Aaron Judge has advice for St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Jordan Walker

Jordan Walker is expected to make a big splash for the St. Louis Cardinals in the not-too-distant future. The top prospect is already showing his skills in spring training and generating plenty of excitement.

The 20-year-old Walker is the top prospect for the Cardinals and, listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, is known for his size and strength. Can those physical attributes be a key to his success? Aaron Judge (all 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds of him) of the New York Yankees should know.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge dishes some advice to St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Jordan Walker

When the Cardinals and Yankees met for a spring training game on Wednesday, Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch talked to Judge about how he has kept his body in shape and how his physical stature has helped him succeed, including winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award last season after hitting an AL-record 62 home runs.

A former assistant Yankees hitting coach talked to us about why Judge was so successful last season, and Judge shared with Goold that work off the field is one of the biggest keys to success.

“For someone that size, it’s really about understanding your body and making sure you’re warming up the right way pregame, making sure you’re doing recovery stuff, stretching postgame,” Judge told Goold for this article. “It may not be the cutest or the coolest thing to do — where you’re doing these ab exercises or glute work or stuff in the training room. But it’s the little things like that. It’s the little muscles. If you stay pliable and you stay flexible then your body is going to reward you by helping you stay out there.”

Goold tweeted that there have been four position players 6-foot 6 or taller and 245 pounds or heavier who have logged more than 300 games in Major League Baseball history. With additional growth that is expected for the still-developing Walker, he could well be a part of that list in the coming seasons.

Walker, also ranked as the fourth-highest prospect in all of baseball heading into the season, is expected to make his MLB debut sometime during the 2023 campaign.