Christian Walker Leads D-backs Into Battle Against the Giants

The oft overlooked first baseman has been a key driver for team success both on and off the field

The first place Diamondbacks (46-30) and the second place Giants (42-33) play the first of a three-game series at Oracle Park tonight, first pitch at 7:15 PST

The D-backs have been alone in first place since June 6th, going 11-5 in that span. The  last time the two teams faced each each other for a four game series at Chase Field the D-backs took the final three games after dropping the opener, with the Giants falling to 17-23. Since then they are 25-10 and just had a ten game winning streak snapped by San Diego yesterday. 

Earlier today we took a detailed look at the series pitching matchups. Be sure to follow that link for more information about Zach Davies and Logan Webb

Lineups

MLB.com

Christian Walker is in his customary cleanup spot in the order. He's been the hottest D-backs hitter over the last 7 days, going 11 for 28, .393 with two homers, seven RBI and a 1.148 OPS. He has eight multi hit games in June and his season average is up to .271/.334./.509, .843 OPS, good for a 129 OPS+ or 29% above league average.  He's got 15 homers and 49 RBI, both numbers ranking third among NL first baseman.  On top of all that hitting the reigning NL Gold Glove first baseman once again leads all  of MLB first baseman in Statcast's Outs Above Average, with +7.

Yet somehow he placed 10th in All Star voting among NL first baseman. It's somewhat understandable perhaps. He was a late bloomer, is outwardly quiet, and the value of his all around game sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.  This year the emergence of Corbin Carroll and some of the other young D-backs may have overshadowed his contributions a little bit as well. His manager Torey Lovullo knows his value however.

"I'm really lucky that I get to watch him play and perform and prepare every day". Lovullo said.  "This is a very good baseball player that grows and learns every day. If you look at his numbers and I'm sure he'll be compared to some of the people that passed the test and they're in the top two of the voting, they're comparable."

For his part, Walker isn't worried about being over shadowed at all. In fact he sees it as a positive. 

I think it's good for this team that I can put together a few good weeks and there's not an obvious leading story. That's a credit to how good this team is. There's always something equally if not more cool going on, a cool play, a young guy doing something...I'm proud of it, I'm very happy. I'm not after the attention or anything like that.

As Lovullo mentioned, Walker is always trying to get better.  His work ethic to become a great fielder has been documented before. never satisfied, he's a perfectionist and always looking for more out of himself. 

"To be honest there's a lot still in the tank" Walker said. "There's a lot of untapped things. When I look back at the last few weeks I think about a lot of good pitches I could have done some more damage on. Just trying to stay hungry and maintain  perspective. As long as I can help the team win you know we're in a good spot."

As important as his on field performance is to the team,  he's developed a critical leadership role.  Whether it's teaching his teammates how to play chess, setting the example with his work ethic and practice habits, or letting them know what's expected, he's become central to the team's culture. 

"I remember my first experience in the big leagues and everybody's looking just to feel like you have a place. You want to feel like you belong. I think any time a veteran guy can show them what is expected or what the standard is I think it's easy to buy into that. It feels very attainable when you see other people going through the same thing. " 

 Lovullo has come to rely on Walker as one of the leading veteran players.

"He's been around me enough to know when something is right and when it's wrong. I won't tell you who but there was a situation where a young player had not executed something the right way to our standards. It was kind of Goldy like, I looked around, I saw who was looking , and Walker just made eye contact with me , and said I got that, I'm going to handle that. To me that is very powerful because he's developed that and I don't think he's an open outward leader, he just does it by example. He's taken on a new responsibility to look after his teammates, to hold them accountable. It's way more powerful coming from a teammate."   

Walker is 32 years old and has one more season of team control through 2024 before becoming a free agent for the 2025 season. His time is now. This season and next surrounded by an emerging core of young players is a golden opportunity to put it all together. Walker is doing just that.