You already know I had to keep in line with the Easter/Passover puns. I’ve wanted to discuss Christian Walker’s success at the plate this season and now seems like an appropriate time. Walker has been a huge beneficiary of King Goldy getting shipped to St. Louis, as well as a quad injury to Jake Lamb. With the opportunity, Walker has been doing his best Goldschmidt impression. Through 80 PA this season, he is slashing .347/.413/.722 with 7 HR, 13 runs, and 13 RBI. In true Goldschmidt fashion, the first baseman has also flashed some speed by going 3-for-3 in SB attempts. His .462 wOBA is 8th among all major leaguers this season, and his 188 wRC+ is good for 9th in the MLB. Both figures are likely to be unsustainable over a full season, but to be top 10 in both categories after a full month is nothing to sneeze at. His .347 average on a .429 BABIP hints that regression is to come, but he has shown that he should continue to produce at the plate.
The advanced metrics suggest that Christian Walker’s success at the plate has a strong backing. At 95.9 MPH, Walker has the 3rd highest average exit velocity in the league behind only Joey Gallo and Aaron Judge. Thirty of his 49 batted ball events, or 61.2% of them, have been hit at 95+ MPH. That mark is 5th best among all major leaguers thus far. His 10 barrels make him tied for 17th in the league in that category, and his 12.5% barrels/PA is 16th among MLB players. Advanced metics don’t always tell the whole story, but when you combine them with the fact that he is off to a scorching hot start it validates his early success.
His 28.8% strikeout rate and 15.9% swinging strike rate will surely sap his .347 batting average over the course of a season, but that’s to be expected. It is encouraging to see that he walks in 10% of his plate appearances. We have seen players show sustained success despite striking out as much as Walker has thus far. (Khris Davis, Baez, Stanton to name a few). I’m not saying he is on their level, but that it is possible to be a valuable hitter despite a high K-rate.
We’re a month into the season and he’s been outperforming some proven commodities in some important statistics. In fact, he has a higher ISO (.375) than Mike Trout. Again, I know a lot of his numbers are unsustainable, but it is still impressive regardless. Jake Lamb should be out for another month or so. So ride him while he’s hot, and let’s pray that his hot start continues and creates an every day role for him upon Lamb’s return.
He is only rostered in 38.9% of ESPN leagues, so go scoop him if he is available in your league. Yahoo players have not let his success go unnoticed, as he sees a 62% ownership over there. I am aware that he may not be available in your league, since you are observant and ahead of the curve. However, every league is different so give him an add if he’s still available. Even if he is long gone in your leagues, I still wanted to do a write up on him to give him the proper recognition. He is off to a scorching hot start with the opportunity he has seen, and the metrics suggest he should continue to see success.
ZiPS ROS: .258/.319/.484 with 57 R, 20 HR, 63 RBI, and 3 SB in 434 PA (111 games)
