The Cardinals selected Jordan Walker with the 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft. Since then, he’s been charging hard towards the majors, moving up the minor league ladder and prospect lists.
In 2021, he made his professional debut, splitting his time between Class-A and High-A. In 82 games between those two levels, he hit 14 home runs and stole 14 bases, leading to an excellent .317/.388/.548 batting line and a 151 wRC+. He moved up to Double-A for 2022 and kept it rolling, hitting 19 home runs and stealing 22 bases in 119 games. His .306/.388/.510 batting line led to a 128 wRC+, indicating he was 28% better than average. He then went to the Arizona Fall League and hit .286/.367/.558 over 21 games there.
Now Walker is considered one of the best prospects in the league. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each have him at #4, Keith Law of The Athletic at #5, FanGraphs at #8 and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN at #14. Since Walker has little left to prove at Double-A, he’ll likely be in Triple-A to start 2023, potentially jumping to the majors at any point.
Walker has primarily been a third baseman in his career thus far, as that was the only position he played in 2021. However, an Nolan Arenado-shaped obstacle is stopping him from seeing much time at the hot corner in the big leagues, so the club has started giving Walker some outfield reps. Walker made 68 starts at third in Double-A last year but also 30 in the outfield (24 of those in right). In the fall league, all 21 of his starts were on the grass, with twelve in right field. Prospect evaluators have suggested he is adjusting well to the move, with his strong arm and athleticism likely to help him serve as an above-average defender in the outfield.
As long as Arenado is healthy, Walker will be looking to crack the Cardinals as an outfielder. As of right now, the club’s likely starters out there would be Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson and Lars Nootbaar, with Juan Yepez, Alec Burleson and Moisés Gómez also on the 40-man roster.
O’Neill, 28 in June, is coming off a frustrating season but was tremendous the year before. In 2021, he hit 34 home runs and stole 15 bases, producing a .286/.352/.560 batting line and a 144 wRC+. His outfield defense was graded well by all three of Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average, with all that leading to 5.6 wins above replacement per the calculations of FanGraphs. That placed him 13th among all position players in the majors, just ahead of guys like Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve. Unfortunately, he made multiple trips to the injured list last year, due to a shoulder impingement and hamstring strain. He only got into 96 games and had diminished results when playing, hitting .228/.308/.392 for a wRC+ of 101.
It’s a somewhat similar trajectory for the 24-year-old Carlson. He hit 18 home runs in 2021 and batted .266/.343/.437 for a wRC+ of 113, but slipped to eight homers and a .236/.316/.380 line last year for a wRC+ of 100. He also went to the IL a couple of times, though he still played 128 games on the year. However, he got strong grades for his work in center field, with 6 DRS, 3 OAA and 1.8 UZR last year in just 530 innings. He seems to be the favorite to take over up the middle with Harrison Bader now a Yankee, though O’Neill and Nootbaar can both also play there.
Nootbaar, 25, hasn’t really had a full season as a big leaguer yet, as he was optioned to the minors three times last year. However, he seemed to take off after his final recall in mid-July. From that point on, he walked in an excellent 16.7% of his trips to the plate, just barely trailing his 17.1% strikeout rate. He hit 11 home runs in that stretch and slashed .240/.367/.490 as part of the second half surge.
Yepez, 25 next week, is more of a corner infielder who can play one of the outfield corners from time to time. His work on the grass hasn’t been graded well and he likely won’t be an everyday option. However, his potent bat will be in the mix for time as the designated hitter, which could still have an impact on Walker’s path to the bigs. Yepez hit 12 home runs in a 76-game debut last year, leading to a batting line of .253/.296/.447 and a wRC+ of 109. Burleson, 24, is somewhat similar, as his bat is considered a stronger part of his game than his defense. He didn’t hit much in his 16-game debut last year but his Triple-A batting line was .331/.372/.532 thanks to launching 20 homers. Gómez, 24, has yet to make his MLB debut but got himself a spot on the 40-man after a strong 2022. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .294/.371/.624 for a wRC+ of 149.
Out of all of these players, the only one to have qualified for arbitration so far is O’Neill. He has between four and five years of service time, meaning he’s not slated to reach free agency until after 2024. The others still have many years of affordable control. Once Walker is deemed ready for a move to the big leagues, the outfield could start to get crowded in St. Louis. He seems to be headed towards right field as his predominant position, where he could line up with Carlson in center and O’Neill in left most of the time. That would bump Nootbaar into a fourth outfielder/designated hitter role, which he might be overqualified for if his second half results last year are anywhere close to legit. Perhaps the Cards would think about trading O’Neill next winter, when he has hopefully had a bounceback season in 2023 and will be just one year removed from free agency. That would free up left field for Nootbaar or one of the other young guys.
