Credit to the Cardinals. They made him earn his way back.
And credit to Walker - with a .940 OPS and 5 homers over the last month, he’s earned a look.
He’s still gonna struggle with the outside stuff, IMO. He’s not learned to drive through that ball and hammer it into the RC field gap. But right now if you pitch him inside he can absolutely turn on it and hit the shit out of it.
Progress is progress. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. He’s shown some improvement in key areas and now they can let him have the last 6-8 weeks to show it wasn’t an accident. [Reply]
He looked more open in his stance which helps with the inside pitch as DJ said, but I don't see how he doesn't end up eating a steady diet of breaking and offspeed pitches away. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
He looked more open in his stance which helps with the inside pitch as DJ said, but I don't see how he doesn't end up eating a steady diet of breaking and off-speed pitches away.
Until he lays off the stuff out of the zone, he'll definitely be getting a steady diet of those pitches. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
He looked more open in his stance which helps with the inside pitch as DJ said, but I don't see how he doesn't end up eating a steady diet of breaking and offspeed pitches away.
Interestingly, opening his stance actually closed his setup.
He used to be a little more closed but then would open as he came to and started his swing. By opening his stance, he actually steps in a little as he's coming to his ready position. It's helping him keep his shoulders in a little longer and helping him drive through that inside pitch better instead of opening up and swinging over top of it.
It's a much better base; something that can actually help him get to that outside pitch a little better. But his that's gonna be a timing problem for him to really stay through that pitch and drive it. He still doesn't keep his top side in long enough.
They took a fairly unconventional approach to it but it's strangely exactly what I had to do as a kid when I was flying open. I'd open MORE in an attempt to make my first move more exaggerated towards the pitcher and close things up better.
Credit to somebody for helping him out a bit. It was clear what the problem was and at least someone seems to have found the beginnings of a solution to it.
He honestly has as much raw offensive talent as anyone in the game. I genuinely believe that. The hands are great, the raw power is incredible, the athleticism is there, the eye is no worse than average. Everything is there for him to be a 3-5 hitter and a genuine run producer. He just needs to unlock that talent.
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
He honestly has as much raw offensive talent as anyone in the game. I genuinely believe that. The hands are great, the raw power is incredible, the athleticism is there, the eye is no worse than average. Everything is there for him to be a 3-5 hitter and a genuine run producer. He just needs to unlock that talent.
Maybe this is a first step.
So if he unlocked something, how many more years of control do we have? Does this year count? [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
So if he unlocked something, how many more years of control do we have? Does this year count?
Only the time he'll spend on the active roster.
Combine it with last year's time on the roster and he'll likely get over a full season of time accrued. So the Cardinals would have 5 left after this year.
He was maybe 4-5 games away from a full season when he was sent down. So unless he gets shipped out again in a day or two, he's going to get that 172 days he needs for the full season.
That said, it won't be by a ton. So if they have to send his ass down for a couple months AGAIN next season, they'll probably stay under 2 full years of service time through next year. And at that point they'd enter the 2026 season with 4 years of team control....on a guy who's probably a bust at that point.
If he doesn't show something fairly substantial down the stretch, I'm guessing they dump him for another old pitcher with a couple years of team control. They'll throw their hands up at that point.
Not being able to do anything vs. Andrew Abbott today is a bit of an inauspicious start... [Reply]
Another one run offensive output in a band box. Fedde got his teeth kicked in again. They have the 7th worst run differential in baseball. There isn't a single person in the organization who should be employed next year. [Reply]
Meanwhile Shildts boys traded Soto, lost Snell and have won something like 16 of 19.
It’s impossible to overstate what a catastrophe that decision was. Giving John Mozeliak plenary control of the organization is just unforgivable. [Reply]
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
Another one run offensive output in a band box. Fedde got his teeth kicked in again. They have the 7th worst run differential in baseball. There isn't a single person in the organization who should be employed next year.
5.63 ERA since joining...which is exactly in line of his seasons in Washington in 21 and 22. Mo is a complete fucking disaster [Reply]
