Taijuan Walker Fantasy Stats

The Philadelphia Phillies will reinstert right-hander Taijuan Walker into their starting rotation, according to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, and he'll toe the rubber on Tuesday in San Francisco against the Giants and potentially go four innings. After that, the team will reassess the situation after the All-Star break. The 32-year-old veteran has been solid for the Phils as both a starter and reliever this year, but he hasn't started a game since May 30, which means he's not going to go too deep into the contest next week in the Bay Area. Walker hasn't thrown more than two innings in an outing since his start on May 30 versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Overall, he's outperformed expectations with a 3.64 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, one save, 46 strikeouts and 22 walks in 54 1/3 frames over 19 outings (eight starts). Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter could be called up early in the second half, which would push Walker back to the bullpen.

The Athletic's Matt Gelb reports that with the Philadelphia Phillies calling up right-handed pitching prospect Mick Abel to start on Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays in the series finale, right-handed veteran Taijuan Walker will move back to the bullpen. The Phillies want to experiment with Walker as a one-inning reliever despite the fact that he's started eight of the 10 games he's appeared in this year. The 32-year-old veteran got off to a nice start for the Phillies in 2025 in a starting role at the back end of the rotation as an injury replacement, but he's allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits (one homer) while walking three and striking out eight in nine innings in his last two starts against the Rockies and Brewers. Despite his decent numbers, Walker has failed to complete five innings in half of his eight starts this year. He'll lose most of his limited fantasy upside with the move back to the bullpen in Philly.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker will make another start this Friday in the series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, according to manager Rob Thomson. Right-hander Aaron Nola (ankle) isn't quite ready to return from the 15-day injured list, so Walker will stick around for another turn through the starting rotation at Citizens Bank Park. In his first start since May 1, Walker picked up his second win of the year on May 21 by allowing three earned runs in five innings while walking two and striking out two at the Colorado Rockies. The matchup against the Brewers is a good one -- they rank 25th in MLB with a .664 OPS -- and Walker has an ERA under 3.00 in his 39 1/3 innings pitched. While his 19.2% strikeout rate is an improvement over the last two years, it's still below-average, and his 3.76 FIP means some regression is likely coming.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker will return to the team's starting rotation for the series in Colorado against the Rockies that begins next Monday after the team placed right-hander Aaron Nola (ankle) on the 15-day injured list on Friday with a sprained right ankle, according to The Athletic's Matt Gelb. In the meantime, pitching prospect Mick Abel will make his big-league debut and start on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. While a start at hitter-friendly Coors Field isn't ideal for his return to a starting role, Walker certainly deserves fantasy consideration off the waiver wire in deeper fantasy leagues after his strong bounce-back campaign so far for the Phils. The 32-year-old veteran has made eight appearances (six starts) and has only allowed 10 earned runs with 14 walks and 31 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings. Walker should be in line for at least two more starts before Nola returns.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker is moving from the starting rotation into the bullpen, according to manager Rob Thompson. This was expected with left-hander Ranger Suarez (back) returning from the injured list this weekend. Walker was the odd man out, but Thompson did say the Phillies could go to a six-man rotation at some point. In six starts, Walker posted a 2.54 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 22/13 K/BB ratio this season. The 32-year-old picked up a little stream on the waiver wire recently, but that will basically all be lost with the move to the bullpen.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (shoulder) has been cleared to start Friday's series opener at Wrigley Field against the hosting Chicago Cubs. Walker is fine after dealing with some stiffness in his right shoulder during his last start on Saturday against the Miami Marlins, when he gave up an earned run in four innings of work for a no-decision. The 32-year-old veteran has been a pleasant surprise while opening the year in Philly's starting rotation due to injuries, as he's gone 1-1 with a 2.29 ERA (4.24 FIP), a 1.17 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB in 19 2/3 innings over four starts against the Rockies Braves, Giants and Marlins. His lone bad outing came against San Fran, when he gave up four earned runs in five innings. Walker has exceeded expectations to this point, but we wouldn't recommend streaming him against a Cubs offense that has been one of the best in baseball early on.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker had a throwback outing in his first start of the year on Thursday against the visiting Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park in the team's 3-1 victory. Walker kept the Rockies scoreless through six innings while giving up three hits, walking one and striking out four for his first win of the 2025 season. Fantasy managers in deep leagues will want to take this outing with a grain of salt since it came against Colorado, but it was a good first outing for the 32-year-old veteran as he fills in for lefty Ranger Suarez (back) in Philly's starting rotation to begin the season. Things probably won't come as easy in his second start next week against the division-rival Atlanta Braves, though, and Walker will head back to the bullpen when Suarez is ready to return from the injured list.

Philadelphia Phillies veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker will open the year as the team's No. 5 starter with left-hander Ranger Suarez (back) opening the season on the injured list. Barring a setback as he ramps back up, Suarez could be ready to return in late April, which means that Walker should see at least a handful of starts. The 32-year-old won't be of much interest to fantasy managers in single-year leagues outside of those in deep NL-only leagues. The former first-rounder really struggled in his second year with the Phillies in 2024, going 3-7 with a career-worst 7.10 ERA (6.94 FIP), 1.72 WHIP, 58 strikeouts and 37 walks in 83 2/3 innings over 19 appearances (15 starts). It didn't help that he missed time with shoulder and finger injuries. If Walker continues to struggle like that again in 2025, he could be a candidate to be released.

MLB.com's Todd Zolecki writes that Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker will enter spring training with the final bullpen spot because he is owed $36 million over the next two years. However, Walker is going to need to perform in Grapefruit League action to keep the spot. Pitchers Max Lazar, Tyler Phillips, Nick Vespi and Joel Kuhnel could leapfrog Walker for the Phillies' final bullpen spot going into Opening Day if Walker struggles. The 32-year-old Walker was initially going to be in the team's starting rotation to enter 2025, but that all changed when the Phillies acquired lefty Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins this offseason. The former first-rounder in 2010 by the Seattle Mariners has aged poorly the last two years in Philadelphia, posting a 5.27 ERA (5.32 FIP) and 1.44 WHIP with 196 strikeouts and 108 walks in 256 1/3 innings over 50 outings (46 starts).

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker had a miserable outing against the New York Mets on Thursday, surrendering eight runs in just 3 IP. Walker gave up six hits, including four homers, and also walked three. The 32-year-old veteran just doesn't have it this year, pitching to an abysmal 6.91 ERA and 1.67 WHIP while being relegated to the bullpen at times. He shouldn't have a spot in the Phillies rotation come playoffs and will be hard-pressed to start for them next year unless he can find some of what he's lost.