Christian Walker’s Recent Performance is Thrilling for Astros Future Goals

Yordan Alvarez has taken off like a rocket for the Houston Astros. But he’s not the only slugger performing well at the plate.

Last year first baseman Christian Walker was a frustrating $20 million player. He still had that Gold Glove at first base. But he struggled with the bat for much of the season. Even though he finished with a slash of .238/.297/.421 with 27 home runs and 88 RBI, it left something to be desired.

That’s only part of the reason the Astros tried to move him last offseason in a trade. Getting out from under the rest of his contract — two years at $40 million — was the other.

Now? Well Walker looks like he’s worth keeping after he hit his first home run of the season on Saturday against the Athletics.

Christian Walker’s Resurgence

Christian Skywalker!#ChaseTheFight pic.twitter.com/tSlhAPx4Gu
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 4, 2026

Walker’s home run was in the third inning of Athletics starter Luis Moralez. While it was a solo shot, he had another RBI has had three hits in his first three at-bats and scored twice. By the sixth inning his batting average was up to .367.

Entering the game, he played in all eight of the Astros’ games and had a slash of .296/.367/.481. While he didn’t have a home run until Saturday, he drove in seven runs (10 with Saturday’s game) and had an MLB-high five doubles.

What was missing last year was the hot start he’s on now. That should put some doubts to rest about whether he could bounce back and have a campaign more like 2024. His final season in Arizona he slashed 251/.335/.468 with 26 home runs and 84 RBI.

Going into the season the conversation was all about the glut of talent in the infield and how the Astros were going to find at-bats for all of them. Walker’s contract looped him into that conversation. There was a thought that Houston could move him to another team and slide the cheaper Isaac Paredes into that spot. As it turns out, there wasn’t a market for either of them. No one wanted Walker’s deal and the Astros couldn’t get what they thought was appropriate value for Paredes.

Now? Walker looks like he’s here to stay — or at least until the deadline. In a perfect world, Walker keeps his numbers up, Paredes hits the way he’s used to hitting and Houston has two different chips to use at the trade deadline. Walker is making it a nice problem to have after more than a week of the regular season.