RADIO
Christian Walker 2021 Player Outlook: A Late Round Power Option
4 years agoComing into the 2020 season, Christian Walker was viewed as a late-round first baseman with plenty of power upside. Coming off a breakout 2019, in which he hit 29 home runs, and was backed up by an excellent Statcast profile, that was a fair idea for drafts. Now entering 2021, that view seems to be nearly identical, and that is due to Walker remaining an above-average hitter last season, albeit with a not quite as strong profile. A lot of things still look good for Walker. His hard-hit rate of 48.5% was nearly identical to 2019, his ground ball rate was also nearly the exact same as 2019, and he hit more line-drives. The big concern from last season was that his barrel rate was nearly half of what it was in 2019. Walker went from having one of the best barrel rates in the game to being just plain average, and that is likely the biggest reason for his power decline in 2020. Walker is a hitter that won't contribute much in the other categories - power is his game. Walker still does have a good skillset to work with that could see him return to being a bigger power threat, but he'll need to get more barrels on the ball to truly reach his potential.
