The 2023 campaign has been a complete nightmare for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Seen as the heavy favorites to win the NL Central division, they are currently last with a 33-47 record.
Despite the bad times, one Cards youngster is enjoying a nice streak.
Jordan Walker, recalled this month from Triple-A, has a hit in each of his last 17 games.
That’s the longest active streak in the majors among all players, not just rookies.
Longest active hitting streak in MLB? That belongs to Jordan Walker.
The @Cardinals OF collects a knock in his 17th straight game: pic.twitter.com/STVVuQGolC
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 30, 2023
Walker actually made the team out of camp, and after impressing in his first few games, he cooled off.
Eventually, after a few weeks, the team sent him down.
He had a not-so-bad .274/.321/.397 line at the time of his demotion, but his plate discipline (3.8% walk rate and 25.6% strikeout rate) needed some work.
He did just that: work and improve.
In June, he was called up and has put up an impressive .338/.427/.549 line with a much better 12.2% walk rate and a 18.3% strikeout rate.
Walker is the future of the Cardinals organization, but he has shown that he is ready to be part of their present, too.
Despite being in last place at the moment, they are not that far from the first place at 9.5 games back.
If they do things the right way, St. Louis might return to contention eventually and, why not, make a run at one of the most “winnable” divisions in baseball.
Walker, of course, will be part of that quest.
If the Cards manage to get some pitching in the weeks and days leading to the trade deadline, they might actually go for it.
NEXT: Adam Wainwright Comments On His Deflating Outing
