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It took a good bit longer than expected, but Christian Walker appears to be returning to form. Houston Astros fans were on the edge, and understandably so, after Walker began the year hitting an unthinkable .164/.281/.236 through the first 64 plate appearances of the 2025 season. Was this Jose Abreu 2.0?
Thankfully, the answer appears to be no. After investing $60 million into Walker this offseason, the Houston Astros and their fanbase can breathe a bit easier having seen him post a much more respectable .276/.323/.552 slash line since April 14 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Walker owns a 154 wRC+ during that eight-game stretch, and looks much more comfortable in the batters' box.
But if Walker doesn't improve his chase rate, it's doubtful this recent uptick in production is sustainable. Walker's chase rate is over 30% on the season, and even during this hot-streak, he's swinging at nearly 38% of balls that are outside the strike zone.
Christian Walker's surge won't continue unless he stopping chasing and missing so many pitches
Looking at Walker's stats from last season gives you a great idea of why the Astros were willing to pay a steep price to bring him to Houston. Walker was barreling the ball 13.3% of the time while helped him enjoy a hard hit rate that ranked among the 86th percentile in 2024. More importantly, however, Walker was able to lay off those pitches outside the zone. He had an impressive 24.3% chase rate last season that put him in the top 25% of the league.
But through the first month of the 2025 season, Walker's chase rate is in the bottom-third. The Astros slugger is flailing wildly at pitches he has no business swinging at, and as a results, owns an unsightly 30.3% chase rate. Even Jeremy Peńa doesn't know what Walker's swinging at or why right now.
In order for Houston's first baseman to get back into the good graces of the Astros fanbase, he has to steer clear of those pitches off the plate. Walker's whiff rate is also up nearly 5% from last season as well.
The Astros have caught fire recently, but their pitching is a big reason why. Houston needs bigger contributions from Walker and the rest of the Astros lineup in order to keep climbing the AL West standings this season.