STLtoday.com

Obviously, that winning hit after going 0 for 25 had to be quite the euphormic moment for not only Walker but the team as well. His teammates know what a struggle he has been going thru .
The question is .. Will that hit have any bearing on Walker's playing time in the final few weeks and more importantly his future for 2026 ?
One successful plate appearance does not erase the many negative at bats . Wonder what Bloom thinks about Walker and if he has a future with this ballclub. He will have the final say come this offseason.
Your thoughts please ! Thank you Ramfandan

ramfandan wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 10:22 am Obviously, that winning hit after going 0 for 25 had to be quite the euphormic moment for not only Walker but the team as well. His teammates know what a struggle he has been going thru .
The question is .. Will that hit have any bearing on Walker's playing time in the final few weeks and more importantly his future for 2026 ?
One successful plate appearance does not erase the many negative at bats . Wonder what Bloom thinks about Walker and if he has a future with this ballclub. He will have the final say come this offseason.
Your thoughts please ! Thank you Ramfandan

Walker and Gorman have both been roller coasters.
Up and down with more downs.
Someone mentioned Walker has an option year which is good.
He is under team control and doesn’t make squat so they can easily carry him.
He also isn’t really blocking anyone(maybe Herrera for OF?)as a RH bat which is in his favor.
He is frustrating to watch(Gorman also of course) and I always wonder exactly WHAT he is working on with the coaches??

Cusecards wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 10:32 am

ramfandan wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 10:22 am Obviously, that winning hit after going 0 for 25 had to be quite the euphormic moment for not only Walker but the team as well. His teammates know what a struggle he has been going thru .
The question is .. Will that hit have any bearing on Walker's playing time in the final few weeks and more importantly his future for 2026 ?
One successful plate appearance does not erase the many negative at bats . Wonder what Bloom thinks about Walker and if he has a future with this ballclub. He will have the final say come this offseason.
Your thoughts please ! Thank you Ramfandan

Walker and Gorman have both been roller coasters.
Up and down with more downs.
Someone mentioned Walker has an option year which is good.
He is under team control and doesn’t make squat so they can easily carry him.
He also isn’t really blocking anyone(maybe Herrera for OF?)as a RH bat which is in his favor.
He is frustrating to watch(Gorman also of course) and I always wonder exactly WHAT he is working on with the coaches??

Shouldn't he be arb eligible after 3 seasons? Or did he spend so much time in Memphis in 23/24 that that slowed his service time accrual?

Perfect time today to just sit on the bench and feel good about yesterday....Oli logic...

I never saw such a happier player. Did his helmet ever come back down? The whole team is pulling for him. Will he turn it around as Willie Mays did so many years ago?

Sorry, but not trying to be a negative Nancy on this one….

But the pitcher made a mistake and left a hanging slider on the outer half. If he gets that slider 6/8 inches further outside then JWalk is flailing like normal.

I didn’t see any new approach to pitch recognition here. I saw a batter hitting a mistake.

J. Walk should start every game so C. Bloom can get a good look at him.

If he flounders these final weeks of the season, then I'd keep him at AAA all of 2026.

I'd also think Bloom will listen if any team comes calling for him this winter.

Best thing that could happen to Walker would be for the current control freaks to be replaced and let him return to his original game. He may be too messed up to ever get it right again.

no. None at all for him or the team.

Basil Shabazz wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 11:06 am Sorry, but not trying to be a negative Nancy on this one….

But the pitcher made a mistake and left a hanging slider on the outer half. If he gets that slider 6/8 inches further outside then JWalk is flailing like normal.

I didn’t see any new approach to pitch recognition here. I saw a batter hitting a mistake.

A big part of hitting is finding pitcher mistakes and making them pay.

Trying to discount a small positive based on a potential pitch missed location seems odd.

It probably leads to nothing but he needed a positive moment while deep in struggle.

I think Walker needs to play pretty much every day rest of this year. Good or bad, I do believe he gets another year to figure it out, whether in St. Louis or Memphis remains to be seen. The guy is 23, he came up in 2023 as a 21 year old. He did fine in 2023 but honestly he might have been better off spending all of 2023 in AAA. It would have given him more time to work on his defense and gain more confidence in his all round game.

Gorman, I really want to see him put it together as a Cardinal. That power is something the team needs but if you are going to hit .220, 40 of your hits best go over the fence. I think he's made some progress this year but maybe not enough. I'd play him at 3rd the rest of this year and then decide.

