| Taijuan Walker | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Walker with theNew York Mets in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia Phillies – No. 99 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1992-08-13)August 13, 1992 (age 32) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| August 30, 2013, for the Seattle Mariners | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2024) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 72–63 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.19 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 1,002 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Taijuan Emmanuel Walker (born August 13, 1992) is an American professionalbaseballpitcher for thePhiladelphia Phillies ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for theSeattle Mariners,Arizona Diamondbacks,Toronto Blue Jays andNew York Mets. Walker made his MLB debut in 2013 and was anAll-Star in 2021. He has played for theMexico national baseball team.
Born inShreveport, Louisiana, Walker's original love wasbasketball, until he began playingbaseball at the age of 11. Walker attendedYucaipa High School inYucaipa, California, where he was apitcher andshortstop, as well as a two-sport athlete.[1]
TheSeattle Mariners selected Walker in the first round, with the 43rd overall pick, of the2010 MLB draft.[2] Walker and the Mariners agreed to a deal that included an $800,000signing bonus.[3] He made four appearances for the Rookie LeagueAZL Mariners, all inrelief, and went 1–1 with a 1.29earned run average (ERA). Walker was listed as one of the Mariners' top 10 prospects for the 2011 season, ranked fourth according to Baseball America.[4] Prior to the 2012 season, he was ranked the second best prospect in the Mariners organization and the 20th best overall.[5][6] Walker was selected to play in the 2012All-Star Futures Game.[7]
After Walker pitched to a 5–3win–loss record and a 3.61 ERA with 64strikeouts in57+1⁄3innings pitched for theTacoma Rainiers of theTriple-APacific Coast League, the Mariners promoted Walker on August 30, 2013.[8] Walker pitched 5 innings against theHouston Astros, and yielded just 2 hits and struck out 2. Walker was called up when rosters expanded in September 2013. He started 3 games, finishing the season with a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings. On September 24, 2014, Walker pitched his first MLBcomplete game, allowing one run in a 1–0 loss against theToronto Blue Jays atRogers Centre.
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Walker began the 2015 season as a member of the Mariners' starting rotation. In his first start, at Oakland, Walker gave up nine runs in3+1⁄3 innings. He followed that outing by giving up 5 runs in 4 innings against the Dodgers, causing some to question whether or not Walker was ready for the big leagues. Walker continued to struggle, pitching more than 6 innings only once through his first nine starts. However, Walker won five straight starts in June and July, improving his record from 2–6 to 7–6. Walker struggled after winning five straight, going 0–1 with an 8.02 ERA, but on July 31, he threw a complete game one-hitter (his only hit was a home run byMiguel Sano) against theMinnesota Twins atTarget Field. This time, his offense backed him up, as he won 6–1, striking out 11 only needing 100 pitches to do so. Overall, Walker finished the 2015 season with an 11–8 record despite posting a 4.56 ERA in 29 starts.
Throughout the first half of the 2016 season, Walker battled with a foot injury. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on two occasions. He began the second half of the season on the disabled list. Before the all-star break, Walker had a 4–7 record despite a 3.66 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 86 innings. Walker was optioned to AAA on August 8, 2016. On September 13, 2016, Walker pitched his first career complete-game shutout in an 8–0 Mariners win over theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He carried a perfect game into the sixth inning and a no-hitter into the seventh, finishing the game allowing no walks and three hits while striking out eleven batters.[9]
On November 23, 2016, the Mariners traded Walker andKetel Marte to theArizona Diamondbacks forJean Segura,Mitch Haniger, andZac Curtis.[10] In 2017, his first season in Arizona, Walker made 28 starts, pitching to a 9–9 record in 157 innings.
On April 15, 2018, Walker was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to right forearm tightness.[11] Two days later, on April 17, it was revealed that Walker was diagnosed with a UCL injury in his right elbow.[12] On April 18, it was revealed that Walker had a partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow. The injury required Tommy John surgery, bringing Walker's 2018 season to a premature end.[13]
Following his Tommy John surgery, Walker appeared in one game for the Diamondbacks, the final game of the 2019 season. On December 2, Walker was non-tendered by Arizona and became a free agent.[14]
On February 4, 2020, Walker worked out for 20scouts from major league teams.[15] Walker signed a one-year contract for $2 million to return to the Seattle Mariners on February 12.[16]
On August 27, 2020, the Mariners traded Walker to theToronto Blue Jays for aplayer to be named later or cash considerations.[17] On September 1, 2020, Toronto sentAlberto Rodríguez to Seattle to complete the trade. On August 29, 2020, he made his Blue Jays debut against theBaltimore Orioles, he threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits.[18] With the2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Walker appeared in 6 games, compiling a 2–1 record with 1.37 ERA and 25 strikeouts in26+1⁄3 innings pitched.
On February 20, 2021, Walker agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract with theNew York Mets with a player option for the 2023 season.[19] He was named to the2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, replacing teammateJacob deGrom.[20] However, Walker's performance plummeted after the All-Star break; he posted a 7–3 record with a 2.66 ERA in the first half, and was 0–8 with a 7.13 ERA in the back half.[21] He finished the 2021 season with a 7–11 record overall and a 4.47 ERA in 159 innings.
After hurting himself swinging right-handed, Walker began batting left-handed in August 2021. As a bunter, however, he still does so right-handed.[22]
On November 7, 2022, Walker opted out of his contract with the Mets for the 2023 season and elected free agency.[23]
On December 16, 2022, Walker signed a four-year, $72 million contract with thePhiladelphia Phillies.[24] He completed the 2023 regular season with a 15-6 record overall and a 4.38 ERA over 31 starts and did not pitch during the postseason.[25]
Walker began the 2024 regular season on theinjured list due to right shoulder impingement but joined the starting rotation on April 28 after three rehab starts with Triple-ALehigh Valley IronPigs.[26] He was placed on the injured list again as of June 22 with right index finger inflammation, after posting a 5.60 ERA in his 10 starts of the season and struggling with command over and velocity of his pitches.[27] Upon returning from the injured list in August, Walker continued to struggle and was ultimately moved from the starting rotation to thebullpen as a relief pitcher on August 29.[28]
With the Phillies in 2024, he was 3-7 with a 7.10 ERA, with a WHIP of 1.721, in 19 games.[29] He was in the bottom 1% among MLB pitchers in average exit velocity (91.4 mph), whiff percentage (16.7%), and barrel percentage (13.4%), and in the bottom 3% in strikeout percentage (15.2%) and hard-hit percentage (46.3%).[30]
Walker played forMexico in the2023 World Baseball Classic.[31] He started against Great Britain on March 14, giving up only one hit and striking out eight over four innings.[32]
Walker throws a mid-90sfour-seam fastball, acurveball, and achangeup.[33][34] He has also begun to develop asinker andcut fastball.[35][36]
Walker's father is Black and his mother half-Mexican, half-White. Raised by his single mother, Walker helped care for his younger siblings.[1]
Walker is a fan of thePokémon andStar Wars franchises.[37]
Walker and his wife, Heather Restrepo, welcomed their first child, a son, in July 2017. They then welcomed a second son in early November 2020.[38]
