Walker’s power surge

Jordan Walker opened Sunday by driving his seventh home run of the season, giving the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder the Major League lead through April 12. (cbssports.com) Walker went 2-for-4 in St. Louis’ 9-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and his first-inning solo shot came off Brayan Bello. RotoWire reported the ball left Walker’s bat at 103.8 miles per hour and traveled 432 feet. (rotowire.com) The homer followed another burst of power a day earlier, when Walker hit his sixth in eight games. Major League Baseball said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol had been fielding questions about the 23-year-old right fielder’s power surge as the streak built. (mlb.com) Walker had already reached five home runs by April 8, when Major League Baseball said he was tied for first in the majors and ranked among the top eight in runs batted in, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging. That home run against Washington was measured at 107.8 miles per hour and 405 feet by Statcast. (mlb.com) Through Sunday’s games, ESPN listed Walker with a.314 batting average, seven home runs, 14 runs batted in and a 1.092 on-base plus slugging mark in 13 games. The surge has come after a 2025 season in which he was trying to lock down a long-term role in St. Louis’ lineup. (espn.com) Walker entered professional baseball with power as his calling card. When the Cardinals drafted him 21st overall in 2020, he described himself to Major League Baseball as “a power hitter,” and scouting reports centered on the force he could generate at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. (mlb.com, baseball-reference.com) St. Louis has needed that production early. FanGraphs listed the Cardinals at 7-5 after Sunday, and Major League Baseball’s standings page showed them in the middle of a tightly packed National League Central race entering April 13. (fangraphs.com, mlb.com) For now, the clearest number is the first one: seven home runs before mid-April, with Walker turning a strong opening week into the majors’ early standard for power. (cbssports.com, espn.com)