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The St. Louis Cardinals are trying their best to make a push. With a 48-44 record, they sit in second place in the NL Wildcard and five games back of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals seem poised to contend down the stretch and will likely be buyers (or at least stand pat) as the trade deadline approaches.
Paul Goldschmidt has had a rough start to 2024 but may be showing signs of life over the last few weeks. Fantasy managers and Cardinals fans at large are hoping that Nolan Arenado has something left in the tank but that remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the Cardinals have plenty of bright spots in their offensive lineup.
The St. Louis outfield is crowded with above-average players, perhaps a few who can even touch greatness. Jordan Walker is one such name who garnered significant preseason hype but currently finds himself in Memphis with the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate. When can fantasy managers expect Walker back in the major league lineup?
Jordan Walker Prospect Update for Fantasy Baseball
Walker's current roadblocks include both his performance and the general log jam that the Cardinals have in their lineup, particularly across the OF positions. Walker is largely limited to the RF position, which has been a mixture of Alec Burleson and occasionally spelled by Dylan Carlson. This was already enough to limit Walker's opportunity for the RF job, now even more crowded with the return of Lars Nootbaar who has been seeing a fair number of starts in RF.
DH is a fair place to look when trying to find playing time, but unfortunately, that has its crowded issues on the St. Louis roster. Consistently, Willson Contreras gets his "rest" days by remaining in the lineup at DH when not playing in the field behind the dish. Goldschmidt sees the occasional day at DH and Burleson frequents the position when Nootbaar is manning the RF corner. Matt Carpenter has found plenty of AB there as well.
Updated lineup for tonight's game in Miami: https://t.co/drE5MFS5NO pic.twitter.com/vjF43qSlve
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 18, 2024
Walker's .251 average, 4 HR in 227 AB, and 43 K in the minor leagues this year are doing little to force his way into the MLB lineup. A hot streak could be enough to catapult him into a promotion, but even then the path to everyday playing time (and thereby fantasy value) would likely require an injury or demotion for one of the aforementioned outfielder.
Jordan Walker's Outlook for Fantasy Baseball
Walker flashed exciting skills in his 117 games played in 2023, highlighted by 16 home runs and a nicely even split in production with 51 runs and 51 RBI. He added 7 stolen bases and seems likely to continue scoring in the speed column with 4 SB in Memphis so far this year. He has the potential to contribute across all fantasy baseball scoring categories, a coveted profile, particularly in categories leagues.
HOMETOWN @HueysRestaurant HOMER JORDAN WALKER pic.twitter.com/pgCEUfeFmg
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) June 29, 2024
There is no doubt about his pedigree and potential upside. Walker was a first-round pick out of Decatur High School in 2020 and just turned 22 years old in May of this year. His numbers last year show upside but may not even be his full ceiling at such a young age.
Managers will have to wait for him to "turn it on" in the minor leagues, and even then it seems possible that Walker would not get the call until rosters expand in September. Perhaps a trade package could move Walker to a team with more MLB openings, but at present, he remains a Cardinal. Those with multiple NA spots may consider holding, but even a single NA spot may be better used elsewhere for someone more likely to be called up in the next month or so.
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