Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch
Sports columnist
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Did the best fans in baseball watch the worst outfielder in baseball?
Jordan Walker is at least in the conversation.
Now that the season is over, the offensive numbers are stunning. Startling. Of all Major League Baseball outfielders who had at least 350 plate appearances, Washington’s Jacob Young had the lowest on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) at .583 — and Walker was second-worst with .584. In fact, Walker was third-worst of all MLB players (Atlanta infielder Nick Allen was worst at .535).
And Nolan Gorman, bedeviled by strikeouts, had a .666 OPS and a 33.8 strikeout percentage — which was worst in the National League.
“I think everybody — you guys (in the media), our fans, us to some degree — kind of circled them as these are two guys for whom 2025 is a really critical year,” new Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said when I asked him about Walker and Gorman. “And I think in both cases, you can look at it and say there were points when you saw flashes, had some real optimism. And then points where the results just weren’t there. And that optimism was tested.”
With Walker, there was a summer stretch that sure lured in skeptics. He had me, I’ll tell you. On Aug. 11, in his 70 at-bats since returning from the injured list, his batting average was .314. His OPS in that stretch was .803. Sure, his batting average on balls in play was super-high, but the eye test said he was hitting better — and not chasing pitches as much.
I wrote that Walker was saving his career and shouldn’t be traded. And manager Oli Marmol said in the column: “He is more committed to the plan than I’ve ever seen. And that’s a really good thing because I feel like, and I’m being very honest, I think there was a little bit of hesitancy in — (him) committed to it, not committed to it, committed to it. And we saw the inconsistency in play. And now there’s a full buy-in.”
From that point until the end of the year, Walker hit .153. In 113 at-bats, he hit two homers. Hitting coach Brant Brown said on KMOX Radio that Walker needed to “devote more focus on preparation.” And Walker’s OPS was obscene — .485.
Yeah, that midseason allure was a mirage.
The problem is: St. Louis doesn’t have many good outfielders. So perhaps Bloom keeps Walker but Walker doesn’t play every day? Jordan is only 23 years old. But if he can be dealt for a player Bloom thinks can help the Cardinals, then of course the trade should be made.
“With Jordan, we all have a good idea of what the adjustment should look like,” Bloom said, “and I give him a lot of credit for trying to make that midseason (during his rehab stint). … I always felt, just kind of watching it from a distance, that it was something that you hoped to see good returns in season, but really, the offseason was going to be the real test of trying to really cement that and really have it be second nature — so it’s an approach he feels comfortable with. I don’t know that the comfort level was ever fully there. And that’s a hard thing than trying to compete at this level.
“I really do think this is a type of talent, the type of player, where we are eventually going to see those results at the big league level. For his sake, certainly, but also for our sake as an organization, we need that to happen soon. So the offseason for him, obviously, it’s is a big one, and we’re going to be very engaged with him and making sure that goes well.”
Gorman’s situation is a bit different than Walker’s, because Gorman plays the infield. The Cards will likely trade third baseman Nolan Arenado (though we thought that would happen last offseason, too). But that leaves you with three guys to start at second and third: Gorman, Brendan Donovan and JJ Wetherholt, the Cards’ top prospect. Gorman has one thing Walker doesn’t: the proven ability to homer in the majors.
He also had quite a stretch. From the start of June through the end of August — 60 games and 222 plate appearances — Gorman hit 12 homers with a .784 OPS. His walk rate was the best of his career. And his strikeouts were, relatively, down. On Aug. 31, I wrote a column filled with confidence about Gorman.
Perhaps I’m jinxing these guys? I’m kidding. But in September, Gorman had one homer and a ridiculous .446 OPS. And he struck out in 35 of his 70 at-bats (that’s 50%, just awful).
Wetherholt needs to start somewhere in 2025. Gorman is still just 25 years old. But after that September, I wouldn’t be frustrated if the Cards gave up on him. Then again, Donovan likely has more trade value, so it’s possible he’s the infielder who is moved.
Asked about Walker and Gorman, Bloom said: “You can think you know what a player is or isn’t, and they can surprise you and that’s part of why it’s good to sometimes, to stick with guys — sometimes, obviously you can’t always do that. I still believe in the upside of both these guys to perform. In Nolan’s case, he’s shown that (in 2023, Gorman had 27 homers and an .805 OPS). He’s shown that at this level, and he’s shown it in flashes this year.
“He just hasn’t been able to stay there consistently, I think, for him, it’s coming out of the offseason with a consistent, clear idea of who he wants to be and something that he believes in, enough that he can withstand the ups and downs of the season, that he’s willing to stick with it — that he doesn’t end up searching like I think he was at points this season. I think that’ll be really important for him.”
So in this next phase of the Cardinals transition, it seems there might be more runway after all for Walker or Gorman. But the excitement for that, at least from this keyboard, has diminished until proven otherwise.
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Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch
Sports columnist
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