What are chances Walker starts 2026 in Memphis ? ' Low, quite low...

[ramfandan]

... very low .' according to head beat writer Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch. Goold added , ' At this point, it would be more likely he'd begin the year with another organization if this is how the Cardinals see his 2026 beginning.'

This answer was from the direct question posed to Goold in yesterday's Post chat .

[blackinkbiz]

... very low .' according to head beat writer Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch. Goold added , ' At this point, it would be more likely he'd begin the year with another organization if this is how the Cardinals see his 2026 beginning.'

This answer was from the direct question posed to Goold in yesterday's Post chat .

Gould's opinion doesn't mean sh*t but if that's in fact the Cardinals' thinking, I hope they just trade the kid, although if that happens, it's pretty much guaranteed someone in another org will figure something out and he'll be a 5 WAR+ player by 2027.

I can't take any more of this. Walker is basically the worst player in MLB. How does another year of the same result benefit anyone?

[CorneliusWolfe]

... very low .' according to head beat writer Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch. Goold added , ' At this point, it would be more likely he'd begin the year with another organization if this is how the Cardinals see his 2026 beginning.'

This answer was from the direct question posed to Goold in yesterday's Post chat .

Not sure why. Trade value couldn’t be any lower. The only trade that would make sense would be for another 4-5 tool young player who has also struggled…a change of scenery move for similarly talented yet underperforming players.

He should also have to earn his active roster spot. A big league team should not carry a .500-.600 OPS but it would be stupid to give him away without a chance to finish his development in the minors.

I also wonder how he would’ve done if the coaches had not obsessed over his launch angles. He had a good rookie season and got a lot of Matt Holiday-style hits. 110+ mph ground balls rockets are hard to handle and get through quickly. They could’ve built off that instead of redesigning everything.

[Charles King]

If he goes to another team and excels. What does this say about our coaches. Can we not do anything right. Are we trying to get him to do the wrong things

[12xu]

Well he needs to start out at Memphis. Needs someone to get him to use his natural talent, and quit overthinking his approach at the plate. He is a very intelligent young man, but he seems to be very tight and apprehensive at the plate. He often takes perfectly good pitches to hit, and swings at the ones impossible to hit with authority.

This off season he should go to one of those batting instructional academies like Driveline and get some help. If he cannot then use expert coaching to get results in AAA, then the Cardinals should try to trade him.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying now for months J. Walker needs to spend all of 2026 in AAA, sans a possible September call-up if he's had a good season at Memphis.

I say the "chances" are 100%.

C. Bloom has no skin in the game when it comes to Walker who's failures are on Mo's watch, he can easily justify sending him to Memphis or just washing his hands of him and dealing him.

[timoevans]

If he goes to another team and excels. What does this say about our coaches. Can we not do anything right. Are we trying to get him to do the wrong things

This is what they are afraid of.

[3dender]

I can only hope Goold isn't privy to the org's thinking as much as he believes he is on this one.

The only way it's not completely asinine to start him in the bigs next year is if he 1) plays winter ball and takes serious strides AND ALSO 2) shows serious progress in spring training.

As far as trading him, it wouldn't be quite as asinine as starting him in the bigs but it would still be pretty foolish to give up on him at his lowest point, before you've given him one last chance to fix things out of the spotlight.

[blackinkbiz]

Well he needs to start out at Memphis. Needs someone to get him to use his natural talent, and quit overthinking his approach at the plate. He is a very intelligent young man, but he seems to be very tight and apprehensive at the plate. He often takes perfectly good pitches to hit, and swings at the ones impossible to hit with authority.

This off season he should go to one of those batting instructional academies like Driveline and get some help. If he cannot then use expert coaching to get results in AAA, then the Cardinals should try to trade him.

Tight is an understatement. He's like a statue once he enters the box. No practice swings, no trying to get in sync, he just stands there until he swings or, of course, the infamous 2-strike timeout before he finishes the big whiffa.

Agreed that he appears to be overthinking. It is a shame they didn't just let his natural talent try to evolve as his rookie season was great, especially for a 20-year-old.

He's a textbook example of how to mismanage a young prospect.

[JuanAgosto]

One of two things probably factor into DGs response.

1. He is getting info from Mo, who is an idiot.
2. Bloom wants to trade him but isn't publicly saying Walker will start 2026 in Memphis.

[Looksgoodonyouthough]

I've been saying now for months J. Walker needs to spend all of 2026 in AAA, sans a possible September call-up if he's had a good season at Memphis.

I say the "chances" are 100%.

C. Bloom has no skin in the game when it comes to Walker who's failures are on Mo's watch, he can easily justify sending him to Memphis or just washing his hands of him and dealing him.

