Perhaps nobody drew the ire of Philadelphia Phillies fans more than Taijuan Walker last year.
The veteran right-hander was putrid, beginning the season on the injured list which doomed him for the rest of the campaign, evident by his career-worst 7.10 ERA and ERA+ of 57 that relegated him to a bullpen role when it was clear they could no longer trot him out every fifth day.
Fans implored the Phillies to move on from Walker this winter, but with $36 million remaining on his contract over the next two years, that wasn’t something the front office could easily do.
So he entered the spring needing to prove he had some gas left in the tank, and with an offseason to work on getting his velocity back, he had the opportunity to carve out a bullpen role for himself on the Opening Day roster.
Right now, it seems like that job is Walker’s to lose.
He has impressed during his limited time on the mound, giving up two earned runs on solo homers in his two outings, striking out four in 5.1 innings pitched without walking a single batter.
But the thing that’s standing out is his velocity.
Walker’s fastball has averaged 92.7 mph in his two starts, topping out at an average of 93.7.
That’s a noticeable jump from the 90.5 mph he had in 2024, something Philadelphia believes was the major reason for his struggles.
The veteran has caught the eye of manager Rob Thomson.
“If he does what he’s doing right now, he’s back,” the skipper said, per Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Thomson also made a statement that got the attention of the fan base when he declared Walker could find himself in the rotation if he continued to perform well and others began to struggle prior to Opening Day, but that was largely taken with a grain of salt.
However, he’s not the only one who has taken notice of Walker’s resurgence.
“He just looks explosive to me. He’s a super athletic person, and he looks like he got some of that explosiveness back this year, which is a really good sign,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said.
The star backstop hasn’t just noticed the faster speed coming into his glove, either.
The late life on his sinker is something that also has returned to its previous form, giving him a much better chance of pairing his fastball with a secondary pitch that can induce ground balls at the rate he used to when he was an effective pitcher at the Major League level.
There’s still a long ways to go this spring before Opening Day, but if Walker can keep up this level of velocity heading into the start of the year, then there’s a chance he could have a real role with the team throughout the season as a reliever and spot starter.