Following an offseason working with hitting coach Brant Bown and assistant hitting coach Casey Chenoweth, Jordan Walker is giving the Cardinals hopes that he is on a path to fulfill his massive potential as a slugger.
ST. LOUIS – For Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker, a clearer mind is leading to clearly improved results early in the 2026 season.
Having endured a host of swing changes over his first three MLB seasons, Walker has tended to get bogged down in mechanics in the past and that has invariably led to prolonged struggles against high-level MLB pitching. The change the 6-foot-6, 250-pound outfielder has made thus far has been thinking less, working to be more athletic in the batter’s box and approaching his at bats with a clear head so that he is more instinctual than robotic.
“Today, my head was just a little bit more clear and I think that’s the best way to hit – by clearing your head a little bit,” said Walker, who was 3 for 4 with a homer and a double in the Cardinals’ 11-7 loss to the Rays on Sunday at Busch Stadium. “I’m always trying to find things to keep my head from thinking about mechanics.”
Walker’s work with hitting coach Brant Brown and assistant coach Casey Chenoweth is already showing major benefits for a Cards club that begins a three-game series against the New York Mets on Monday at Busch Stadium. Through three games, Walker has already compiled four hits and three-extra-base knocks.
The most encouraging moment of the opening weekend – at least in the eyes of manager Oliver Marmol – was how Walker stayed on an outside changeup from left-hander Steven Matz well enough to drive it over the wall in left-center for a three-run homer. Plate coverage – particularly on the outer half – has been an ongoing issue with Walker, who in the past showed a tendency to fly open with his front shoulder while trying to pull pitches. Against Matz’s changeup, Walker kept his body square and that allowed him to flex his enormous power on the smash that left the bat at 105.8 mph and traveled 415 feet.
“That’s a big deal – just him not pulling off the ball,” Marmol raved. “When you looked at Jordan last year there were holes there (in his swing). There was a certain way you could pitch him and when they would stick to it, he had a tough time solving it. He chased one today and you could just tell he was like, ‘OK, get back in the zone here!’ Just to see him do that, it’s a huge positive for him. And what we saw from him results wise it was awesome.”
Awesome would be a good way to describe the way the ball left Walker’s bat in Sunday’s third inning. When Matz tried tying Walker up on the inside with a 93.8 mph sinker, he used his quick hands and power to lace a scorching double into the left field corner. In a sign of just how dialed in Walker was, the baseball left his bat at 114.9 mph – ranking as the hardest-hit ball of the game.
“It’s nice to know that all the work that I’ve been putting in with Casey and Brownie showed today and it’s something that I am trying to take with me through the rest of the season,” Walker said.
Perspective matters with Walker's fast start
How encouraging is Walker’s start to the season? Perspective matters in his case.
It is the first time Walker has had at least three extra-base hits in a series since Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2023, when he had three doubles against the rival Reds. Last season, when Walker struggled mightily early in the season and was demoted to Triple-A twice, he didn’t record his third hit until his 26th game. Sunday’s performance was the seventh of his career with two extra-base hits – and his first since the 2024 season. He also added an eight-inning single ahead of Pedro Pagés’ two-run homer.
Walker says keeping a clear head in the box and building a foundation of hitting tools should help him recover quickly when struggles invariably hit this time around.
“For a (performance) like (Sunday), it gives me something to build onto and if things get a little off, I can come back to a day like today,” said Walker, who has more walks (two) than strikeouts (one) thus far and three RBI in three games. “When am I starting (his swing)? How am I approaching the ball? So, this series is like a nice little blueprint for me going forward.”
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