Jordan Walker Was a Bust. Now He’s Headed to the Home Run Derby.

The St. Louis Cardinals right fielder was supposed to already be a star. Instead, he spent his first two seasons in the majors looking lost at the plate while still playing elite defense. That narrative has flipped hard and fast in 2026.

Walker is now an All-Star. On Thursday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the 24-year-old will also take part in the Home Run Derby during All-Star weekend in Philadelphia. That’s a sentence that seemed laughable about 12 months ago.

How Jordan Walker Fixed His Swing

The 2020 first-round pick overhauled his batting mechanics in the offseason. It wasn’t a minor tweak. He completely rebuilt how he loads his hands and rotates through the zone. The result is a .291 average with 22 home runs and a team-leading OPS at the break. He’s also driving in runs at a career-best clip.

And here’s the thing that gets lost sometimes. Walker never stopped being a plus defender in right field. Even when his bat was underwater, he was tracking down balls and throwing runners out. Now that the offense has caught up, he looks like a five-tool player again.

The Cardinals sit at 48-43 after a home win over the Brewers. They have a few games left before the All-Star break. But Walker’s emergence is the story that sticks with you. Not just because he’s hitting. Because he’s doing it with the kind of power that gets you invited to the Derby.

From Rookie Struggles to Derby Stage

The Home Run Derby is a weird measuring stick. But it is a measuring stick. You don’t get invited if you’re just having a decent year. You get invited because the league wants to see you hit bombs in front of a national audience. Two years ago, nobody was booking Jordan Walker for that slot.

He’s only 24. That’s young enough that scouts still talk about “untapped potential” without it sounding like a cop-out. If this version of Walker is real, the Cardinals have a cornerstone player locked in for years. If he keeps improving, watch out.

The team plays the Brewers again Thursday at home before heading into the break. But all eyes will be on Philly next week when Walker steps into the cage for the Derby. The guy who was written off as a bust is now one of the most interesting players in the event.