Christian Walker Should Be "Fine" For Opening Day
10 seconds agoHouston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (oblique) is expected to return to spring training games this week and should be "fine" for Opening Day. Earlier in camp, Walker suffered an oblique injury but appears to be nearing a return. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status but given this report, he should be a full-go by Opening Day. In the offseason, the Astros signed Walker to a three-year $60 million contract. Last season, Walker held a .251/.335/.468 slash line with 26 doubles and 26 home runs across 130 contests. He tallied 72 runs and added 84 RBI. He generated an impressive .351 xwOBA with a 13.3 percent barrel rate. Fantasy managers should view Walker as a solid low-end No.1 first baseman as his power should translate well to the short left field in Daikin Park.
Source: Chandler Rome
Source: Chandler Rome
Christian Walker Not Swinging Yet
6 days agoHouston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (oblique) has yet to resume swinging a bat at camp but will take infield on Tuesday. Walker suffered a minor left-oblique injury and is being eased back into baseball activities. The 33-year-old veteran is running out of time to get back up to speed with Opening Day two weeks away, but there is still time. At worst, Walker will open the 2025 regular season on the injured list but miss the minimal amount of time. In that even, the left-handed-hitting Jon Singleton would take over at first base. Fantasy managers shouldn't be too concerned about Walker unless he has a setback as he ramps up to try to get back into Grapefruit League games before the end of spring training. Walker isn't a household fantasy name but isn't a bad consolation prize as a low-end No. 1 first baseman after having hit 30-plus homers in two of the last three seasons.
Source: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
Source: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
Christian Walker Will Not Swing For A Few Days
1 week agoHouston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (oblique) will not swing a bat for a few days. However, he was seen running and stretching with the team earlier on Sunday. Walker underwent an MRI on his oblique after being scratched from Wednesday's lineup. However, he did not suffer a strain and the diagnosis provided "relatively good news." Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status but he is currently on track to not miss any time during the regular season. Earlier in the offseason, the Astros signed Walker to a three-year $60 million contract. The 33-year-old has spent the majority of his MLB career in Arizona after playing his first two seasons in Baltimore. Last summer, Walker posted a .251/.335/.468 slash line with 26 doubles and 26 home runs. When healthy, he should bat in the heart of the Houston lineup which should provide him with elite RBI opportunities.
Source: Brian McTaggart
Source: Brian McTaggart
No Strain For Christian Walker
1 week agoHouston Astros first baseman Christian Walker's (oblique) MRI exam didn't show a "strain or anything that we are concerned about," manager Joe Espada said. The Astros are calling Walker's injury left-oblique soreness. He is returning to the team in camp on Friday and will be eased back into baseball activities. It's good news for the team's new first baseman, but the 33-year-old isn't out of the woods yet with three weeks until Opening Day. The good news is that if Walker doesn't have any setbacks with his oblique as he ramps back up, he still has a chance to be ready for the start of the regular season. If he's not ready to go, the left-handed-hitting Jon Singleton would see most of the playing time at the cold corner to begin the year. Assuming Walker's oblique injury doesn't linger and affect his early-season production, he's not a bad fallback target at the first base position in fantasy drafts. Walker has 30-plus homers in two of the last three seasons.
Source: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
Source: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
Christian Walker Undergoes Ultrasound On His Oblique
2 weeks agoHouston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (oblique) said his left-oblique injury isn't as serious as the one that kept him out for a month last season. He said he is sore on Thursday but not worse than Wednesday, which is a good sign. Walker had an ultrasound and is waiting for the inflammation to subside before getting further imaging. It's not much of an update and doesn't really give us much of an indication if the 33-year-old will be ready by Opening Day after he was scratched from Wednesday's Grapefruit League lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals. Last year with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Walker missed five weeks in the second half of the season. Even if this oblique injury isn't as serious, it doesn't mean he won't start the 2025 season on the injured list. Until we know more, it will certainly give fantasy managers pause in taking Walker as a top-10 fantasy first baseman in upcoming drafts.
Source: MLB.com - Brian McTaggart
Source: MLB.com - Brian McTaggart