I realize that it’s a big mistake to overreact to Spring Training performances and I don’t intend this to be that, but I think there’s a legitimate question as to who the St. Louis Cardinals should put on their opening day roster as their starting right fielder and who should start the year in Triple A. If you had to make the call today, would you make Jordan Walker or Joshua Baez your starting Cardinals right fielder?
Safe to say that the St. Louis Cardinals started Spring Training expecting that Jordan Walker would again be the team’s right fielder. We were told that Jordan Walker was finally accepting the coaching guidance and had dialed his swing and approach in. After a couple of weeks of Spring Training games under his belt, Jordan’s offensive line is an unimpressive .231 with a .333 OBP, .231 SLG, and a .564 OPS. Questionable swing decisions and lots of ground balls look the same as they did last season.
Joshua Baez came into camp expecting to see lots of playing time, but with Triple A as his likely 2026 home with a possible call up in September as a best-case scenario. He’s proceeded to hammer Spring Training pitching with a .353 average, 2 home runs and an OPS of 1.156.
Is it possible that Joshua Baez could force the Cardinals hand and play his way into the starting lineup for the major league team? I can’t read Chaim Bloom’s mind, but my gut feeling is that Jordan Walker will still be allowed to at least start the year with the big league team. If he struggles and Baez continues to be an offensive force in Triple A, then a move could be made. There’s also an argument to be made that making Baez the starting right fielder would be repeating the mistake made with Jordan Walker when he was brought up to the majors too early in March of 2023.
I’ve said before that I would be in favor of the Cardinals using Jordan Walker’s final minor league option to allow him time to fix his swing and mental approach with the improved development tools the team has put into place in the minor leagues over the past two years. After seeing his start to Spring Training, I’m even more convinced he might benefit from that. However, I also am wary of hurrying the development of Joshua Baez. I had no expectations that he should receive major league roster consideration even if he had a hot Spring, but I’m now questioning that.
What would you do if you were in Chaim Bloom’s shoes? Would you move forward with the expected opening day lineup with Jordan Walker in right field or would you give Baez the chance to prove he’s ready for the majors? I think if I had to pick right now, I’d consider a door #3 option. I’d be willing to give Nelson Velazquez the start in right field and allow both Walker and Baez more time in the minors until one of them is ready to be a major league starter. Since the focus this year is on player development and not necessarily contending, just maybe this would be preferable to rushing Baez and/or not fixing Jordan Walker if he can be fixed.
