder has struggled in that regard.

As such, it may not be long before Chaim Bloom pulls the plug on Walker and allows manager Oli Marmol to give somebody else a chance to play more frequently. The Cardinals have been trying Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin in the outfield.

In addition, Nelson Velazquez, who was signed to a minor league deal is putting up solid numbers this spring, as is Nathan Church. At a certain point, it might be time for the Cardinals to end the Walker experiment, even though they are in the middle of a rebuild.

Despite the change in direction, results still matter, and this could be Walker’s last chance to prove that he can be part of the future core in St. Louis. The Cardinals do have more options than what meets the eye, and if those options are performing better, then it’s time for them to go a different direction.

Nolan Gorman has at least shown flashes of his potential this spring, but the same can’t be said for Walker. The Cardinals have been waiting for several years to see Walker bust out and be the slugger they have expected him to be.

It will be interesting to see what the Cardinals decide to do. They even have Joshua Baez in the minor leagues that put together a strong spring before being optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

Spring training stats don’t matter as much as regular season stats, but it’s more than fair for Cardinals fans to be skeptical of Walker heading into 2026.