RADIO
Christian Walker 2020 Outlook: Sneaky Pop In The Later Rounds
5 years agoHeading into the 2019 season, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker had amassed 99 career plate appearances over 61 games in four seasons. Then Paul Goldschmidt was traded, Jake Lamb picked up an early injury, and the flood gates opened for Walker. He had 603 PA over 152 games and slashed .259./.348/.476 with an impressive 29 home runs, 86 runs, and 73 RBI in what was essentially a rookie season. The 28-year-old underachieved according to his expected stats as his xSLG was .511, 35 points higher than his actual slugging percentage, and his xWOBA sat at .358 compared to his actual wOBA of .341. Walker also made great contact last season and ranked 32nd in baseball in barrel percentage (13.1 percent) among players that had at least 250 PA. For drafters worried about the league adjusting to him in his second full season, they will be happy to learn he saw his walk rate rise from 8.9 percent in the first half of the season to 13.9 percent in the second, and his strikeout rate dropped from 28 percent to 22.8 percent. He's the 19th first baseman off the board, and his ADP sits at 203 right now. Walker is a perfect corner infielder for a team that needs to find some pop in the later rounds of their draft.
