The Cardinals may still be hanging around the National League Wild Card picture, but the real reason St. Louis should feel good right now is Jordan Walker.
That’s not just a hot week or two talking. Walker has been locked in over his last 13 games, and the numbers are loud: a .377/.421/.698 slash line, a 1.119 OPS, four home runs, 13 RBIs, five doubles and 13 runs scored. For a player who opened the second half slowly, that kind of surge changes the conversation fast.
St. Louis entered Saturday at 68-68 and 4 1/2 games back of a playoff spot.
The Cardinals had dropped five straight earlier in the week before bouncing back with two consecutive wins, including Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Quinn Mathews handled the heavy lifting in that one, working 5 2/3 innings and giving up just one run while striking out seven.
There has been plenty of noise around the club lately, and not much of it has been positive. Joshua Báez’s arrival has been part of the discussion, and so have the injuries stacking up around the roster. Right now, the Cardinals are without Andre Pallante, Hunter Dobbins, Masyn Winn and Blaze Jordan, among others.
But Walker has been the player to watch through all of it.
He’s already had a season that grabbed attention. Walker earned his first All-Star selection and won the Home Run Derby, putting himself on the radar for fans across Major League Baseball, not just in St.
Louis. Even with that recognition, his recent stretch suggests there may still be another level.
The bigger story is how far he’s come since the rough patches that followed his arrival in 2023. He came into the league as one of baseball’s top prospects, had a solid start, then saw the next two years go sideways. Last season, he hit .215/.278/.306 with six home runs and 41 RBIs in 111 games, finishing as a -1.7-WAR player.
This year has been a different story entirely. In 132 games, Walker is hitting .290/.348/.504 with an .851 OPS, 27 home runs, 97 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, 29 doubles and 85 runs scored. He’s been a 4.1-WAR player so far, and the recent run only adds to the sense that he’s still climbing.
What Walker has done this season has been special. And somehow, he’s still getting better.
In Other News...
Cardinals Just Took A Late-Season Hit They Couldn't Afford
The Cardinals had little margin for error down the stretch, and now they have to get by without one of the rookies who helped shape their season. St. Louis placed JJ Wetherholt on the 10-day injured list with right wrist tendinitis, a setback that comes at an inconvenient time for a team still trying to squeeze value out of every remaining game. In a corresponding move, the club brought up infielder Csar Prieto from Triple-A to help fill the gap.
Wetherholts absence matters beyond the day-to-day lineup shuffle because he had become one of the Cardinals most important young players this year. The injury also adds another wrinkle to what had been shaping up as a real National League Rookie of the Year conversation, and now the Cardinals have to wait and see how much time he loses before they can get a clearer read on the race and on their own late-season plans. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Look Smarter Every Week After One Risky Offseason Trade
The offseason deal that sent Brendan Donovan to Seattle was one of the Cardinals more aggressive steps in a broader reset, and it has aged in a way that fits St. Louis new thinking. Donovan has gotten into 39 games for the Mariners, but injuries have interrupted his rhythm and his production has been only modest, which has only sharpened the focus on what the Cardinals brought back as they leaned into development and rebuilding.
In exchange, St. Louis added prospects Jurrangelo Cijntje, Tai Peete and Colton Ledbetter, plus two Competitive Balance Round B picks that were used on Andrew Williamson and Dawson Montesa. The immediate return may not be the kind that grabs headlines in the moment, but it is the sort of package the Cardinals were chasing - multiple chances to build depth, spread risk and see whether a riskier move can pay off down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Face A Risky Outfield Opportunity
With 25 games left and a 4.5-game gap to the National League wild card, the Cardinals are staring at the kind of late-season opportunity that can reshape a roster in a hurry. One option that suddenly surfaced is Luis Robert Jr., who has been placed on outright waivers by the Mets and is now available to any team willing to take a chance on him. For a club still hanging around the postseason race, that alone makes him worth a long look.
The appeal is obvious: Robert brings the kind of upside that can change an outfield picture quickly if things click. The hesitation is just as obvious, since his recent performance and health history make any move in his direction feel like a calculated gamble rather than a clean fit. For the Cardinals, it becomes less about whether the talent is there and more about whether this is the kind of risk worth taking at a moment when every roster decision carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]