Insider Claims Young Cardinals Outfielder Ready To 'Explode' This Season

The St. Louis Cardinals may have had a bad 2023 campaign, but fans should be excited for the 2024 season.

St. Louis has made some intriguing additions to the roster and seemingly is in a much better spot. The Cardinals' pitching is better on paper and the club's offense already was solid last year and should be even better.

One player who should give Cardinals fans hope is young outfielder Jordan Walker. He's just 21 years old and impressed in his first season in the big leagues and should be even better in 2024. The Athletic's Jim Bowden even mentioned him as one of the players he expects to "explode" in 2024.

"Walker was my preseason pick to win the (National League) Rookie of the Year in 2023 and although I might have whiffed on that one, I think he'll prove me right in his sophomore year like Aaron Judge and Mike Trout did after their subpar first seasons in the majors," (Bowden said. "Walker had to learn right field last year, a new position, while having more hitting advice thrown his way than perhaps any player in the majors.

"When the Cardinals finally left him alone, he started to produce. In fact, his on-base percentage was .347 in August and .363 in September/October with seven home runs and 23 RBIs over his final 51 games. He hit fastballs as well as breaking balls, which is a telling sign that he's going to hit at this level. It's hard to predict whether a 6-foot-6 player is going to become a .300 type hitter, but Walker has that potential, and his power should grow to 20-22 homers this year and 25-30 in subsequent years."

Walker appeared in 117 games with the Cardinals last season and hit 16 home runs, drove in 51 runs, and slashed .276/.342/.445 and was most impressive down the stretch. If he can take a step forward, he would only help St. Louis.