Fantasy Baseball: 5 Pitchers With Noteworthy Spring Training Stats
Taijuan Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
Over the offseason, Taijuan Walker went from one of the best pitcher's parks to one of the worst. He earned a demotion to Triple-A last August, stirring concerns about whether he'd ever reach his astronomical potential.
This spring is helping to quell those concerns.
RECAP: @tai_walker strikes out 8 over 4 innings, #Dbacks rally late to beat Cubs: https://t.co/3Cby0PNZmS pic.twitter.com/y217jkPPNs
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 16, 2017
That eight-strikeout, four-inning performance came Wednesday against a lineup largely consisting of the Chicago Cubs' regulars. That'll do.
It's also a continuation of an immaculate spring for Walker so far. In 13 innings, he has a whopping 21 strikeouts compared to just one walk. Those 21 strikeouts have come over 50 batters, putting his strikeout rate at 42.0%. Yowza.
Walker did show flashes of this in the past, specifically from the second half of 2015 through the first half of 2016. In that span, he had a 3.76 SIERA with a 21.8% strikeout rate and 4.9% walk rate. Then, an injury derailed his 2016, and he never fully recovered.
Walker's park is concerning, but facing lineups without designated hitters will help make up for that. He's entering his age-24 season, and he's lighting up the scoreboard this spring. His stock is on the rise with what has gone down so far.
