PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Before welcoming St. Louis and continuing Jordan Walker’s glittering rise as the Cardinals’ pick in a generation, manager Oliver Marmol first had a question.
In the manager’s office at Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with Walker seated across from him and bench coach Joe McEwing seated nearby, Marmol asked the 20-year-old outfielder what his “best tool” is.
“He said, ‘I don’t think about things very long, good or bad; I just move on to the next thing and that helped me,’” Marmol recited. “It just confirmed why he’s ready.”
Walker will long remember what happened next.
Marmol told Walker he will be on the opening day list when the Cardinals start the season against Toronto at Busch Stadium on Thursday. Walker, who is likely to be in one of the corner seats in the outfield on the starting lineup, jumps from Class AA to the Majors. Ahead of his 21st birthday on May 22, Walker will become the youngest Cardinal to make his major league debut since Rick Ankiel snapped a curveball in 1999 at the age of 20.
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Early in spring training, the Cardinals looked to pave the way for Walker to carve his way into the majors from the start, and despite a cool finish in spring, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-handed talent was one of their standouts throughout Player.
“He came in and (we) made it very clear that it was going to be competitive and if he proved he was ready then he would have a real chance,” Marmol said. “Being able to sit across from him and honor that was pretty cool. … That (the ability to keep going) is the separator once you get into the big leagues. Yes, you have to be able to hit and compete and play defense and do all the things that he does. It’s when things get difficult, when you face adversity and encounter certain obstacles, and people start questioning your ability — to keep the noise down and get on with your work. I think he has that ability.”
“He opened a lot of eyes in this camp,” said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. “He’s someone who benefited from other people not being here. If you think about it, two-thirds of the outfield was at (World Baseball Classic), he put in a lot of innings and at-bats for him, and he made the most of it.
Between games of a two-city doubleheader Saturday, the Cardinals finalized their projected 26-man roster with a series of meetings and moves that confirmed additions — and some departures.
Veteran utility man Taylor Motter, 33, was included in the 40-man roster and the opening day roster after an impressive spring practice session. The Cardinals also want to keep him for deep in midfield as backup shortstop Paul DeJong starts the year on the injured list. Left-handed hitting rookie Alec Burleson made the team — a few hours before dropping a bunt to thwart the Mets’ shift at Clover Park in a 4-4 draw on Saturday night. Juan Yepez, who hit the Cardinals’ only playoff homer last October, was nominated for the AAA Memphis class.
The Cardinals also selected left-handers Genesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero to Memphis after they each served in the team’s 3-2 win over Miami in Jupiter, Fla. on Saturday afternoon. The team also reassigned Andrew Suarez to the minor league camp.
This installs Zack Thompson and Packy Naughton as the team’s left-handed assistants in the bullpen, and confirms that Andre Pallante and Chris Stratton will be the final right-handed pitchers added to the bullpen. Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, Jordan Hicks and Drew VerHagen were already (obviously) heading north.
Marmol called the left wing derby “the toughest choice” and delayed making the final decision until he had seen how the game had played out on Saturday afternoon.
“You see guys who all fought well (and) there’s only two spots for them and when you look at Cabby’s work we trust him and we like him,” Marmol said. “At the end of the day, Naughton and Thompson made really good use of their offseason. If you look at Thompson landing his curveball and that’s what we’re expecting from him. And he did it at the fastest pace of his career. Makes his other stuff play really well. Naughton, with his slider adding several miles per hour, will open his game. We felt like we were going to give these two guys a chance and we’ll see if we got it right.”
The Cardinals will hit the maximum of 13 pitchers allowed on the 26-man roster, and the 13 positional players include backup catcher Andrew Knizner. Nolan Gorman is positioned as a designated hitter and sometimes as a second baseman. Brendan Donovan will start there and support Tommy Edman at the shortstop. The Cardinals have underscored that if Walker plays in the majors, he’s in the lineup and the rookie gets outfield playtime along with Lars Nootbaar, Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson.
In meetings, Marmol stressed that the opening day is a roster and not the roster will complete the season or even lead the team to the competition. It’s a start.
“Whoever doesn’t make it into the club will eventually contribute,” Marmol said a few hours before telling Walker. “That’s the whole point of having options and being able to have some depth. We want to make sure we’re missing something with the message we’re sending from the guys we’re taking, the 26 we’re taking?”
One of the most impressive youngsters at camp, shortstop Masyn Winn, punctuated his spring training with a stunning doubles game on Saturday night. He dived to the left, scrambled to his feet, touched the second alone and threw a pitch to the first to snag Francisco Lindor by a step. Winn learned he’s going to Memphis Class AAA – after pushing his assignment with a strong camp.
“I think I deserve to play in the big leagues and one day I’ll be there,” Winn said.
Winn and Walker were both drafted in 2020 and have become the closest of friends. Winn was on the team bus when he received the text message from Walker about meeting Marmol.
“I was jumping up and down and hitting the seat,” Winn said. “I almost shed a tear for him. He’s 20 years old and about to do his thing.”
Motter’s new signing fills the 40-man list. The Cardinals will make a move to free up a spot for Walker later this week.
Walker, the 21st overall pick of 2020, will become the eighth player the Cardinals had on their roster before his 21st birthday. This list includes Ankiel, Steve Carlton and Rogers Hornsby. At Class AA Springfield last summer, Walker hit .306 with a baseline percentage of .388 and batted .510. He hit 19 homers and 22 steals and jumped to the top of every prospective league table in the industry. The Cardinals called him their best all-rounder since Albert Pujols.
Halfway through the Grapefruit League schedule, Walker led on average, batting, hitting and extra base hits. Since slipping his right shoulder into second base, his roaring start has calmed but remained impressive. He’s taking a .508 Slugging and .816 OPS into the final two exhibition games. Off the field, the Cardinals saw encouraging numbers — and a telling response to some frustrated bats and swings across courts that tumbled out of the zone.
“We can talk about his tools all day,” Marmol said. “They don’t play if you can’t handle the pressure. So that’s not the level of pressure he’ll experience at the big league level, but it’s an example of the best he’s had. See how he reacts and I feel like he did well.
Marmol later added of the fast-rising rookie: “You have to see that he’s not getting faster and he deserves a chance.”
Extra BasesHicks Fastball hit 104.6 mph in the fourth inning Saturday night against the Mets. It’s the fastest Statcast-measured pitch in the regular season or spring practice since 2018. …Nolan Arenado went 1-3 with a two-barrel single in the Cardinals’ afternoon win over Miami, and that dropped his spring batting average to .579. … Reliever Stratton pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ first game on Saturday and flashed a speed spike that caught Marmol’s attention. Stratton, who re-signed after being traded last July, struck out three and could see a multi-inning roll from the bullpen. He touched 95.4 mph with his four-seam fastball and his slider hit 89.6 mph, 1.2 mph over his average. … The Cardinals’ second-round pick in 2022, Lefty Brycen Mautz hit all three batsmen he faced in the ninth inning to make a save in the Cardinals’ 3-2 win over Miami. “If that doesn’t give him a confidence boost early in his season,” Marmol said. “Have fun watching.”
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