Jordan Walker's Breakout Somehow Keeps Getting Better for Cardinals

When the 2026 Major League Baseball season comes to an end, it shouldn't be difficult for voters to select the National League MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award. It should be St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker.

Walker's resurgent season has been covered in-depth all season to this point. While this is the case, he continues to find more and more ways to impress. Walker kicked off the season with a few red-hot weeks that got the fanbase excited, but it then led to the question of whether or not he could maintain that level of play. He has answered the call and hasn't slowed down. On Thursday, Walker went 2-for-4 with an RBI. That RBI just so happened to be his league-leading 70th on the season.

Walk 'em down! pic.twitter.com/sObxxyWjMR
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 9, 2026

Jordan Walker Won't Stop Crushing

Jul 5, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) celebrates with teammates after hitting three-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Walker is the first player this season to reach 70 RBIs and he's the first Cardinals player since Paul Goldschmidt back in his 2022 MVP season to reach 70 RBIs in the first half of the season.

Jordan Walker is the first player in MLB to 70 RBI 🔥

He's the first Cardinals hitter since 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt to drive in 70 in the first half!pic.twitter.com/QrcuC1SHtb
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 9, 2026

He also joined Albert Pujols and Joe Medwick as the only members of the Cardinals' organization to rack up 70 or more RBIs before the All-Star break at the age of 24 years old or younger.

Incredible graphic on the Cardinals telecast

Great company! pic.twitter.com/yRLlcfcfeQ
— Ryan (@The_Ryan_Shull) July 9, 2026

As Walker has continued to thrive over the course of the 2026 season, he has made history in line with Pujols various times already.

Walker has played in 89 games so far this season and is slashing .294/.355/.534 with an .889 OPS, 21 homers, 70 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, 19 doubles and 58 runs scored. How ridiculous is that? This is the same guy who slashed .215/.278/.306 with a .584 OPS, six homers, 41 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in 111 games. Last season, he finished the campaign with -1.7 wins above replacement. This year, he's already at 3.5 wins above replacement.

It's not a hot take to say that Walker has transformed his career in a year. Over the last two years, the former top prospect looked like he was trending towards being a bust. But now, he looks like the franchise cornerstone piece the Cardinals hoped they were promoting before the 2023 season.

As a rookie, he was a solid, but not at a superstar level. This year, he has taken that massive leap forward and at just 24 years old, he's hopefully going to help this club for a very long time.

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