Cardinals star Jordan Walker dropped to eighth among National League outfielders in voting for the MLB All-Star Game, meaning he will likely have to be selected as a reserve to play in the Midsummer Classic.
Jordan Walker’s struggles-to-success story would seemingly be one that would resonate throughout MLB, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem to be catching on with voters for the MLB All-Star Game.
Walker, the National League’s leader in RBI and an offensive leader all season for the Cardinals, fell from sixth to eight in the voting for NL outfielders – significant because he will not automatically advance to Stage 2 of the fan voting process and he will now likely have to rely on being chosen as a reserve to play in the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia on July 14.
Walker, 24, has 860,760 votes in the latest release of the voting by MLB. Mets superstar Juan Soto (947,033) and blossoming Washington star James Wood (915,287) pulled ahead of Walker despite the 6-foot-6 outfielder posting career-best numbers in almost every major offensive category and morphing into a stellar right fielder in 2026 to spur the Cards into playoff contention.
No other Cardinals player is even close in the All-Star voting to advance to Phase 2 of the voting. Fans can vote exclusively online via mobile devices at MLB.com/vote, all 30 Club web sites, the MLB App and the MLB Ballpark App. Phase 1 voting will be accessible until 11 a.m. CT on Thursday. During the initial voting period, fans can submit up to five ballots each day on MLB platforms.
Burleson, Wetherholt also lagging in NL voting
Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson is also having an All-Star Game-worthy season, but he ranks fifth among NL first basemen in voting with his 365,251 nods. Burleson, a Silver Slugger award winner in 2025, leads the Cardinals in doubles (19) and he’s slashed .287/.350/.491/.841 with 13 homers and 55 RBI.
St. Louis rookie standout JJ Wetherholt, who smashed two homers in Sunday’s win in Kansas City, is eighth among NL second basemen. Wetherholt has hit 12 homers and driven in 34 runs from the leadoff spot, while slashing .268/.370/.428/.798.
Walker, who broke into the big leagues at 20 years old in 2023, struggled mightily over his first three seasons. This season, however, the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder has been a dominant threat at the plate. He comes into Monday night’s game against Arizona ranked fourth in the NL in hits (85), tied for fifth in homers (18), eighth in slugging (.531), 12th in OPS (.876) and batting average (.291) and tied for 14th in doubles (16).
Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages, Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh and Braves star right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. are the top three vote-getters among NL outfielders. Braves center fielder Michael Harris II, Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernandez and Soto round out the top six vote-getters among the outfielders. Acuna Jr. and Hernandez are on the Injured List and would unlikely be able to play in the game was in the coming week.
Walker, who has played in 74 of his team’s 75 games this season, went 4 for 11 with two RBI in the weekend series against the Royals. He didn’t have a hit in Sunday’s 12-10 win over the Royals, but he did make the defensive play of the game in the seventh inning. Despite turning the wrong way initially, Walker retreated to the wall and went up high to rob a potential homer from Kansas City star Salvador Perez.
Earlier in the week, Walker also recorded his NL-best sixth outfield assist of the season by throwing out a runner at second base on a double try.
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