Jordan Walker’s 2026 breakout has earned him another line on the resume: finalist for the Hank Aaron Award.
For the Cardinals, that gives them a chance to see one of their young core pieces recognized on a bigger stage before the offseason really gets rolling. Walker’s season turned a lot of heads, and by the end of it he had done enough to put himself in the mix for one of the game’s top hitting honors.
That wasn’t exactly the way his year began. Walker entered the season with plenty of noise around his future after a difficult stretch in the majors, and there were real questions about what the Cardinals should do with him.
Spring Training only added to the doubts, with Walker looking out of sorts and drawing some loud calls for a demotion, even the ever-comical request of a DFA. St.
Louis stayed patient and kept him on the roster in a year meant to help the club learn more about its roster, and Walker made that decision look smart almost immediately.
He opened the season on a tear and never really let up through the first three months. His OPS didn’t dip below .890 in that span, and he had 15 home runs by the end of May. That surge carried him to an All-Star selection and a Home Run Derby performance that will be remembered for decades, the kind of stretch that made his breakout feel very real.
The back half of the season told a different story, though. Walker faded in September, and concern started creeping back in as fans wondered whether old issues had resurfaced. The explanation, as the source material notes, was hip pain, and that injury appears to have played a major role in the downturn.
Even with that late slump, Walker still put together a huge year. He finished with 29 home runs, 102 RBIs, 33 doubles, 97 runs, 164 hits, and 22 stolen bases, along with a .793 OPS. Those numbers left him top-15 in the league in several major categories and had him drawing some down-ballot MVP attention before September changed the conversation.
If he manages to win the Hank Aaron Award, Walker would become the Cardinals’ first recipient since Paul Goldschmidt in 2022. Goldschmidt also finished that year with an MVP award, and his overall production was far beyond Walker’s season, but the comparison still puts Walker’s year in sharp relief: a former top prospect who went from uncertainty to legitimate recognition in one season.
The winner is selected through a process that includes votes from previous winners and legends of the game. A panel narrows the field to finalists, and then those players - including Albert Pujols among others - cast ballots. Fans can also vote online.
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