With the 2026 MLB regular season in the books, we are taking a look at some of the best breakout stories from this past season. This one takes a look at what went right for Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker.

In what was supposed to be a rebuild year for the St. Louis Cardinals, the blossoming young core took a big step forward. The one player who took, arguably, the most significant step in the right direction was fourth-year player Jordan Walker. Once a first-round pick and touted prospect, life at the MLB level was not easy for his first three seasons. But in 2026, Walker hit career-highs in home runs (29) and extra-base hits (62).

The adjustments at the plate

Back in 2026 Spring Training, Jordan Walker noted that much of his work over the past winter was spent on movement work. Walker went to Driveline Baseball in the 2025-26 offseason, where you could start to see the real genesis of what was going on. Better rotational acceleration, change in hand & shoulder movements, good exit velocities, and it showed during the 2026 campaign.

There was also the stance change, which actually started to take place during the 2025 season. See for yourself in three stages, starting with May 2025:

From later in 2025, when the stance became less open:

And in August 2026:

It was a process, and a lengthy one, to get Walker where he needed to be. Ultimately, the tools and the work won out.

The numbers

Walker always had the bat speed, which made him an elite prospect, even back when he was in the Minors. Just in the last three years at the MLB level, Walker had 276 instances in which a swing had a registered bat speed MPH of 83.0 or more.

However, it didn’t show up in the kind of way one would expect. This past season, Walker pounded on fastballs almost the way that he did in 2024 and 2025. However, it was the sinkers, sweepers, and changeups that Walker was handling better, too.

The fourth-year outfielder didn’t barrel up one sinker during the 2024 season. But this past year, he did so at a clip of 11.1%.

If you’re wondering why Walker had 22 home runs at the All-Star break, don’t.

Swing-and-miss is another component of Walker’s game that proved to be troublesome at times. This past season, Walker had a much better time, in terms of making contact on pitches up and inside the zone.

Compare that to 2025:

Granted, there was a trade-off, as Walker saw a slight uptick in Whiff% down in the zone.

He also did a better job of covering the outer half of the plate, even though pitches out and away from Walker were a sore spot (not a shock whatsoever). That, in and of itself, was impressive, as pitchers did a reasonably good job of mixing between breaking ball and fastball against Walker with respect to the slider.

On Walker’s part, he made the adjustments.

Looking ahead

Another thing that helped Walker was not just all the adjustments he made and the increased contacts, but also all the help in that lineup. Ivan Herrera was healthy, JJ Wetherholt was an immediate hit at the big-league level, and Alec Burleson did his part, too.

Now, the quest to repeat and build on that success will be important for the Cardinals’ 2027 hopes.

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