Cardinals' Jordan Walker Hits Rough Patch After Hot Start

Is Jordan Walker coming back down to earth?

Apr 17, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) reacts after striking out during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals may be coming back down to earth a little bit. On Friday night, they lost 3-2 to the Seattle Mariners and fell to 14-11 on the season. The team is supposed to be rebuilding, so it may not be much of a surprise, but there have been a lot of positive signs early on.

One exciting development was outfielder Jordan Walker's power surge. He is hitting .280/.343/.581 with eight home runs, 16 RBI and a .924 OPS. That has been something for fans to hang their hat on to start the season. However, there is one thing that might be a little troubling.

Jordan Walker may be coming back down to earth

Apr 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) reacts after hitting a single against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Walker hit just .215 last season with six home runs and 41 RBI while also posting a .584 OPS. Though it's a small sample size, the young slugger is hitting only .172/.250/.241 in his last seven games without a home run and has struck out 14 times.

This is certainly nothing to panic about, but it is something to keep an eye on. Walker has had hot stretches in his career, only to cool off later, so this is worth noting.

The Cardinals' offense went quiet during their last series against the Miami Marlins, and it remained quiet against the Mariners on Friday night. Fortunately for St. Louis, there are other positive aspects of the lineup, but Walker has been their main source of power, so with him struggling, there hasn't been too much power coming from the lineup.

It's still very early in the season, which means Walker can easily turn things around. But given where he has been the past two seasons, there is a chance that he is coming back down to earth after his hot start.

He has struggled in his last seven games, so perhaps it might be time for the Cardinals to look into making some lineup changes to get him and the rest of the offense going again.

Walker is still young too, so perhaps it's as simple as pitchers finally adjusting to him, but the numbers in his last seven games are certainly worth keeping an eye on as the Cardinals continue a rough stretch of 17 games in 17 days against teams like the Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres.

We'll see if Walker can pick things back up soon.