All of this is contingent on everyone being healthy, of course, as even a single injury could unclog the situation in a hurry. But there’s a lot of talent here for the Cards, as their player development pipeline seems to churn out quality big leaguers at an incredible rate. However, even top prospects don’t always find immediate success in the big leagues. Walker has yet to even reach Triple-A, so some more patience might be required, though it feels fairly inevitable that the Cards will be able to work from an outfield surplus again at some point, even though they just traded Bader at last year’s deadline.
No one’s blocking him. People need to stop trying to rush the kid. He’s only been an OFer for about 30 games, never taken a AAA AB and still hasn’t realized his incredible raw power potential. The kid has a 75+ raw power potential and has not tapped into in game at that high of a rate yet.
Exactly. Came here to post the same thing.
They’ll trade O’Neill. They’ll replace or platoon Carlson with Noot. They’ll do anything necessary when Walker is ready.
I smell a trade deadline deal to make room for him from the glut of OF… who ever struggles (hopefully to address pitching) as long as their last name isn’t Nootbarr will be dealt if Walker lights AAA on fire, maybe even before the deadline… depends on the teams needs and walkers production
Everyone all up in arms about the lack of moves this offseason… it’s like people chill, there’s alot still to be learned? Imagine if they delt Burleson and he starts killing it? Everyone would be oh blah blah blah about trading him and forget all the clamoring they were doing about the “lack of offseason”
who would trade good pitching for a struggling outfielder(s)?
I think the Cardinals are hoping all the outfielders prove themselves before they trade them. Gorman could also be included for a good enough pitcher.
I’d check with NYY first. You never know when they might move another starter like Montgomery out to clear room for a bad trade with oakland.
Unless they’re desperate and it’s the only move they can make (like last year’s Bader for Montgomery trade), a contending team isn’t going to trade away quality MLB players at the deadline. If there’s an outfield glut by midseason, They’ll simply play whoever is best and keep the other guys as overqualified parrt-time players as necessary.
Contending teams aren’t the only teams in the league. Miami still has plenty of excess pitching. I seriously doubt they will be contending in that stacked division this year.
So what? The Cardinals are a contending team, so they still won’t be trading off the MLB roster at the trade deadline aside from unusual situations.
The Cardinals have 7 league ready outfielders with good upside value. All of them have shown they can hit. Three of them will be traded soon to bring back pitching. Spring training and early season will be the auditions both for both the Cardinals and the league to see their current values.
A before the season trade is possible but not likely. However, if not before the season, they’ll almost certainly just keep everyone for the whole season and reevaluate next offseason.
However, even if they do pull off a trade before the season starts, they’re not trading away 3 of them. They still need depth to cover the DH position and any injuries that may occur.
He’s a DH waiting to happen…if he makes the roster. He’s still pretty green yet.
This is so far from accurate. He has speed, a cannon for an arm, and all of the scouts have been praising his athleticism. He would be wasted not being used in the field, power does not always equal bad defense. Just look at O’Neill
Normally, yes, but he’s still currently the weakest defender between himself, O’Neill, Carlson, and Nootbaar.
I don’t think that matters even a little bit. He’s not going to be brought up to DH, you don’t stall out your next stars development because you have a guy or two on the current roster. The longterm fit of Walker is a lot more important than their corner outfield defense in 2023.
If it’s me, my starting outfield for most of 2023 would be Carlson, Walker, and Noot with the majority of starts with O’Neill as the main DH and fourth OF. If this is the outfield you expect to stick, they should be out there. You also want to try to keep O’Neill and his legs healthier than the past, so this checks both boxes.
No, for a contending team, doing what you can to win *this* year is more important than developing Walker’s defense a little faster.
Sure, O’Neill can spend some time at DH for his health, but he’s still one of the best defensive outfielders on the team who’s won 2 Gold Gloves. You don’t take that kind of defense off the field more than necessary when you’re trying to win now.
He is, but left field is also the least important defensive position on the field. Sacrificing gold glove defense for what would based on reports be at least above avg defense for a position that doesn’t really need it is worth the price for his development. Late in the year and playoffs, sure, stick him at DH to maximize defense. Longterm throughout the year, your goals should also be longer term than just now
I don’t think any one player is more important than striving for a team’s success
Or they could trade him for a potential game changer in the rotation or bullpen or a different position of need. Some team out there is going to have an opening at 3B and will probably pay a lot for a prospect of his value.
