A Look at Christian Walker's Explosive August
Christian Walker is on pace for a career season. He is in his ninth MLB season, though just five have been as a regular starter. He's a large contributing factor to a streaky Diamondbacks offense that has been winning a lot of games after a cold spell to start the month. In fact, one could say that the team wouldn't have won six games in a row without Christian Walker. The same is true when they went 5-2 on their recent road trip. As they embark on another road trip to finish August, let's take a look at just how much offense this player has provided to help lift the D-backs playoffs hope.
Walker arguably could've been an All-Star this year. Regardless, he's been an All-Star for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Without his combination of timely RBI hits and power, the D-backs would have a much worse record. The same is true for his stellar Gold Glove defense. On the season, Walker has a batting line of .272/.348/.527/.874 with 34 doubles, a triple, 28 home runs, 86 RBI, and eight stolen bases. He's walked 53 times and struck out just 105 times. His baseball-savant page is littered with red marks. He has been worth 3.9 bWAR and is another favorite for the Gold Glove award at first base.
The 32-year-old entered August with a solid but not amazing .261/.340/.514 slash line with 22 home runs, 45 walks, 83 strikeouts, 68 RBI, and 32 doubles. He was already on pace to match his previous career season from last year. Walker was just merely being a consistent offensive threat and driving runs in. That's the definition of what the first base job entails on offense. In August, he kicked it up to a whole other level.
In August, as the Diamondbacks were in the doldrums with their nine-game losing streak, Walker maintained being an offensive threat. Then, once they broke through with a win, he's been one of the main forces behind a team that's gone 11-3 since August 12th. From August 1st until August 26th, Walker hit .321/.383/.583 with a .966 OPS. He added in six home runs, 18 RBI, eight walks, 22 strikeouts, two doubles, a triple, and 12 runs over 27 hits. Shockingly, that isn't even his best month this year as he had an absurd June when he hit .347 with over a 1.000 OPS.
With August nearly over and just 32 games left in the season for the Diamondbacks, Walker will likely play every day as they fight for a spot in the Wild Card. Should Walker play all 32 games, which is likely, he is on pace for 591 at-bats, 161 hits, 10 stolen bases, 65 walks, 132 strikeouts, 43 doubles, 35 home runs, and 109 RBI. Those would all be career-high numbers for him. He would lead the Diamondbacks into the playoffs most likely with those kinds of numbers. Yet, his prodigious August is what made these numbers possible.
Walker is 32, but the best is just now arriving for the man who tirelessly works on improving his craft. Every day, you'll find him working on his swing, and his defense, and becoming a better ballplayer. He's exactly the kind of role model this young Arizona Diamondbacks team needs. A player that no matter what they've done will not stop getting better. He isn't resting on the fact he's already having the best season of his career. Nor did he get down during the team's losing streak. Instead, he helped lead them out of it.
Walker has been a crucial piece of the Diamondbacks lineup. That's why he's barely missed any games at all, only four in fact. Manager Torey Lovullo knows what his defense and offense means to this club. He also knows just how valued he is among his teammates. Walker may be quiet on the field or social media. He may be barely spoken about by the national media. However, he is loud with his play on the field. And that loud play is leading him and the D-backs to a potential playoff berth.
