Following three years’ of largely unreliable production, it is natural to assume that regression could be coming for St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker. The calendar has flipped to June, however, and he is still the team’s most valuable player. Even if the 2020 first-round draft pick does hit a wall, he has given the organization and fan base good reason to believe that this is a genuine breakthrough. Walker is not interested in dwelling on his own accomplishments, however.
He put the spotlight on the ballclub, which is coming off a series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds. The 24-year-old had a big hand in this prosperous weekend in Busch Stadium, going 7-for-14 with one home run, three doubles, three RBIs, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Again, though, he is more focused on what this showing says about the 35-28 Cardinals as a group.
“It was sick,” Walker said after Sunday’s 5-3 win versus the Reds, per KMOV’s Tamar Sher. “I feel like our division is unreal, if not the best division out there, so to sweep a team in our division only just gives us that much more confidence for playing the rest of MLB.”
"It was sick."
Jordan Walker's reaction to the Cardinals' sweep of the Reds.
The young slugger is batting .303 with 16 HR, 47 RBI, and a .922 OPS this season.#stlcards | @KMOV | @MatrixMidwest pic.twitter.com/3fieM7xY6n
— Tamar Sher (@tamar_sher) June 8, 2026
Last-place Cincinnati (31-33) is seriously lacking in credibility after losing eight of its last 10, but like Jordan Walker said, overpowering any rival is going to have a positive effect on clubhouse morale. Mirroring the skepticism that fans may have had about the 6-foot-6 right-handed batter, many people have been waiting for St. Louis to slip up. Despite running into a few speed bumps throughout the campaign, the surprise Cardinals currently occupy the top National League Wild Card slot.
They do not play a team with a superior record again until June 30, so they will have a chance to cut into the Milwaukee Brewers’ five-game lead in the NL Central. Walker will continue to be a vital part of their campaign, as has been the case for the first 63 games. He heads into Monday’s road matchup versus the New York Mets (29-36) with a .303 batting average, .362 on-base percentage, .560 slugging percentage, .922 OPS, 16 homers, 47 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
Following three years’ of largely unreliable production, it is natural to assume that regression could be coming for St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker. The calendar has flipped to June, however, and he is still the team’s most valuable player.
