The last week had been going swimmingly for the St. Louis Cardinals. They finished off the Chicago White Sox, took a series from the Cincinnati Reds, won the first two games of their divisional showdown with the Chicago Cubs, and occupied a National League Wild Card slot. Their luck is turning a bit, however, as we near the weekend. The team placed breakout designated hitter/catcher Ivan Herrera on the injured list with a hamstring strain on June 20 and ended up splitting its series with the Cubbies.

Before the Cards fell 3-0 against the returning Shota Imanaga and NL West-leading Chicago — getting outscored 11-0 the last two days — they had more disappointing business to address. Former top prospect Jordan Walker is also heading to the IL. He has appendicitis, which is especially unsettling considering he recently returned to action after sustaining wrist inflammation at the end of May. There is at least some encouraging news to come out of the overall unfortunate situation, though.

The 23-year-old right fielder does not require surgery and was able to return home on Wednesday, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hence, Walker's recovery time will be much quicker than it could have been. Nevertheless, this is another setback for a player who has yet to meet expectations.

Walker, the No. 21 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, is batting only .210 with three home runs, 23 RBIs and a .562 OPS through 55 games this season. He has admittedly endured plenty of adversity during his tenure with the Cardinals, struggling to gain consistent playing time over the last two and a half seasons. Both the organization and fans desperately hope the 6-foot-6 talent can still emerge as a productive hitter in St. Louis.

But first, he must get healthy. Jordan Walker is currently taking antibiotics as he works toward rejoining the Cards (44-38) at some point shortly. Meanwhile, the team is focused on getting back on track when it battles the Cleveland Guardians (40-39) on Friday night.

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