ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - 2023 was a up and down season for Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker.
Walker, who was one of baseball's top five prospects heading into 2023 had high expectations from not just Cardinals fans, but from the baseball world, with many seeing him in the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year Conversation.
But those expectations would turn out to be too high, with Walker enduring a roller coaster rookie season, from getting sent down to Triple-A Memphis after 20 games and his well-documented struggles in the outfield, where he posted a -14 outs above average, according to Baseball Savant.
Despite those setbacks, Walker still showed promise, hitting an overall respectable .267/.342/.445 slash line with Walker's .787 OPS being 14% better than the league average and showing some plays that he has potential to stick at right field.
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol spoke about Walker earlier this week and expected 2024 was going to be better for Walker due to his full time focus on right this winter, instead of jumping between left and right field.
"When you look at the change he's made when he went from left and right, it was night and day." said Marmol. "He's more comfortable (in right) and he spent the winter working on it. I just think he's going to play with more confidence there based on the reps and for him, it's just getting out there more and more. As we got deeper (last season), he got more comfortable."
Longtime Cardinals Broadcaster Mike Claiborne agreed with Marmol's statements on Walker's defense when Claiborne joined The Chris and Amy Show Friday afternoon.
"I think he's going to be real good (in his second season)." said Claiborne. "One of the things about him is he is never going to get outworked and if someone does outwork him, it's going to be a very small number of people."
Claiborne from his observations of Walker so far seems more comfortable in right field this Spring compared to last year.
"He's been down here (in Jupiter, Florida) since December. He's at the ballpark five days a week, working with Jose Oquendo and some of the other instructors around here. He's a real man, despite being 21-years-old."