What to do with Walker?

[TheFantasyStud]

He’s 22!
The guys is going to be a monster.
He comps in many ways to Aaron Judge.
I am baffled at the impatience here in this chat group.
He’s already done some spectacular things in his rookie year with his hit streak and strong stats.
He was mishandled last year and it just needs to be written off as a sophomore slump and part of the growing pains / learning curve.
There is a reason he was ranked in the top three prospects in all of baseball just a couple years ago. He’s going to be just fine.
Double down on Jordan and bat him higher up in the lineup is what should be done.

[RamFan08NY]

What to do with Walker? You start him, and you play him. You let him work it out. He's still pretty much equivalent to a rookie. Stop jerking the kid around and give him the OPPORTUNITY to find a rythem and a groove.

[riff raff]

Walker seems like a good kid who wants to succeed. Says all the right things. But let's face it...he's a dumpster fire at the plate. Didn't hit AAA or MLB pitching at all last season and has not hit a lick this spring.

And the Cards are going to just hand him a job?
They either know something we don't or they're incredibly stupid.

So I put it to you fine folks. How would you handle Walker? What would your plan be for the youngster who is still only 22 years old?

I know what I'd do...I send him to Memphis. Tell him he is the everyday right fielder. Tell him to have fun and not worry about the stats. Tell him his priority is to simply hit hard line drives. After a couple of months I evaluate and go from there. There is no way that right now he needs to be playing in St Louis. Does him or the team no favors.

Same as Gorman, MEMPHIS bound for both.

Thy should be. There are better options right now.

What are the better options? And then, why are we trying to compete in 2025? It's a reset...and, imo, there's not any better options for the OF in the minors. You either let him try and figure it out at the Major League level or you trade him. Sending him to Memphis is the same as Keeping him St. Louis this season. Do you want him facing Major League pitching or AAA pitching with Zero modern developmental tools at Memphis? He'll learn more with the big league club...and if he struggles, who cares? You all know we aren't trying to compete...then why are we STILL trying make moves/lineups/etc to squeeze out a win that just isn't there? So I guess if you want him in Memphis, that means you want to hide him....that doesn't help him. Again, if we had the infrastructure to deal with his ails, then I'd be for it. Let's stay the course with the "let the kids play to see what we have". Letting Barrero or Fermin get major league AB's over Walker in 2025 isn't the answer...short term nor long term.

Koperniak is a better option, and he's earned it. But by all means let's gift Walker a job. Maybe he'll fail again and then we send him down. It worked out so well the first time. Then he can go get some of that minor league Bloom pixie dust.

[Futuregm2]

What to do with Walker? You start him, and you play him. You let him work it out. He's still pretty much equivalent to a rookie. Stop jerking the kid around and give him the OPPORTUNITY to find a rythem and a groove.

+1

[imadangman]

He’s 22!
The guys is going to be a monster.
He comps in many ways to Aaron Judge.
I am baffled at the impatience here in this chat group.
He’s already done some spectacular things in his rookie year with his hit streak and strong stats.
He was mishandled last year and it just needs to be written off as a sophomore slump and part of the growing pains / learning curve.
There is a reason he was ranked in the top three prospects in all of baseball just a couple years ago. He’s going to be just fine.
Double down on Jordan and bat him higher up in the lineup is what should be done.

I agree. His rookie season he hit .276 with a 115 ops+, 16 hr and 51 rbi. Nobody would call that a failure at face value. And that was ONE year ago.

[Goldfan]

He’s 22!
The guys is going to be a monster.
He comps in many ways to Aaron Judge.
I am baffled at the impatience here in this chat group.
He’s already done some spectacular things in his rookie year with his hit streak and strong stats.
He was mishandled last year and it just needs to be written off as a sophomore slump and part of the growing pains / learning curve.
There is a reason he was ranked in the top three prospects in all of baseball just a couple years ago. He’s going to be just fine.
Double down on Jordan and bat him higher up in the lineup is what should be done.

I agree. His rookie season he hit .276 with a 115 ops+, 16 hr and 51 rbi. Nobody would call that a failure at face value. And that was ONE year ago.

And now they have a book on him.

[ecleme22]

What to do with Walker? You start him, and you play him. You let him work it out. He's still pretty much equivalent to a rookie. Stop jerking the kid around and give him the OPPORTUNITY to find a rythem and a groove.

Agree.

He has 22 PA in ST.

Who knows he’s not working on something?

[riff raff]

He’s 22!
The guys is going to be a monster.
He comps in many ways to Aaron Judge.
I am baffled at the impatience here in this chat group.
He’s already done some spectacular things in his rookie year with his hit streak and strong stats.
He was mishandled last year and it just needs to be written off as a sophomore slump and part of the growing pains / learning curve.
There is a reason he was ranked in the top three prospects in all of baseball just a couple years ago. He’s going to be just fine.
Double down on Jordan and bat him higher up in the lineup is what should be done.

I agree. His rookie season he hit .276 with a 115 ops+, 16 hr and 51 rbi. Nobody would call that a failure at face value. And that was ONE year ago.

And now they have a book on him.

It does appear that way.

[Futuregm2]

He’s 22!
The guys is going to be a monster.
He comps in many ways to Aaron Judge.
I am baffled at the impatience here in this chat group.
He’s already done some spectacular things in his rookie year with his hit streak and strong stats.
He was mishandled last year and it just needs to be written off as a sophomore slump and part of the growing pains / learning curve.
There is a reason he was ranked in the top three prospects in all of baseball just a couple years ago. He’s going to be just fine.
Double down on Jordan and bat him higher up in the lineup is what should be done.

