The St. Louis Cardinals look to be at a loss for how to handle Jordan Walker’s problems, and it may be time for them to seek assistance from an outside source in their own neighborhood – one who helped Aaron Judge become a monster.
There has been a lot of talk about how the St. Louis Cardinals may be jeopardizing former top prospect Jordan Walker’s development by trying to mold him into a hitter he was never meant to be. Walker is hitting just.242 with six home runs for Triple-A Memphis, and President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak stated that Walker must perform in Memphis before being promoted.
However, as the team works to develop Walker into a more well-rounded hitter, the solution could lie literally down the road. The Cardinals only had to travel about 30 miles northwest to find the man who helped Aaron Judge, another long-limbed outfielder, develop into one of the major leagues’ most feared hitters.
Richard Schenck owns and operates the Teacherman baseball complex in St. Peters, Missouri. a former collegiate baseball player that Judge has repeatedly sought advice from during his career to improve his hitting. Schenck works with numerous other major league hitters, and he has shared some online insights into Walker’s swing that could help him return to starring in right field at Busch Stadium.
The conservative and insular Cardinals, naturally, have no players who confer with Schenck about their hitting, and they are likely to keep it that way, relying on their own coaches to smooth out the wrinkles in Walker’s offense. However, it’s worth remembering that the Cardinals haven’t produced a true star hitter in their system since Albert Pujols, or possibly Matt Carpenter. Walker still has a lofty ceiling, and the Cardinals may need to take a chance and see if Schenck can unlock something that the organization hasn’t been able to coax out of him.
Because of Schenck’s proximity to St. Louis, Cardinals players may benefit from his lessons in a unique way. If the Cardinals are hesitant to give Walker access to Schenck, they may allow a bat with lower prospect capital to request his services as a test run.
Schenck has demonstrated that he can assist tall hitters sync their long levers and maximize their abilities, and there appears to be no reason why he couldn’t do likewise with Walker. If the Cardinals are prepared to swallow their pride and allow Walker to seek guidance and training from Schenck, they may learn something that will benefit not only Walker but every other batter in the system.
