Jordan Walker Opening Day starter at age 20
By Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru | before an hour
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The Jordan Walker era in St. Louis has begun.
That in itself is a pretty big deal. Walker, ranked No. 4 in baseball by MLB Pipeline, reported to spring training this season as a 20-year-old non-roster invitee who had never played through Double-A. But when he debuted Thursday, going 1-for-5 and recording his first RBI career as a Cardinals right fielder in a 10-9 loss to the Blue Jays, he hit more than a personal milestone.
For one thing, it had been a century since a 20-year-old position player started the Cardinals’ opening day. In fact, only four players in franchise history—Frank Snyder (1915), Jack Smith (1916), Rogers Hornsby (1916-17), and Howard Freigau (1923)—had cracked opening-day lineups before their 21st birthday.
Walker also became the youngest positional player to make his major league debut for St. Louis in an opening-day lineup, edging out Albert Pujols, who was 21 at the time of his debut in 2001.
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This also goes far beyond the franchise history. In modern times (since 1900) only 108 positional players in AL/NL history have started on opening day before the age of 21. It’s probably no coincidence that an unusually high percentage of players considered fit for the challenge grew up to be better than average – 59 (54.6%) made at least one All-Star game, and another 20 are enshrined in the Hall of Fame:
- Ivan Rodríguez, Rangers, 1992
- Ken Griffey Jr., Sailors, 1989-90
- Alan Trammell, Tigers, 1978
- Robin Yount, Brewer, 1974-76
- Gary Carter, Exhibitions, 1975
- Orlando Cepeda, Giants, 1958
- Brooks Robinson, Orioles, 1957-58
- Bill Mazeroski, Pirates, 1957
- Frank Robinson, Red, 1956
- Al Kaline, Tigers, 1954-55
- Henry Aaron, Braves, 1954
- Mickey Coat, Yankees, 1951-52
- Eddie Mathews, Braves, 1952
- Willie Mays, Giants, 1952
- Ted Williams, Red Sox, 1939
- Bobby Doerr, Red Sox, 1937-38
- Mel Ott, Giants, 1929
- Travis Jackson, Giants, 1924
- Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals, 1916-17
- Ray Schalk, White Sox, 1913
You no doubt remember some other incredibly young phenomena that have taken MLB by storm in recent years. Still, it’s become particularly rare for players that young to break camp as starters — not least because a good chunk of future big leagues are still playing college ball at 20. Only 16 players under the age of 21 have been included in opening-day lineups since 1995:
- Jordan Walker, Cardinals, 2023
- Juan Soto, nationals, 2019
- Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres, 2019
- Manny Machado, Orioles, 2013
- Bryce Harper, Nationals, 2013
- Jason Heyward, Braves, 2010
- Elvis Andrus, Rangers, 2009
- Justin Upton, D-Back, 2008
- Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, 2004
- Joe Mauer, Twins, 2004
- Adrian Beltre, Dodgers, 1999
- Mike Caruso, White Sox, 1998
- Andruw Jones, Braves, 1998
- Jose Guillen, Pirates, 1997
- Edgar Renteria, Marlins, 1996
- Alex Rodriguez, Mariners, 1996
A third of the 15 players ahead of Walker — Tatis, Heyward, Andrus, Mauer and Caruso — also made their major league debuts. Since 1901, only 41 positional players age 20 or younger have made their MLB debut as an Opening Day starter.
What this says about Walker’s already very bright future is probably not much. But the prestige surrounding its debut made for a fitting end to a spring that exceeded expectations.