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The St. Louis Cardinals are playing a series finale on Wednesday afternoon in Miami against the Marlins.
Jordan Walker isn't in the lineup.
It's a decision that is a bit painful for Cardinals fans, who have come to adore the bounceback season that the former top prospect is having.
Upsetting the St. Louis faithful even more is that the Cards have gone with a serious second-rate lineup. Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn are also on the bench, too.
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Walker is the biggest absence. For the season, he has a .292 average and .964 OPS. He has hit four doubles and eight home runs while driving in 16 runs and also stealing four bases.
After two miserable seasons, Walker has rediscovered the promise that once made him a top-10 prospect in the sport.
Right now at least, he's even well above the pace of his promising rookie season, when he finished with a .787 OPS.
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Walker has shown improved sprint speed, a strong throwing arm for right field and all the power anyone could've hoped for.
Of note heading into Wednesday's game: Walker hasn't hit a home run since April 13. It's been seven games in a row without a long ball since then.
But to be fair to Walker, he has hit safely in six of those seven games.
The only hitless game for Walker since April 4 was actually Tuesday night, when he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
He'll get some time to rest his head, although potentially he could be a dangerous pinch-hitter late in Wednesday's game.
And then Walker should be right back in the lineup ready to keep his potent start to the season going.
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