Atlanta Braves Claim Adam Walker

Moving on up

Walker moved to A ball in 2013 and continued to show off his power. In his 552 PA he slashed .278/.3129/.526/.844 with 27 homers and 109 RBI. He also struck out 115 times and walked just 31; three intentionally.

The 2014 season at high A in the Florida State league was more of the same; a .246/.307/.436/.743 line, 25 homers, 19 doubles and a triple and nine successful steals in 14 attempts.

Although he had two more PA and three more games his batting average reflected a drop in total bases from 267 to 220. Still not bad considering he was a little younger than the average player in league that year but worrying because his strikeouts shot up to 156 while his walks crept up to 44

After the 2014 season Fangraphs posted these numbers on the 20-80 scouting scale.

AA and above – More Ks

The following year Minnesota move him to AA in the Southern League and he continued to hit for big power; 31 homers, 31 doubles, three triples and a .239/.309/.498/.807 line. Of course he did move up a level and some decline should be expected the first year. That said Walker led the league in strikeouts with 195.

That’s a 38.8% K rate and 57 more strikeouts than the next closest player. His 560 PA were the most in the league – only two other players had over 500 – and he walked just 51 times.

Nothing changed when he moved up to AAA last season.   In his 531 PA he posted a .243/.305/.479/.784 line with 27 homers, 22 doubles and five triples. He walked just 44 times but struck out a league leading 202 times;  21 more than the second place hitter and 64 more than number three among qualified bats.