Jordan Walker Named Finalist for Legendary MLB Award

Jordan Walker's 2026 season keeps getting better, even after it ended.

Sep 25, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) celebrates hitting a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals may have finished below .500 this season, but there were a lot of positives to take away from 2026. The biggest development came from Jordan Walker, who bounced back from two consecutive down years and not only became an All-Star for the first time, but also won the Home Run Derby. In addition, he was the Cardinals' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.

But that isn't the only award the slugger has been nominated for. Every year, a winner for the Hank Aaron Award is also chosen during the postseason, and according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Walker has been nominated for that too.

Jordan Walker is one of the 10 finalists for the 2026 Hank Aaron Award, MLB announces.

The most recent winner from the #stlcards was Paul Goldschmidt in 2022, when he also won NL MVP. pic.twitter.com/69LqCUxqFA
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) October 5, 2026

Jordan Walker named finalist for Hank Aaron Award

The Hank Aaron Award recognizes the player across Major League Baseball whose outstanding offensive performance stands out above the rest. Walker slashed .269/.327/.466 with 29 home runs, 102 RBI, 22 stolen bases, a 3.3 WAR and a .793 OPS during the regular season.

The Cardinals originally selected Walker in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft as a third baseman. In 2023, Walker made the transition to right field and made his major league debut with the Cardinals. After a strong rookie campaign, the numbers went south in 2024 and 2025, and he was even demoted to Triple-A several times.

However, things finally clicked for Walker in 2026, and he even became the first Cardinals player to have a 20/20 season since Tommy Pham back in 2017. The Cardinals offense took several steps forward this year thanks to the emergence of players like Walker, Alec Burleson and JJ Wetherholt.

But Walker's performance stands out because of all the adversity he has had to overcome over the past several years to become the player that the Cardinals always expected him to be. He became a force in the middle of their lineup and appears to be ready to take the next step in 2027 as the Cardinals move along in their rebuild.

The whole point of the rebuild was to give players like Walker more opportunities, and this year, he ran with those opportunities. The future appears to be bright in St. Louis despite having three losing seasons in four years, but it's because of players such as Walker taking the next step and becoming the types of players the Cardinals always knew they had within.

It will be interesting to see if he'll win the Hank Aaron Award. Fans can vote until October 12.

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