Christian Walker (1B, ARI) - Week 14 Waiver Wire Pickups

Andrew Ericksen analyzes Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker as a waiver wire pickup or add target for Week 13 of the 2019 fantasy baseball season. He's in the midst of a breakout year and can be a great source of power.

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ANALYSIS: Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker has continued to hit in the middle of the team's batting order while he has enjoyed his breakout season. He is slashing .256/.329/.477 with 14 home runs, 35 RBI and 42 runs across 81 games this year. His 49.7% hard-hit rate and 14.2% barrel rate are both amongst the top 10% of the league. While he's striking out at a high clip (27.8%), it's still a major improvement on his 41.5% strikeout rate in his 49 major league at-bats last year.

One concern for Walker's playing time is the recent return of fellow corner infielder Jake Lamb. The left-handed Lamb missed most of the 2018 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He's played in eight games since his return this year and is hitting .208 with only one extra-base hit. The Diamondbacks will likely continue to mix in Lamb against right-handed pitchers, which is unfortunate for Walker as he has hit righties better than lefties this year. Five of Lamb's seven starts since returning to the team have come at first base, which makes sense as the team has seen another breakout campaign this year from starting third baseman Eduardo Escobar.

For now, it's safe to expect that Walker will be in the lineup against all lefties - who have been kryptonite to Lamb over the entirety of Lamb's career - but he'll probably sit about once per series unless Lamb really struggles or there's an injury to Escobar or another regular starter. If you need power help, Walker is a worthy add in 12+ team leagues and NL-only leagues, but in more shallow leagues, he can remain on waivers.