St. Louis Cardinals Bringing Top Prospect Jordan Walker Back to Big Leagues

The St. Louis Cardinals' top prospect, Jordan Walker, is headed back to the big leagues on Friday. He started the year with the major league team but was sent back to Triple-A after 20 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals are recalling top prospect Jordan Walker ahead of Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to multiple reports.

Jordan Walker is joining the Cardinals in Pittsburgh, source confirms. S/o @jmjones for the initial report. #STLCards

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) June 2, 2023

The 21-year-old broke camp with the Cardinals and played in 20 games before being sent back to Triple-A. In those 20 games, he hit .274 with two home runs, 11 RBI and two stolen bases. He struck out 20 times and walked just three.

Since being sent to Triple-A, he played in 29 games, hitting just .239 with four homers, 16 RBI and four steals. He struck out 32 times and walked 16.

Given that he didn't play enough to lose his prospect eligibility, Walker is now the top-rated prospect in all of baseball. 

Here's more from his prospect profile, per MLB.com:

It’s an open question just how high Walker would have gone if not for a pandemic-shortened spring in 2020. After showing off in the small sample at Decatur (Georgia) High School, the right-handed slugger went 21st overall to the Cardinals, who signed him away from his Duke commitment with a $2.9 million bonus. Walker has done nothing but hit since, posting averages above .300 and slugging rates above .500 in each of his first two full seasons. After producing a 128 wRC+ as a 20-year-old at Double-A last year, the Peach State native got more time against advanced competition in the Arizona Fall League.

Standing in at 6-foot-5, Walker makes repeated loud contact with a fairly simple, if long, swing and consistently puts up the highest exit velocities at every stop he makes, including the AFL, where he had the four highest exit velos measured by Statcast. While his current career high is 19 homers, he should challenge for 30-plus in the Majors in short order. A swing-heavy approach does lead to some chase concerns, but his overall average and K rates should still be at least solid because of his ability to find the barrel.

The Cardinals and Pirates will begin the series on Friday 7:05 p.m. ET.