Mariners: What to do with Taijuan Walker?
By Billy Heyen
The Seattle Mariners’ young right hander Taijuan Walker has battled a nagging foot injury most of the season. What should fantasy owners do?
Mariners young right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker was placed on the 15-Day-DL prior to the All-Star Break. He has been battling a nagging foot injury for much of the season, and his shortened or missed starts have surely bothered his fantasy owners hoping for him to take off.
It’s hard to know what to do with a guy who has a nagging injury, but there are a few ways to approach this situation.
First things first, in any league where you can keep more than a few players season-to-season, Walker should not be going anywhere. He still has ace potential, and if anything you should use this injury to buy low on him for some future help.
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In any redraft league, Walker is a much riskier proposition. The Mariners were not even sure what was wrong with him initially, and they were using his DL stint to try to figure out what his deal was.
As Bleacher Report has compiled in this article, there are a lot of things going on here. It sounds like the type of injury that will eventually require some sort of surgery, and prior to the surgery will probably be adding some pain to Walker. In this instance, I would recommend moving on from Walker if you can find a reasonable replacement.
The Mariners are sure to take it easy with their young phenom, and even when he pitches, it was obvious the last month that something was off with his performance; I doubt that changes before any surgery.
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If I was the owner of Walker in a redraft league, his absence can be replaced two ways. If he was one of your few best pitchers, I’d try to find someone dependable for him, an Anthony DeSclafani type.
However, if he was just a bench flier anyways, give a shot to the next prospect that gets called up and see if you can hit on them. Don’t let an affinity for Walker hold you back in a redraft league, because the Mariners will be uber-cautious with their youngster.