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Taijuan Walker 2021 Fantasy Outlook: Injury-Prone Back-Of-The-Rotation Starter In Deep Mixed Leagues
After posting a fine 2.70 ERA in 11 starts during the shortened 2020 season with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners after returning from Tommy John surgery the previous year, right-hander Taijuan Walker signed a two-year, $20 million deal to join the New York Mets rotation. Finally healthy again, he struck out 50 hitters in 53 1/3 innings. The former first-rounder in 2010 had a 3.84 career ERA in eight years in Seattle, Arizona and Toronto, but injuries have been an issue and the closest he's come to a full season was in 2015 when he started 29 games over 169 2/3 frames. Don't let his 2.70 ERA from 2020 fool you, though, as he had a 4.56 FIP and an 8.4 percent walk rate. Walker was also fortunate to have a .243 BABIP against, which led to a .213 opponent's average. The 28-year-old relied less on his four-seam fastball (50.3 percent) and more on his slider (21.6 percent), but Walker will need to show better command of his secondary pitches to be anything more than rotation depth in deep mixed leagues in 2021.
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