St. Louis Cardinals fans bewildered as Rookie of the Year candidate Jordan Walker sent to Triple-A: "What are we doing? Good grief" "I give up"
The St. Louis Cardinals have been confusing on the field, and now they are confusing off the field after optioning Rookie of the Year candidate Jordan Walker to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.
Walker has hit .279 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and eight runs scored over 68 at-bats as the Cardinals' everyday right fielder this season.
OF Jordan Walker has been optioned to Memphis (AAA).
INF Taylor Motter cleared waivers and has been signed to a Major League free agent contract. https://t.co/5BggQMZA1J
On April 12, the rookie tied Eddie Murphy's 111-year old record for the longest hit streak to start a career by a player aged 20 or younger by hitting in 12 straight games to start the season.
Through his last appearance to date on April 23, Walker had only failed to get a hit in three of the 20 games he started. However, questions began to surface this week regarding Walker's sudden lack of playing time before the other shoe dropped Wednesday.
While Walker's power numbers haven't been what most hoped for in the first month of his big league career, the demotion has left the overwhelming majority of Cardinals Nation perplexed.
@Cardinals Lol what are we doing. Good grief.
@Cardinals This is fucking bullshit
@Cardinals I give up bruh
Jordan Walker – the No. 4-ranked prospect in all of MLB coming into this season – was one of the few reasons many St. Louis Cardinals fans continue to watch a team embroiled in its worst start to a season in 50 years.
Few believe that demoting a highly-regarded rookie who is one of the best performers at the lugubrious club will be a move that sparks a rebound from its 9-15 start.
@CardsBy50 @Cardinals Yeah the best hitting outfielder should be in Triple A😂
@Cardinals The only excitement I get from watching the games has been optioned down nice
@Cardinals Time to blow this team up
Upon seeing the St. Louis Cardinals news update, many had to check the calendar to see if it was somehow April Fool's Day.
Jordan Walker, an imposing power-hitting prospect, comes with the promise of adding more home run potential to what, on paper, looks to be a lineup plenty capable of slugging the ball out of the park with impunity.
He hit 33 home runs in 201 minor league games over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Many wonder what he possibly has left to prove at the non-MLB level.
@Cardinals April fools was THREE WEEKS AGO
@Cardinals The one thing the fans enjoy is Jordan Walker. He’s him. So what do you do? Take it away from us, but yet Paul Dejong stinks up the place for 4 years and you know MAYBE THIS YEAR HE’LL TURN ITAROUND! Absolute joke
@Cardinals His performance has been better than half the batters on this team, not to mention the hit streak to begin his career. What an embarrassment!
I feel bad for the social media team who has to announce these jokes every night. Yall deserve a raise and good luck with the replies.
Very few Cardinals fans were willing to drink the kool-aid in believing that Walker needed a trip to Triple-A to "work on his swing."
@Cardinals Makes sense, they clearly want Walker to work on his swing and this provides an opportunity for him to do so while helping with the outfield depth issue
Jordan Walker likely to return to the St. Louis Cardinals soon after another minor-league stint
This isn't the first time that the Cardinals have sent a highly-regarded youngster to the minor leagues for a short "tune-up" stint. The team sent outfielder Lars Nootbaar and infielder Nolan Gorman to Memphis for short assignments in 2022, and both are regulars with St. Louis this season.