Astros' lineup solution to Christian Walker's latest slump could be tricky

Through the first few weeks of the 2025 season, Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker has looked almost as bad as his predecessor, Jose Abreu. Houston's biggest offseason acquisition has been abysmal, and heading Wednesday's series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals, was hitting just .164/.282/.230 with a staggering 22 strikeouts 61 at-bats.

Walker's whiff rate is a problematic 30.6% and he's striking out 31% of the time. Despite all of Walker's shortcomings, Astros manager Joe Espada continues bat him fourth in the Houston lineup. But what's the alternative?

Jose Altuve continues to bat leadoff, and should. Isaac Paredes has been plugged into the No. 2 hole, and, of course, Yordan Álvarez is batting third. That leaves Walker batting cleanup. Do the Astros have a better option?

Astros' lineup solution to Christian Walker's latest slump could be tricky

Frankly, only Altuve is having success at the plate right now for the Astros. The former AL MVP is doing what he does—setting the table and hitting for power. Altuve has a .300 batting average and a team-leading three home runs. He's not going anywhere, right? In theory, yes, Altuve should remain atop the Astros batting order.

But, if you're looking for a leadoff hitter with speed who's swinging a hot-bat, Houston could turn to Jake Meyers. But that's a dangerous proposition. Though he's hitting .289/.353/.320 at the moment, and is one of the fastest players on the team, Meyers' career .230/.294/.369 slash line should stop Espada in his tracks. Rather than shuffle the lineup too much, Espada should keep Meyers exactly where he is until he runs out of steam—which is likely to happen by the time you're finished reading this sentence.

Cam Smith could be an eventual option to take over as the Astros cleanup hitter, but that's a lot of pressure to put on a rookie who was playing college ball at this time last year. Smith has made some subtle strides over the past few games, and just like Meyers, should remain exactly where he is in the lineup.

If Yainer Diaz hadn't forgetten how to hit early on, perhaps he'd be a strong candidate to swap spots with Walker. Unfortunately, the Astros catcher is 6-for-50 to open the season and has a team-worst .370 OPS. At the moment, Diaz belongs in the minor leagues more than the leadoff spot.

So you can understand Espada's problem, right? There's no Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman to bail him out of this mess. Unfortunately, Houston just has to weather the storm and hope that Walker gets untracked and begins producing the type of numbers that earned him that three-year, $60 million deal this offseason. It may not be pretty, but Walker is Houston's best option in the cleanup spot.

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