Let's talk about Jordan Walker's leap forward

He's been on another level since being recalled, which leads us to ponder why that is and whether he can keep it up

You know the story arc by now. Uber-prospect Jordan Walker cracked the Opening Day roster at the age of 20 and despite never appearing in Triple-A and sparkled across the early days of the season. Then, however, struggles took hold, and he was optioned to Memphis in a decision that seemed driven as much by a roster bottleneck as it was by Walker’s performance. 

Back in the minors, he was tasked with swing tweaks designed to help him elevate the ball more and better tap into his abundant reserves of power. Walker flailed at first and then began punishing the ball. That led to his being recalled, and his second stint in the majors has gone quite swimmingly, to indulge in understatement.

As for the swing itself, let’s compare some before and after pics. All screengrabs will be via the Busch Stadium camera angle for the sake of consistency. The first collage will be from Walker’s swing (a foul) at a middle-middle four-seam fastball from Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt on April 2 — i.e., before his demotion. The second collage is from Walker’s swing (a whiff) at a middle-middle four-seam fastball from Reds right-hander Lucas Sims on June 11 — i.e., after he returned from his swing-adjustment exile in Memphis.

Going clockwise from top left, the images in each collage capture Walker’s setup, the high point of his leg lift in his load phase, front foot strike as he’s about to address the pitch, and his body position as he makes contact/fails to make contact.

First, here’s Walker on April 2: