Jordan Walker keeps stacking up milestones for the St. Louis Cardinals, and the latest one is another loud reminder that his breakout is no fluke.
On Thursday, Walker went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and that run batted in was his league-leading 70th of the season. He became the first player in MLB to reach 70 RBIs this year, and he also became the first Cardinals hitter since Paul Goldschmidt in his 2022 MVP season to get to 70 RBIs before the All-Star break.
Walker’s production has put him in rare company inside the Cardinals’ own history, too. He joined Albert Pujols and Joe Medwick as the only players in the organization to post 70 or more RBIs before the All-Star break at age 24 or younger.
The numbers behind the season are eye-catching across the board. In 89 games, Walker is hitting .294/.355/.534 with an .889 OPS, along with 21 homers, 70 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, 19 doubles and 58 runs scored.
That is a massive jump from last season, when he slashed .215/.278/.306 with a .584 OPS, hit six homers, drove in 41 runs and stole 10 bases in 111 games. He finished 2025 with -1.7 wins above replacement; this year, he is already at 3.5.
What makes the turnaround so striking is how far the conversation around him has shifted. Not long ago, the former top prospect looked like he was drifting toward bust territory. Now, he looks like the kind of cornerstone the Cardinals believed they were getting before the 2023 season.
Walker was a useful player as a rookie, but not yet a star. This season, at 24 years old, he has made the leap the Cardinals were waiting for.
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