Basil Shabazz wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 11:06 am Sorry, but not trying to be a negative Nancy on this one….

But the pitcher made a mistake and left a hanging slider on the outer half. If he gets that slider 6/8 inches further outside then JWalk is flailing like normal.

I didn’t see any new approach to pitch recognition here. I saw a batter hitting a mistake.

Don't think I would call it a mistake. Yes, Walker is known to swing at outside pitches but in this case , the bases were loaded . The pitcher cannot afford to give Walker a free pass to 1st base walking in a run. He had to do his best to throw a strike on the first pitch and get ahead of him in the count. I would guess Brant Brown may have told him . He is going to challenge you with strikes early . He can't afford to walk you . Be ready ! just a hunch.

Basil Shabazz wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 11:06 am Sorry, but not trying to be a negative Nancy on this one….

But the pitcher made a mistake and left a hanging slider on the outer half. If he gets that slider 6/8 inches further outside then JWalk is flailing like normal.

I didn’t see any new approach to pitch recognition here. I saw a batter hitting a mistake.

I'd say 90% of hits, doubles, home runs, etc, ARE mistake pitches. Well, maybe not 90%, but it's definitely up there. That's why the best hitters are able to foul off pitches and work the count until they get another mistake.

Walker's been awful at not taking advantage of mistakes. Whether that pitch was one or not, I was just glad to see him attack the first pitch. I can't remember the last time he did that. Most of his at bats are the same slow trainwreck, get behind in the count, call a timeout at strike 2, blah blah blah.

They say it only takes 1 hit to turn things around sometimes. Who knows, but glad to see him back in theere today and find out.

blackinkbiz wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 12:02 pm

Basil Shabazz wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 11:06 am Sorry, but not trying to be a negative Nancy on this one….

But the pitcher made a mistake and left a hanging slider on the outer half. If he gets that slider 6/8 inches further outside then JWalk is flailing like normal.

I didn’t see any new approach to pitch recognition here. I saw a batter hitting a mistake.

I'd say 90% of hits, doubles, home runs, etc, ARE mistake pitches. Well, maybe not 90%, but it's definitely up there. That's why the best hitters are able to foul off pitches and work the count until they get another mistake.

Walker's been awful at not taking advantage of mistakes. Whether that pitch was one or not, I was just glad to see him attack the first pitch. I can't remember the last time he did that. Most of his at bats are the same slow trainwreck, get behind in the count, call a timeout at strike 2, blah blah blah.

They say it only takes 1 hit to turn things around sometimes. Who knows, but glad to see him back in theere today and find out.

agreed. the only criticism I would have, and it'd def be nit picking, is he pulled an outside pitch. and those usually end up in roll-over, weak grounders

so it would seem this was less 'pitch recognition' and more 'see the ball, hit the ball'.. which isn't turrible

I'm pulling for the young man

Carp4Cy wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 10:59 am

Cusecards wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 10:32 am

ramfandan wrote: ↑07 Sep 2025 10:22 am Obviously, that winning hit after going 0 for 25 had to be quite the euphormic moment for not only Walker but the team as well. His teammates know what a struggle he has been going thru .
The question is .. Will that hit have any bearing on Walker's playing time in the final few weeks and more importantly his future for 2026 ?
One successful plate appearance does not erase the many negative at bats . Wonder what Bloom thinks about Walker and if he has a future with this ballclub. He will have the final say come this offseason.
Your thoughts please ! Thank you Ramfandan

Walker and Gorman have both been roller coasters.
Up and down with more downs.
Someone mentioned Walker has an option year which is good.
He is under team control and doesn’t make squat so they can easily carry him.
He also isn’t really blocking anyone(maybe Herrera for OF?)as a RH bat which is in his favor.
He is frustrating to watch(Gorman also of course) and I always wonder exactly WHAT he is working on with the coaches??

Shouldn't he be arb eligible after 3 seasons? Or did he spend so much time in Memphis in 23/24 that that slowed his service time accrual?

Great question so I looked it up.
The baseball reference site shows that he has 3 years of Arb Eligibility beginning in 2027(27/28/29).
FA in 2030.
I assume that site is correct?

He's like Dexter Fowler minus the obnoxiousness and that purty smile.