They wouldn’t even consider trading him for Juan Soto. So not sure who’s gonna come available that would make the Cardinals change their mind now
I didn’t say they WOULD, I said they SHOULD, well actually I said COULD, but why quibble. There are several pitchers out there that would probably be available in a deal. Shane Bieber would be a nice idea.
Shohei Ohtani comes to mind…
To trade Jordan Walker it would have to be Sandy Alcantara straight up player for player swap…. nobody else will pry Jordan Walker from st louis for his arbitration controlled years, that’s a guarantee
I have Jordan walker as the top prospect in baseball yet cardinals are stupid for not trading him for Alcantara. Sellers remorse I guess but if there was ever a team who needed an ace….
Are you saying the Cardinals are stupid for not trading him in a trade offer that was never presented by either side?
We know they talked trade and to think this conversation wasn’t presented is ridiculous. And yes, the cardinals are stupid for not making that trade
You actually know that? Because no, you don’t.
You really think the Marlins offered last years unanimous Cy Young winner for an unproven but highly promising prospect? If so, THAT’S pretty stupid.
And the Dodgers were stupid for not trading Diego Cartaya and Michael Busch for Shohei Ohtani. lol
Alcantara is the reigning Cy Young winner, Walker has no opening for his position and no proof that his hitting will translate to the ML level. No way would this be a 1 for 1 deal. He is a great prospect, but he is still just a prospect. He’d definitely be a strong lead guy for a package deal though.
@hiflew, when an under league average aged prospect dominates either AA or 3A. That’s the proof or blueprint that their stuff will translate to major league.
And who cares who else Miami wanted. No one would come close to walker or SA value so it’s not worth mentioning. Plus Miami has no clue how to trade anyway.
That’s not proof or a blueprint. Still just a guess until it happens.
I love fans that think they can just “want” a ridiculous trade into existence.
Why would I want that trade to happen ?? Or even care if it did. U should try to be less judgmental.
The brainwashed American says – if smtg is reported – then it must be true; if it’s not reported, yet the most likely conclusion of two sides carrying dialog, it’s impossible to know bc my phone didn’t tell me so.
@hiflew. I immediately regretted that comment when I sent it as I’ve seen you comment here before and I knew I wasting my time. Instead of accepting the undeniable truth that when a 19/20 year dominates the minors and gets promoted through AA to 3A and still dominates – that’s a blueprint that translates to major league success. You make some prideful senseless statement.
Just bc u haven’t figured it out yet – doesn’t mean fact isn’t a fact. Try to do a bit more research and stop responding out of that voice that gets triggered in your mind when a blow is dealt to your pride. Then what u say will make more sense
And what’s ridiculous is miamis strategy to compete in NL east. They should absolutely be trading SA (this is his peak value) for the most they could get for him since they are a small market team with no chance of competing in the east until several franchises windows have peaked. That creates even more value for walker to Miami as he’s a proven elite asset who hasn’t triggered service time yet. Plus miami is loaded with pitchers in their system and he diversifies their assets.
Ridiculous ? U and hiflew just got ridiculously dominated.
Did you really just say “try to do a bit more research” after claiming a trade was offered with ZERO proof? And of course, someone like that will always, always, call others “brainwashed”.
I would probably be a lot less judgmental if you were less ridiculous with your comments, not to mention that you (random fan with “insider” info) called the Cardinals “stupid” for not following through on your imaginary trade.
Thank you for making my day so far!
Whatever you need to tell yourself, buddy.
When Walker is ready he will be in RF with Nootbar serving the same role as Corey Dickerson did last year as a LH Backup OF/DH/PH. No one is blocking him but there is no reason to rush him either
Nootbar will have a much more considerable role than Dickerson did if he proves last season’s 2nd half was real. The team will use him in CF to spell Carlson to see if he has the defensive chops. Carlson has to hit better this season to continue starting. In a perfect situation, it’s Yepez that loses his role and Carlson, Nootbar, Walker and O’Neill cycle through the OF slots and DH
Nootbaar is the best outfielder on that team and it isn’t close. He’s not gonna be bumped out for anyone in that organization. Jeez some people on here really lack a brain huh
Well if O’Neill gets back to form he is better…but I love Noot
I think O’Neil getting back to form makes it more likely he’s packaged for a top starter. The Cardinals need a top starter. You aren’t getting one for scraps and scrubs. Some of the young players with upside value will be traded. One of O’Neil, Carlson, or Nootbar will have to be included. Burleson, Yepez, and Gorman are all DH’s in the making. They don’t have the value to bring backwhat the Cardinals need.