Rock, I agree that Bloom has no ties to Walker but he does have ties to his revamped minors and development staff. So for me Bloom may want to see how Walker does with his coaching system before cutting ties. It’s entirely possible either way.

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying now for months J. Walker needs to spend all of 2026 in AAA, sans a possible September call-up if he's had a good season at Memphis.

I say the "chances" are 100%.

C. Bloom has no skin in the game when it comes to Walker who's failures are on Mo's watch, he can easily justify sending him to Memphis or just washing his hands of him and dealing him.

Rock, I agree that Bloom has no ties to Walker but he does have ties to his revamped minors and development staff. So for me Bloom may want to see how Walker does with his coaching system before cutting ties. It’s entirely possible either way.

And that's our only hope looksgood...., that the Bloom player development system can somehow revive and save this kids career.

I also agree, I prefer starting Walker at Memphis and seeing if Bloom's guys he's brought in can fix him before he's dealt.

(Gorman could be headed for the same fate depends on if NADO and/or Donny are here to play 3rd base)

[Looksgoodonyouthough]

I've been saying now for months J. Walker needs to spend all of 2026 in AAA, sans a possible September call-up if he's had a good season at Memphis.

I say the "chances" are 100%.

C. Bloom has no skin in the game when it comes to Walker who's failures are on Mo's watch, he can easily justify sending him to Memphis or just washing his hands of him and dealing him.

Rock, I agree that Bloom has no ties to Walker but he does have ties to his revamped minors and development staff. So for me Bloom may want to see how Walker does with his coaching system before cutting ties. It’s entirely possible either way.

And that's our only hope looksgood...., that the Bloom player development system can somehow revive and save this kids career.

I also agree, I prefer starting Walker at Memphis and seeing if Bloom's guys he's brought in can fix him before he's dealt.

(Gorman could be headed for the same fate depends on if NADO and/or Donny are here to play 3rd base)

+1 Rock, and always good to read solid baseball talk from almost all the posters on here.

Have a year Chaim. Show Mo that it can be done without the Peterprinciple effect

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying now for months J. Walker needs to spend all of 2026 in AAA, sans a possible September call-up if he's had a good season at Memphis.

I say the "chances" are 100%.

C. Bloom has no skin in the game when it comes to Walker who's failures are on Mo's watch, he can easily justify sending him to Memphis or just washing his hands of him and dealing him.

Rock, I agree that Bloom has no ties to Walker but he does have ties to his revamped minors and development staff. So for me Bloom may want to see how Walker does with his coaching system before cutting ties. It’s entirely possible either way.

And that's our only hope looksgood...., that the Bloom player development system can somehow revive and save this kids career.

I also agree, I prefer starting Walker at Memphis and seeing if Bloom's guys he's brought in can fix him before he's dealt.

(Gorman could be headed for the same fate depends on if NADO and/or Donny are here to play 3rd base)

+1 Rock, and always good to read solid baseball talk from almost all the posters on here.

Have a year Chaim. Show Mo that it can be done without the Peterprinciple effect

I'm really excited to see what a young, smart and hungry POBO can do w/the roster this winter, should be fun!

[ramfandan]

I've been saying now for months J. Walker needs to spend all of 2026 in AAA, sans a possible September call-up if he's had a good season at Memphis.

I say the "chances" are 100%.

C. Bloom has no skin in the game when it comes to Walker who's failures are on Mo's watch, he can easily justify sending him to Memphis or just washing his hands of him and dealing him.

Yes, Bloom can either route.. send him to Memphis or trade him .
It sure sounds like Bloom has given Walker this offseason to make changes in his 'pitch recogntion ' , improve his stance to get comfortable in the box, and has spring training to show if he succeeded or not .

If not, I think Bloom may do your latter suggestion .... wash his hands of him and say bye bye .

[rockondlouie]

I've been saying now for months J. Walker needs to spend all of 2026 in AAA, sans a possible September call-up if he's had a good season at Memphis.

I say the "chances" are 100%.

C. Bloom has no skin in the game when it comes to Walker who's failures are on Mo's watch, he can easily justify sending him to Memphis or just washing his hands of him and dealing him.

Yes, Bloom can either route.. send him to Memphis or trade him .
It sure sounds like Bloom has given Walker this offseason to make changes in his 'pitch recogntion ' , improve his stance to get comfortable in the box, and has spring training to show if he succeeded or not .

If not, I think Bloom may do your latter suggestion .... wash his hands of him and say bye bye .

And it's smart of Bloom to give Walker a "new" offseason plan, likely a much better one than he was getting from Mo's crowd.

Walker is all of 23 years old, going into his age 24 season so there's plenty of career time left for him to spend a full season at Memphis.

If he can't even hack it there, then I have no doubt Bloom cuts the cord and moves on.