This story was excerpted from John Denton¡¯s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS -- It was understandable that Jordan Walker was hesitant to change a swing that made him one of the nation¡¯s top high school players, helped him be selected in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft and allowed him to reach the big leagues in ¡®23 after moving swiftly through the Cardinals¡¯ Minor League system.

But after enduring two uneven MLB seasons that both included Triple-A demotions and lengthy stays in Memphis, Walker thinks he might have been better served by not being so resistant to change.

¡°I¡¯m sort of stubborn, and I don¡¯t know many players who aren¡¯t stubborn,¡± Walker said in mid-September during the same week when he hit a 425-foot home run and smashed the hardest-hit ball of the season by a Cardinals player (115.5 mph) a night later. ¡°I mean, you grow up doing something, it¡¯s super hard to change. And with how hard it is to play this game already, you add in something new and it¡¯s tough to change, for sure.

¡°In my opinion, every hitter is a little stubborn. But as a young guy, I need to be open to change. I¡¯ve barely been in MLB, and I¡¯ve barely been in The Show. So, I don¡¯t have all the answers and I don¡¯t know how everything works. I have to be open to change, while also reminding myself what makes me good.¡±

At long last, Walker was seeing results the Cardinals think are possible with his potential. In September -- a month that started with Walker becoming the youngest Cardinal with a five-hit game since Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby in 1916 -- Walker has hit .253 with five homers, six doubles and 16 RBIs. His OPS over the final month was .780, and it hinted at Walker finally figuring things out after two years of yo-yoing between the big leagues and Triple-A.

¡°Obviously, it¡¯s been a tough season, but this stretch means the work I put in in the cages is coming through, and I want to finish strong,¡± said Walker, who hosted dozens of preschool and elementary school children at a Cards-Pirates game as part of the ¡°Walker¡¯s Winners¡± literacy and math program he and his family created. ¡°You¡¯re always trying to make adjustments, and I think the adjustments I made before I couldn¡¯t put into play, and they didn¡¯t allow me to do what I was good at doing. Now, it¡¯s about finding that middle ground and building a better approach.¡±

Of course, Walker¡¯s optimism wasn¡¯t always so bright this season. The Cards¡¯ Opening Day starter in right field a second straight season, Walker got off to a 9-for-58 (.155) start that included just five extra-base hits and no homers. That resulted in the club sending him to Triple-A -- just as it had a season earlier when there was a logjam of outfielders demanding playing time. This time around, however, Walker remained in Triple-A for 3 1/2 months until he started to show the kinds of progress the Cardinals expected of a prospect of his ilk.

Admittedly, it was difficult for the 22-year-old Walker being back in the Minor Leagues and being tasked with changing a swing he had used to mash baseballs his whole life.

¡°Obviously, it was tough to stay positive sometimes, but I just kept telling myself that I know that I am a good hitter and I had to figure it out,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve always had confidence in myself, and it was just a matter of figuring out what¡¯s the issue and what I could do to fix it. I had great people around me to help me through it, and now it¡¯s just about staying consistent. I like where my swing is, and it¡¯s about being more selective and not missing it when I get a pitch I can drive.¡±

Walker didn¡¯t miss when he crushed a homer 425 feet, per Statcast, or when he drilled the double down the third-base line with a 115.5 mph exit velocity. Change certainly didn¡¯t come easy for Walker, but he¡¯s overcome whatever stubbornness he might have had about his swing and adapted it to where he can have consistent success at the big league level.

¡°I think he¡¯s learned a lot, and when you talk to him, there¡¯s a different tone to where he¡¯s at mentally,¡± Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. ¡°I¡¯m still betting that he¡¯s going to be a really, really good player. My goal is to spend as much time as I can with him this offseason while monitoring that progress to make sure that we get the player that we know we have come next year. There¡¯s growth, and the ceiling is super high.¡±