As far as Nootbar, his limited sample looked good. He was inconsistent in college and the minors. I’m not ready to declare him an All Star just yet. I’m wait and see with him. I’d really like to see everyone so down on Carlson to compare his minor league career to Walker’s, There’s very little difference up to 20 years old. There’s a reason the best talent evaluators in the business (the Dodgers) are interested in Carlson,. He had a wrist injury last year and still put up league average offense at 23 years old. This triggered ‘the best fans’ in baseball to declare him garbage and demand he be gone. It’s ridiculous to watch. Carlson may not pan out but the people who evaluate talent for a living are still high on him.
Too early to declare Nootbar the best OFer the team has. He’s performed well enough to start for only 3+ months. Before July, he couldn’t even lock down a spot in the bigs.
As good defensively as Walker may be, Nootbaar is still the better defender, so why would Walker play RF over him? If Nootbaar and Walker are both starting, it will be Walker playing DH most days.
I don’t really think anyone is, I think he just needs to adjustment first, until getting the call.
At 6’5 220 no one should be able to. Absolute unit.
O’Neill is just about as large.
Tyler O’Neill is 5’11” and 200lbs.
Nice analysis.
Pham got blocked. Let’s see how Walker does in AAA first.
Pham was Injury prone a lot as well as eye condition still being treated while in minors
Pham was never remotely the level of prospect Walker is. Walker is a consensus top 5 prospect in all of baseball
There have been a lot of those that didn’t work out though. He could be great, but he could be Miguel Sano or Victor Robles also.
Pham was no Jordan Walker .
Pham DID NOT GET BLOCKED. His ongoing problems with his special contact lenses for his degenerative eye disorder kept him in the minors.
The Cardinals held onto him forever in the minors because of his potential.
And then when he had ONE good year, he complained about not getting a contract…and then got traded and has had more issues staying on the field.
None of that is the fault of the Cardinals.
Some of these outfielders will be traded this year for pitching. Walker will not be one of them. No one is blocking Walker if he grabs the opportunity this spring.
None of them are getting traded midseason for pitching unless there’s a repeat of the unusual situation of the Bader/Montgomery trade. If there’s a trade to be made, it probably won’t be until next offseason.
The odds are that the Cardinals won’t even need to trade for starting pitching this year, anyway, with Mikolas as an ace, Flaherty as potentially an even better ace, and a ton of quality depth behind the starting 5. The bullpen might need some help by the trade deadline, though…
There is zero need to trade an OF if you have 4 good ones. All of them can get 600 ABs if healthy.
Trade could happen of course if the offer is right, but far more likely to trade Yepez or Burleson, both of whim are very good but none are at the level of TON, Carlson, Noot, or have the all-star potential of Walker
Sombody is getting traded for more starting pitching, maybe at the deadline! Cards don;t want to overpay for free agents so they will make a trade, when is anyones quess.
If Walker can make the team on of Spring Training — something the Cardinals are probably hoping for — no one is blocking him.
He’s not gonna ride pine on the Cardinals. He’s gonna play. Or he’ll start in Memphis and work his way up.
I think the talk of Walker is as much about Walker as it is on the Cardinals failure to get another quality MLB bat in the line up.
Bpkelly need people for auction league fantasy baseball. Interested?
The Cardinals have an extraordinary amount of depth. In addition to everyone mentioned, Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan will be battling for second base. (I’m assuming it’s Donovan’s job for now.)
To clear room for Walker, it would seem that sending some hitters to Miami for pitching could work. It’s too bad that Corbin Burnes is in the division, because he’d be a great target for them to go after with a package of hitters.
Gorman is battling to be the primary DH against righties. He’ll only be playing 2B on rare occasions. As a DH, though, you’re right in that he might also be blocking Walker.
Not true. Gorman could easily be the starting 2b if he hits. His upside is so much higher than Donovan. Donovan will never do damage. He’s a sold singles hitter that profiles best as a super utility guy
Gorman is quite a liability at second base. That’s tough to afford when you’ve built a pitching staff full of pitchers whose value is inducing ground balls. He put up -6 defensive runs saved at second in just under 550 innings last year. Gorman has no speed and no glove. He’s a DH.
I agree with CardsFan57. Even without power and only average defense at best, Donovan gets on base enough and plays decent enough defense that he’s still more valuable overall as the starting 2B. (There’s also the possibility that DeJong’s reworked swing actually works to where he reclaims the starting SS job and pushes Edman back to 2B).
Besides, Gorman has yet to prove that he can consistently hit Major League pitching. He could easily be optioned back to AAA early on for all we know.
