HOUSTON \u2014 In the Houston Astros\u2019 biggest game of the season, first base belonged to backup catcher Victor Caratini, furthering questions about Christian Walker\u2019s future as an everyday player.<\/p>\n
Walker has underperformed in the first season of a three-year, $60 million contract he signed this offseason, forcing manager Joe Espada to gradually move him down in Houston\u2019s batting order. Walker, the team\u2019s Opening Day cleanup hitter, batted seventh thrice this month.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s initial lineup had Walker back in the seven-hole, but the club moved him up to sixth shortly before the game began. Walker struck out three times anyway in the 4-0 loss against the Seattle Mariners.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, with Seattle holding a one-game American League West lead over the Astros and in position to secure the season series, Walker did not start at all. Asked whether he was surprised, Walker replied: \u201cYeah, I expect to play every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, better for the team (to) get another lefty in there. I\u2019ve been grinding at home. It is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walker is slashing .202\/.281\/.345 in 285 plate appearances at Daikin Park. Fifteen of his 23 home runs have come on the road, where he is slugging .446 with a .753 OPS. Walker sat on Saturday mired in a 15-for-75 funk, part of a forgettable first season that must prompt some deeper questions.<\/p>\n
That Espada did not start him in the most significant game of Houston\u2019s season only deepens them. The second-year manager downplayed the decision, citing the balance a switch-hitting Caratini will bring to the lineup. Houston had a team off day on Thursday, too, so the decision isn\u2019t workload-related.<\/p>\n
Espada interrupted a question that wondered whether first base will be an open job for the remaining eight regular-season games. \u201cNo, no, no, no,\u201d Espada said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just me getting Caratini, a lefty bat, in there,\u201d Espada added. \u201cWalker has been hot. He\u2019s been our first baseman. He\u2019ll continue to be our first baseman.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Walker, Espada told him that \u201che wanted to work another lefty in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the manager,\u201d Walker said. \u201cHe\u2019s in control. Trust what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walker entered the day with a .696 OPS. Of the 25 qualified hitters with a lower OPS, only Atlanta\u2019s Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II had taken more plate appearances than Walker\u2019s 614.<\/p>\n
Walker does lead the Astros with 82 RBIs, but he has 89 strikeouts with runners on base this season. No hitter in the sport has more, making it almost impossible for Espada to rationalize hitting him near the middle of the batting order. The lack of other viable alternatives has forced Espada to do so anyway.<\/p>\n
A brutal beginning to Walker\u2019s season has altered his overall numbers, but he\u2019s been productive since the All-Star break, slashing .257\/.307\/.446 across 237 plate appearances. Walker finished last season with a .251\/.335\/.468 slash line. His 23 home runs this season are three fewer than his total last year.<\/p>\n
A career-high 172 strikeouts have sunk Walker\u2019s on-base percentage, as has his inability to hit four-seam fastballs. Walker is batting just .211 against four-seamers and, according to Baseball Savant, has a minus-2 run value against the pitch. Last season, it was plus-9.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll things considered where I started, I\u2019m proud of the season and how it\u2019s gone,\u201d Walker said. \u201cI think it would\u2019ve been easy to just roll over and accept a s\u2014- year for what it is, but to get the homer totals up in the 20s \u2014 the average is hard to move once the bulk gets high enough \u2014 but all things considered, it\u2019s not the year I planned but I\u2019m still proud of what I threw out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether that is enough to eliminate these questions \u2014 both now and into the winter \u2014 is a mystery. A crowded infield will force some fascinating conversations this offseason. Carlos Correa is cemented as the team\u2019s third baseman over Isaac Paredes, who just returned from a significant right hamstring strain.<\/p>\n
Paredes has experience playing first base, making Walker a logical candidate to be discussed in possible trades. His contract includes a limited no-trade provision, which would give him the authority to block trades to six teams.<\/p>\n
Given his poor production, the Astros likely must eat at least some of the $40 million remaining on Walker\u2019s contract should they choose to shop him. Walker is well-liked in the Astros\u2019 clubhouse and has been a consummate professional in the face of his pronounced struggles.<\/p>\n
Reversing them during the team\u2019s biggest stretch of the season would do wonders to calm some of the speculation about his future.<\/p>\n
(Photo of Christian Walker during an at-bat earlier this season: Alex Slitz \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 In the Houston Astros\u2019 biggest game of the season, first base belonged to backup catcher Victor…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":243710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2382,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-243709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-houston-astros","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115241932825557404","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}