ST. LOUIS — Andrew McCutchen swung at a low fastball from Zack Thompson and caught it on the barrel of his bat. It got here off sizzling, at 103.6 mph, and headed to a spot that tends to result in automated doubles for right-handed hitters: the right-field nook.
McCutchen put his head down and motored towards the first-base bag, rounded it aggressively then lifted his head and obtained dangerous information. Jordan Walker was retrieving it and making ready to fireside it to second base. McCutchen would have been a straightforward out.
The veteran threw up his fingers as if to ask, “What do I have to do to get a double there?”
Too typically this season, it has been the Cardinals and their followers throwing up their fingers when watching Walker play proper discipline, however throughout the Cardinals’ 6-4 win over the Pirates on Sunday at Busch Stadium, everybody started to get a glimpse of the participant Walker may at some point be — a robust hitter with a cannon for an arm who can play good, if not Gold Glove-caliber protection.
“My reads aren’t where I want them quite yet, but they’ve been a lot better than at the beginning of the season,” Walker mentioned.
Remember, it is a participant who was moved to the outfield final season. He remembers a coach telling him to play outfield as soon as throughout a summer season ball recreation, however no one hit the ball to him. The Cardinals drafted Walker as a 3rd baseman, however they have already got an amazing a type of in Nolan Arenado, so that they started transitioning him into the outfield in 2022. This yr, he has been among the many worst fielding outfielders in baseball, however at age 21 with a deep ability set, that doesn’t determine to proceed lengthy.
The bat, as they are saying, performs. Walker additionally slugged a depraved line drive for a house run, his second in as many days, and is 10-for-his-last-18. Three of these hits have been residence runs, and two of them have been doubles. What Walker has carried out this season, together with accumulating a .794 OPS as a rookie, is perhaps solely a touch of what he may at some point accomplish. His common exit velocities have ranked within the seventieth percentile, and he’s about seven years youthful than the common Major League batter.
“When you’re a player with his skill set and aptitude, you’re bound to develop a lot quicker,” Cardinals supervisor Oliver Marmol mentioned. “He loves the game. He loves working hard. And it’s a matter of time before we see a much, much better player, and we’re already getting a good version of him.”
Walker ranks within the backside 1 % for vary (outs above common), and his fielding run worth ranks within the backside 3 %, per Baseball Savant. His routes to fly balls typically are a bit circuitous. But his arm energy is within the 97th percentile and his dash velocity within the eightieth, so there’s no cause he can’t develop into no less than serviceable on the market with expertise.
He even stole a run together with his legs Sunday, making a mad sprint round third on a ball that Vinny Capra threw errantly to first. The throw got here residence, however Walker obtained his proper hand round catcher Jason Delay’s tag with a intelligent slide to provide the Cardinals a three-run cushion within the seventh inning.
Thompson is one other former first-round choose the Cardinals want to see get on a roll on the finish of this season. If he does that, he’ll have a wonderful shot of grabbing a rotation spot in 2024. Most of the opposite potential candidates haven’t made a greater impression throughout this audition interval.
Thompson pitched seven innings, holding Pittsburgh to a few runs on seven hits whereas hanging out six and strolling none. For the season, he has a 3.91 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 46 innings with a 1.46 WHIP. Thompson had command points at Triple-A, strolling 39 batters in 34 1/3 innings, however he has principally ironed them out. He has 18 walks within the massive leagues this season.
Part of that could possibly be the automated strike zone getting used at Triple-A this season.
“To be completely honest, they cut a third of the strike zone off, and then I was trying to add in two pitches that I hadn’t thrown earlier in the season,” he mentioned. “It was just kind of the perfect storm for me, and then getting back up here, I’ve been simplifying and just taking things one step at a time.”
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