The Philadelphia Phillies tied their series against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday thanks to a go-ahead solo home run from Trea Turner in the ninth inning. With the 4-3 victory, Philadelphia now sits at 8-3, a half-game ahead of New York for first place in the NL East (and six games ahead of the 2-9 Braves).
Aside from Turner, the star of the show on Wednesday was Bryce Harper. And aside from Harper, it was probably Taijuan Walker. The Phillies' beleaguered former All-Star has been soft-launching a renaissance tour out of the gate. He has now pitched 11 scoreless innings through two starts, allowing eight hits, four walks, and recording nine strikeouts.
Does this feel particularly sustainable? Not really. Walker got himself into a few jams on Wednesday night, but to his credit, he got out of those jams unscathed. He has shown a level of composure that was simply not present last season, when Walker's ERA ballooned to 7.10 amid various injury setbacks. His groundball rate and average exit velocity both sit in the 80th percentile so far, per Baseball Savant. That is a positive indicator; Walker is at his best when he's forcing soft contact and letting his defense carry the day.
If Walker can keep operating as a functional fifth or sixth starter in the Phillies rotation — and we're still at the point where "if" is the operative word — that gives Rob Thomson and Dave Dombrowski a lot of flexbility, especially when it comes to Philadelphia's No. 1 prospect, Andrew Painter.
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Taijuan Walker's resurgence helps Phillies take it slow with Andrew Painter
Andrew Painter is slated to begin his steady crawl through the Phillies' minor-league system this week as he ramps up for a midseason MLB debut. Philadelphia's No. 1 prospect missed all of last season due to Tommy John surgery, but the 23-year-old dominated the Arizona Fall League and seems to be on the fast-track for MLB innings around the All-Star break.
While there has been a sense of pressure to get Painter up to speed so Philadelphia doesn't have to rely on Walker, that pressure is starting to wane. Walker isn't going to keep putting up zeros on the scoreboard, but if he's even a serviceable fifth starter — in line with what the Phillies thought they were paying for once upon a time — it allows Dombrowski and Thomson to play it slow with Painter.
That is for the best, of course. For as much as we all want to see Painter's stuff in a big-league setting, the Phils cannot rush their top prospect, lest he risk re-injuring his elbow. Even in the meantime, Walker's bounce-back gives Philadelphia valuable optionality. Ranger Suarez is due back eventually, but rather than relegating Walker to bullpen obscurity upon his return, the Phillies can maintain a sixth-man rotation until Painter arrives and, presumably, bumps Walker to the bullpen. Such an arrangement this early in the season was unthinkable mere weeks ago, but Walker is shoving. It has been genuinely impressive.
Now, has Walker done this against the two worst teams in MLB record-wise, the Rockies and the Braves? Yes, but that feels like misleading characterization for the Braves, a talent-rich team struggling through bullpen woes and a brutal schedule. Zack Wheeler gave up five runs to Atlanta the day before Walker's scoreless five-inning gem. Just saying. Maybe this is real.