We are just over one week away from Opening Day and it’s important to note that Spring Training stats are not a perfect representation of how a guy is going to perform once the regular season arrives.
It’s important to keep that thought in mind when thinking about young outfielder Jordan Walker. The 23-year-old has endless potential, but hasn’t been able to fully put it together at the big league level consistently yet. He showed glimpses of what he can be as a rookie for St. Louis back in 2023. That season he slashed .276/.342/.445 with a .787 OPS to go along with 16 homers, 51 RBIs and 19 doubles in 117 games played. Since then, his role and playing time have shifted more than they arguably should have. He played in only 51 games in the big leagues in 2024. He dealt with injuries in 2025 and only was able to play in 111 total games.
The Cardinals outfielder is going to be alright
Feb 22, 2026; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) runs past third base against the Houston Astros during the third inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn ImagesNow, Walker is heading into his fourth big league season. So far in Spring Training, he has slashed .176/.222/.176 with two RBIs, two walks, 13 strikeouts and two runs scored in 11 games played.
There’s no sugarcoating it. Those numbers aren’t great. But when March 26 gets here, they all go back down to zero. The importance of Spring Training is getting timing down, working on things you can bring to games and simply getting reps in. It would be great if he were batting .750 with 10 homers, but again, all of these numbers go back down to zero on March 26.
What’s more important than the numbers is the fact that Cardinals manager Oli Marmol, himself, said that he is “nowhere close” to giving up on Walker.
“This was the first offseason I’ve felt like Walker was able to communicate with the level of maturity where it was, ‘I don’t feel good doing this. Is there a different way of getting to the same endgame?’ And truly communicating with our hitting staff in order to get on the other side of this. There’s a ton of talent there. I’m nowhere close to giving up on this kid. He is going to figure it out and I am committed to that. But we do feel good.”
It would be awesome if the numbers were better, but they are not an indication fully of how he will play in the regular season. No need for concern yet. Let the season actually begin before that.
