Should Cardinals be worried about HR Derby robbing Jordan Walker's timing?

Jordan Walker pulled off an effort for the ages in the Home Run Derby, homering six straight times when he was down to his final swing.

Despite being booed before every swing by Phillies fans -- and jeered when he failed to homer -- Walker rallied to beat MLB home run leader Kyle Schwarber to become the first ever Cardinals player to win the award.  Let that sink in for a second -- Mark McGwire, who hit 70 homers in 1998, never won the Derby. And Albert Pujols, who pulled off a stirring run to 703 homers in 2022, also never won a Derby.

Amid the excitement of Walker winning, should Cardinals fans be worried about the infamous Home Run Derby jinx slowing down their superstar slugger?

In recent years, third baseman Todd Frazier and Joc Pederson have been the most noticeable victims of second-half declines after participating in the Home Run Derby. In 2015, Frazier went into the Derby with 25 homers and a 148 wRC+, but he dipped to just 10 homers and a 79 wRC+ the rest of the way.

Pederson saw a similar decline in 2015. He hit just .178 and six homers after the All-Star break and a shrinking .617 OPS.

Walker was in the midst of one of his hottest streaks of the season going into the All-Star Game. He homered four times in 13 July games before the break for the All-Star break. After homering once in March, he blasted eight homers in April, six in May and three times in June. He already has a career-best 22 homers and his 74 RBI lead all of baseball before the break.

Can Walker keep his career-best season going after becoming MLB's Home Run Derby king?