Now I wouldn’t mind him backing up Arenado at 3B, since that was his original position, but short of a major injury to Arenado he won’t see much time there either.
Let’s see how he looks after working with Oquendo this winter. Oquendo has made something out of less before. He made serviceable 2b out of both Skip schumaker and Matt Carpenter. Neither was ever going to win a GG but they were serviceable. Gorman at least was a SS when he was in HS
I known it would have been selling low, but if I’m the Cardinals, I’d probably have tried to move O’Neil. My thought was trying to get the Jays to take him for Jansen earlier in the offseason. That way they could have spent the money on starting pitching instead of Contreras.
TON is a Boras client. Unlikely extension candidate, so I say trade whenever it makes sense,
They don’t need starting pitching badly enough to sell low on a guy who was one of the best OFs in MLB just two years ago.
Tyler O’Neill is never going to be consistent with his approach.
He’ll have up years & down years until the bat speed goes away. Hope you’re not the team holding the bag on a long term deal when that happens.
He had 1 great year and a lot of meh before and after. Not saying he doesn’t have upside, but they have bigger needs elsewhere and a logjam in the outfield.
Nobody’s blocking him.
He’s 20.
One of the three outfielders for the Cards will probably not work out and Walker will get a shot…OR the DH-By-Committee will probably not work out and Walker will get a chance.
He’s 20.
We’ll see him soon enough.
Yepez will be gone when Walker is ready if you are looking for a one for one roster spot swap. I’m old enough to remember when Bobby Bonilla was blocking a guy named Pujols.
Bonilla was a bench bat who was nearly retired, and he was only potentially blocking Pujols from making the Opening Day roster. The situations aren’t comparable.
Next they’ll be asking “Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?”
Cardinals are such a well put together organization. They spend money on the right players and they develop players so well. Wish the Mets spent money smart like the Cards. Cardinals would never spend 40 mil a year on 39-40 year old pitchers. Only a fool would do that
As a Cardinals fan, I wanted Scherzer to finish his career in StL. At those numbers, no thanks. Would be cool as he’s from the area, went to MU, etc but like you mentioned, 39-40 years old. Major injury risk. Hope he does well though. Except against StL
@LFGMets…the cardinals are a great organization but believe it or not they kinda suck in the FA market lol they still develop well and are sensible in trades (wish we had Alcantra) but FA is not there strongest attribute
Yeah but they dont need overpriced FAs. They get these great players in trades and then the players like it so much there that they want to stay. Just look at Arenado and Goldschmidt. 2 great players they got in trades and they would rather stay there for less money than other places. Cardinal fans never boo their players. Can’t say the same about our NY teams. I’ve personaly never boo’d a player because I dont think its right. The Cardinals culture is top notch
I AM!
While he’s not an outfielder, Nolan Gorman is also technically blocking Walker, as he’s likely to get significant playing time at DH this year.
If Walker destroys AAA pitching, the Cards will figure out what to do. This is an enviable problem to have.
The Cardinals seem to have a boatload of good but not great players ready for the majors. Either they didn’t make any attempts to deal or their perceived value isn’t that high around the league. After seeing Gorham in the majors last year I was not impressed, considering he was being touted as a stud. I saw him during his hot streak but his swing has a ton of holes in it. I figured they would package him, Burleson and another prospect and got one of the Marlins starting pitchers.
Trade O’Neill to the Giants they love guys coming off a tough year with expiring contracts I can’t wait to root for him for a couple months only to tragically lose him at the end of the season after he’s gotten right and proven his abilities.
The Cardinals have an enviable problem of too many talented outfielders. That’s a fantastic problem to have, besides injuries occur and having quality depth is how they stay competitive.
Beware of the Cardinal’s minor leaguer hype machine! Who has fallen into this trap before?
Just about all of their young OF. Are they really so desperate for good rookies that they need to over-hype and then disappoint the fans?
The cardinals have and continue to have produced several very talented outfielders from their minor league depth. They do occasionally have trouble figuring out which one is going to be solid though. Adolis Garcia and Randy Arozarena say hi.
You do realize people outside the Cardinals organization are ranking the prospects.
The only person blocking Jordan Walker is Jordan Walker. If he hits well enough the Cardinals will find a way to get him in the lineup. If nothing else they can DH him.
Yepez is a bench bat ahead Walker so yes it’s comparable, I’m not saying the situation is identical but comparable, not saying Walker is the next Pujols but Yepez is clearly the one that loses should Walker force his way in.
What about an O’Neill for Urquidy trade with the Astros?