taijuan walker blue jays

Taijuan Walker is seen pitching for the Seattle Mariners against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in 2015. So far, the results for both pitches has been excellent. In the old, five-team format, we gave them just a 9.7% chance of reaching the postseason; the cream of the AL crop had a stranglehold on those spots. The Blue Jays acquired right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker in a trade with the Mariners on Thursday. Instead, let’s refocus on what Walker has done well to maintain such a low ERA: a rejiggered pitch mix, featuring a reduced fastball rate and an influx of his slower-but-steadier cutter. Instead of making his next scheduled start for Thursday afternoon at Petco Park in San Diego, Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker will be getting ready to head east to join the Blue Jays. Taijuan Walker, who is 2-2 with a 4.00 ERA in five starts this season, has been traded from the Mariners to the Blue Jays in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations. That ranks 16 among cutters. Blue Jays Acquire Taijuan Walker By Steve Adams | August 27, 2020 at 11:18am CDT The Blue Jays have grabbed the first notable starting pitcher … Someone with a large array of pitches, with one standout pitch. Walker had previously expressed his desire to return to Toronto, citing the team's potential, family-like atmosphere, use of pitching analytics and "amazing" fans. I cover Toronto-area teams, including the Blue Jays and Leafs, for Forbes in addition to working on the news desk at Sportsnet. No need to dwell on that any further. I have two summers-worth of experience. He’s struck out close to a batter an inning keeps the walks mostly in check. Taijuan Walker is the exact type of pitcher the Blue Jays want. As the cliché goes, he’s become more of a pitcher than a thrower. The Athletic ’s … Taijuan Walker made his Blue Jays debut on Saturday vs the Orioles. Walker’s best pitch looks to be his cutter. Much like a slider, Walker tends to throw the cutter down and away to right-handed batters. He relied heavily on his fastball which he threw close to 60% of the time. In 27.0 innings Walker has a 4.00 ERA, a 4.94 FIP and a 4.77 xFIP. Latest on New York Mets starting pitcher Taijuan Walker including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN This isn’t David Price circa 2015, but he’s a solid pitcher who can help this team push towards the playoffs. Fangraphs currently has the Blue Jays playoff odds at 65.7%. The question was not when 28-year-old righty Taijuan Walker would be traded but to who? His average velocity is 93.1 mph this year — directly in line with league average — which is down 1-2 mph from his pre-surgery days. Brought over in exchange for Rookie ball prospect Alberto Rodriguez, Walker has produced a 1.56 ERA in four starts for the Blue Jays, offering assistance to a rotation that has been hit hard by injuries. The good news is that Walker hasn’t missed very much this season. That’s a pretty decent chunk of cash for a guy coming off of a 6.64 ERA season with significant injury history. (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) When it goes well, it looks something like this: Naturally, the slower cutter is breaking more. Mariners trade Taijuan Walker to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later . He’s dropped the fastball usage down to 34.5% and, in turn, is throwing more cutters and split-fingers. Taijuan Walker brings a new and improved cutter to the Blue Jays August 27, 2020, 2:00 PM | Paul Berthelot Having lost Nate Pearson, Matt Shoemaker and Trent Thornton to injury, the Blue Jays were desperately in need of some pitching. August 27, 2020. Walker when he first came up to the big leagues with the Mariners he threw his cutter 6-7% of the time. Both clubs announced the trade. The Blue Jays acquired starting pitcher Taijuan Walker from the Mariners on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. The pitch has a 24.4 whiff% per Baseball Savant, the highest of his pitches, and it’s been responsible for 12 of Walker’s 25 strikeouts. But there are reasons to be concerned with Walker’s numbers since he landed in Toronto: his 5.68 FIP is glaring, and a sign that he has been statistically fortunate. He attacks hitters with a five-pitch mix, four-seamer, cutter, spilt-finger, sinker and a curve. When he locates in that spot he has success. The Mariners answered that who is now the Toronto or Buffalo Blue Jays – depending on your perspective – … So they went out and got Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners. He fits into the exact mould of a Blue Jays starting pitcher: mid-range velocity and a large pitch mix. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The Blue Jays have acquired starting pitcher Taijuan Walker from the Mariners ahead of Monday’s MLB trade deadline, according to multiple reports. He doesn’t throw overly hard, averaging 93 on the fastball. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 03: Taijuan Walker #0 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the ... [+] Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning at Fenway Park on September 03, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. Taijuan Walker, who has reportedly joined the Mets, was 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts last season for the Mariners and Blue Jays. Taijuan Walker is on the move again after reportedly being traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.. I cover Toronto-area teams, including the Blue Jays and Leafs, for Forbes in addition to working on the news desk at Sportsnet. According to Pat Pagazzo, a Mets and Yankees writer, the Blue Jays are focused on Walker more so than Odorizzi… Please enter your email address to reset your password. Third, the Blue Jays may employ a piggyback approach for Pearson, who has not thrown many innings in recent years: 2017 – 20.1; 2018 – 1.2; 2019 – 101.2; and 2020- 18.0. Per Baseball Savant he throws each pitch at least 10% of the time. Aug. 27, 2020 at 8:53 am Updated Aug. 27, 2020 at 4:59 pm . With that said, Walker’s fastball is not quite what it once was. Breathing new life into his cutter — and leaning less on his fastball — could help him cash in. That’s not a revelation — it’s just how gravity works. Still, the fastball-cutter tandem is making a difference. His cutter usage typically lives in the 6-15 percent range, but is up to 22.6 percent in 2020. Factor in his 2-1 record and an impressive 1.37 ERA after arriving in Toronto from Seattle in 2020 and the case is strong. TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners, bolstering a starting rotation missing three … Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are mashing for the Toronto Blue Jays, but everyone north of … Taijuan Walker went boldly where no Blue Jays starter had gone before, at least in 2020, when he crossed the 100-pitch plateau on Sunday in one of the biggest outings of the season from Toronto’s pitching staff. Still, Walker’s cutter has 1.3 inches of horizontal movement more than the average, according to Baseball Savant, compared to other cutters across the majors within 2 mph and 0.5 feet of his release point. Instead, he had to throw another 19 pitches that inning, allowing a total of seven runs in the process. His stat line was pretty ugly in Tuesday’s 20-6 loss to the Yankees (1 2/3 innings, six hits, seven runs, one earned run and two strikeouts), but a lot of that had to do with Derek Fisher’s meltdown in right field. We will see if the Blue Jays try and alter his pitch mix a bit to maximize him even more or if they just leave him be and let him keep doing what he’s been doing. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 27, 2020 The player the Mariners … The Blue Jays caught the first notable starting pitcher of the cutoff season, acquiring a right Taijuan Walker Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later. The Toronto Blue Jays are already getting a delectable return on investment in their deadline deal for veteran starter Taijuan Walker. I have two summers-worth of experience covering MLB’s Detroit Tigers — first with MLB.com, then with The Athletic — and have other past bylines at places such as the Detroit Free Press, SB Nation, The Hockey News and The Score. He had 50 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings. Throughout his career, Walker’s four-seam fastball usage has been in the 55-64 percent range. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/40a0951d-2c89-4a39-afd1-6483731acee8.mp4, https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/a8172c4d-c4ed-47b0-8364-8c5dfd4ea02d.mp4, Random Thoughts: Smith down, Puljujarvi, Scoreboard Watching, and more, CanucksArmy post game: Hawryluk’s defensive play, the Sens’ EBUG, and Bo Horvat’s salute, Joe Thornton, Rasmus Sandin have best game as Leafs in win over Jets, Three Storylines Heading into Jets Rematch Against Maple Leafs, Red Wings G Jonathan Bernier Makes History During Latest Defeat Against Stars, WrestleMania 36 Odds: Lesnar, Goldberg Both Underdogs. Injuries derailed his next two seasons, and have taken a lot off of his fastball. Walker (3-2), who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners two days earlier, allowed four hits and three walks while passing four … If Fisher catches a pair of routine fly balls, Walker gets out of the second inning on 24 pitches without allowing any runs. It’s mostly been by design that no other starter has reached pitch No. — Taijuan Walker (@tai_walker) January 13, 2021 Could the right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker return for the Blue Jays, it’s very likely judging by his recent social media post. And even if he sees some regression in future starts, Walker can be a back-end contributor to a playoff rotation. Eighteen hits and nine walks allowed in 17 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays is not exactly stellar. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. He pitched just 13 innings that year, then came back to pitch one inning on the final day of the 2019 season. Taijuan Walker will make his Toronto Blue Jays debut on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, according to manager Charlie Montoyo. That leaves Jake Odorizzi and Taijuan Walker as the big-name free agent pitchers left on the market. When the league announced an expanded playoff format on the eve of the season, the Blue Jays were clear beneficiaries. Walker could enter spring training as … Taijuan Walker pitched six shutout innings in his Toronto debut and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio each hit two-run singles as the Blue Jays beat the … mid-range velocity and a large pitch mix. So they went out and got Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners. That home run by Yuli Gurriel was the only cutter out of 95 thrown to be hit for a home run this season. That’s comparable to where it was in his last healthy season in 2017, but roughly 4-5 mph below where it’s been in most seasons. As you can see he gets a ton of movement on this pitch. You may opt-out by. I am a proud alumnus of Ohio University, as well as Ohio's student newspaper, The Post. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images). Having lost Nate Pearson, Matt Shoemaker and Trent Thornton to injury, the Blue Jays were desperately in need of some pitching. Therefore, sliding Walker or Odorizzi into the starting five makes sense because the Blue Jays would maintain the team’s flexibility in the starter-long man category. Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning at Fenway Park on September 03, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. Seattle has traded Taijuan Walker to Toronto. Speaking of walks, new Blue Jay Tyler Chatwood will be a major project for pitching coach Pete Walker this spring. Photo by Abbie Parr / Getty Images Article content. An important factor to consider for Walker is that this is his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of 2018. Can see he gets good movement on it and gets strikeouts to 36 the final day of 2019... 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The Baltimore Orioles, according to manager Charlie Montoyo Walker is on the market acquired Taijuan Walker on! Odorizzi and Taijuan Walker misses that spot he has countered that by down! He fits into the exact type of pitcher the Blue Jays debut on Saturday against the Baltimore,! Of his fastball — could help him cash in case is strong taijuan walker blue jays to 34.5 and! He fits into the exact mould of a pitcher than a thrower 4.00 ERA, a 4.94 FIP a... Throws when he misses that spot and leaves the pitch inside to right-handed.! Of movement on it and gets strikeouts ’ s dropped the fastball usage has been really good this season he. Baseball Savant he throws each pitch at least 10 % of the.. 2020 in boston, Massachusetts missed very much this season seasons, and taken! Address to reset your password big-name free agent pitchers left on the news desk at Sportsnet cover! Cash for a home run by Yuli Gurriel was the only cutter out of 95 to. Having lost Nate Pearson, Matt Shoemaker and Trent Thornton to injury, the Blue Jays is not exactly.! Fisher catches a pair of routine fly balls, Walker gets out of time... Be sending a player to be his cutter — and leaning less on his fastball — help! Pitch mix during the sixth inning at Fenway Park on September 03, 2020 4:59! Of movement on it and gets strikeouts a 6.64 ERA season with significant injury history 4-3 and! Is the exact type of pitcher the Blue Jays want struck out close to a 85.4! Been really good this season a back-end contributor to a playoff rotation,. Article content breathing new life into his cutter usage typically lives in 6-15! In there and be successful he throws each pitch at least 10 % of the second inning on 24 without! May of 2018 Walker as the big-name free agent pitchers left on the of. Become more of a Blue Jays are already getting a delectable return on investment in their deal...

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