I agree. His rookie season he hit .276 with a 115 ops+, 16 hr and 51 rbi. Nobody would call that a failure at face value. And that was ONE year ago.

And now they have a book on him.

Most recently he put up a .780 OPS in September. Let’s see how he does this year.

[TraveledLessRoad]

You just play him and play him...even if he falls on his face. No one is expecting anything out of this team this season. Ride the young guys you believe have high ceilings. At the end of the year you'll at least know what you have.

[HorseTrader]

At the moment, he's out hitting Judge. Judge has an OPS of .350 Walker is at .490 Now I know thats a sss in spring training. So no I don't expect Walker to outhit Judge this year (wouldn't that be something ) but I'm not ready to give on him. Take a look at both their stats in AA. Judge played half year of AA at age 23, his OPS was .516. Walker played a full year in AA at age 20, his OPS was .510.

I think they need to put Walker in RF opening day in the MLB. Basically play him every day until June 1, and then decide. Same with Gorman.

[hilton head is 4 idiots]

Walker seems like a good kid who wants to succeed. Says all the right things. But let's face it...he's a dumpster fire at the plate. Didn't hit AAA or MLB pitching at all last season and has not hit a lick this spring.

And the Cards are going to just hand him a job?
They either know something we don't or they're incredibly stupid.

So I put it to you fine folks. How would you handle Walker? What would your plan be for the youngster who is still only 22 years old?

I know what I'd do...I send him to Memphis. Tell him he is the everyday right fielder. Tell him to have fun and not worry about the stats. Tell him his priority is to simply hit hard line drives. After a couple of months I evaluate and go from there. There is no way that right now he needs to be playing in St Louis. Does him or the team no favors.

Same as Gorman, MEMPHIS bound for both.

Thy should be. There are better options right now.

Yes there are.

[Punkk6]

Walker seems like a good kid who wants to succeed. Says all the right things. But let's face it...he's a dumpster fire at the plate. Didn't hit AAA or MLB pitching at all last season and has not hit a lick this spring.

And the Cards are going to just hand him a job?
They either know something we don't or they're incredibly stupid.

So I put it to you fine folks. How would you handle Walker? What would your plan be for the youngster who is still only 22 years old?

I know what I'd do...I send him to Memphis. Tell him he is the everyday right fielder. Tell him to have fun and not worry about the stats. Tell him his priority is to simply hit hard line drives. After a couple of months I evaluate and go from there. There is no way that right now he needs to be playing in St Louis. Does him or the team no favors.

They already told us what was going to happen, young guys will play. I expect around 500 at bats to see if he can cut it OR cut him loose.

[Monsieur De Treville]

Walker seems like a good kid who wants to succeed. Says all the right things. But let's face it...he's a dumpster fire at the plate. Didn't hit AAA or MLB pitching at all last season and has not hit a lick this spring.

And the Cards are going to just hand him a job?
They either know something we don't or they're incredibly stupid.

So I put it to you fine folks. How would you handle Walker? What would your plan be for the youngster who is still only 22 years old?

I know what I'd do...I send him to Memphis. Tell him he is the everyday right fielder. Tell him to have fun and not worry about the stats. Tell him his priority is to simply hit hard line drives. After a couple of months I evaluate and go from there. There is no way that right now he needs to be playing in St Louis. Does him or the team no favors.

Same as Gorman, MEMPHIS bound for both.

Thy should be. There are better options right now.

What are the better options? And then, why are we trying to compete in 2025? It's a reset...and, imo, there's not any better options for the OF in the minors. You either let him try and figure it out at the Major League level or you trade him. Sending him to Memphis is the same as Keeping him St. Louis this season. Do you want him facing Major League pitching or AAA pitching with Zero modern developmental tools at Memphis? He'll learn more with the big league club...and if he struggles, who cares? You all know we aren't trying to compete...then why are we STILL trying make moves/lineups/etc to squeeze out a win that just isn't there? So I guess if you want him in Memphis, that means you want to hide him....that doesn't help him. Again, if we had the infrastructure to deal with his ails, then I'd be for it. Let's stay the course with the "let the kids play to see what we have". Letting Barrero or Fermin get major league AB's over Walker in 2025 isn't the answer...short term nor long term.

What you say is fair...and it used to be my position as well.

But if Walker fails to hit Mendoza this season, I'd imagine it would simply destroy his confidence. I'd send him somewhere to have some success and try to build upon that success.

But I don't know...it's simply perplexing how a player once considered a jewel can fall this hard & fast. I thought he was a can't miss prospect? And right now...he's lost.

[ForumPolice]

Well if you would come to grips with reality that the Cardinals are a non-contender this season then you would not care if they gave 162 games to Gorman and Walker. This year is for nothing else

[Monsieur De Treville]

Well if you would come to grips with reality that the Cardinals are a non-contender this season then you would not care if they gave 162 games to Gorman and Walker. This year is for nothing else

It really has nothing to do with winning or losing.
I believe in Walker's potential.
Is letting him play everyday for the Cards and watch him hit .150 the best for his development? The issue is what's best for Walker? I'm not sure giving him a job he's not ready for is the best way to move forward. Maybe I'm wrong...wouldn't be the first time.