PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Taijuan Walker says he is healthy. Rob Thomson and the Philadelphia Phillies may not be so sure.
Walker struggled in his last start for the Phillies, not making it past the fourth inning in one 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night. True one evening Cole Hamels retired from the PhilliesWalker pitched more like Adam Eaton at that time. Hamels led the Phillies well into October.
Walker gave up four runs in those four innings, including back-to-back home runs to Gabriel Moreno and Joc Pederson in the third inning. As fans chanted “We Want Turnbull,” the pitcher who replaced Walker in the rotation in May, Walker allowed four earned runs on five hits while striking out three and walking three.
Through 10 starts, Walker has an ERA of 5.60. Three Phillies starters (Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez) have ERAs under 3.00 and the other (Aaron Nola) has an ERA of 3.54.
Simply put, the Phillies will have the conversation about whether Walker is healthy or not. If the Phillies in the rotation are going to make a decision on Walkers’ fate, Thomson said it will be a conversation within the clubhouse.
“I’m going to sit down with him tomorrow to make sure he’s healthy,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Friday evening. ‘That’s why I want to ask the question. It seems like he’s trying to create it [velocity on his fastball]. That’s when he makes a mistake. I just want to make sure he’s healthy.”
Walker’s fastball averaged just 90 miles per hour that night, but he says it’s “100% fine.”
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“The velocity, if I locate my fastball, is good,” Walker said. “My arm felt really good today. I thought the ball came out good. You know, 91-92. I think I’m trying to create more speed, but that’s not happening.”
The Phillies do have an option if they decide to remove Walker from the rotation, whether he is healthy or not. Spencer Turnbull allowed just a .148 average and a .489 OPS to opposing hitters when he replaced Walker in the starting rotation in April.
Turnbull was removed from the rotation to control his workload, as he threw just 81 innings over the past three seasons. He threw 32.1 innings as a starter and 16.0 as a reliever. The Phillies could be ready to return to Turnbull.
“I thought he was doing well,” Thompson said after Turnbull gave the Phillies three shutout innings in place of Walker. ‘Did its job. Those guys stuck it there and gave us a chance to come back.”
Walker uses his splitter on 18% of his starts, but the pitch is not as effective as in the past. He also doesn’t seem to have an answer to why the field isn’t as effective.
“The problem right now is it’s just not there,” Walker said. “I’ve thrown it so much the last two years, it’s kind of been my bread and butter. It’s been my favorite pitch in tough situations.”
“Right now it’s just not there,” Walker added. ‘I’m doing my very best to find it. It’s just really not there.’
The Phillies may be running out of time for Walker to figure it out. The conversation about whether Walker is actually healthy will go a long way in determining what they decide to do next.
