Taijuan Walker

Taijuan Emmanuel Walker (born August 13, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets.

The Seattle Mariners selected Walker in the first round, with the 43rd overall pick, of the 2010 MLB draft.

Walker and the Mariners agreed to a deal that included an $800,000 signing bonus.

He made four appearances for the Rookie League AZL Mariners, all in relief, and went 1–1 with a 1.29 earned run average (ERA).

Walker was listed as one of the Mariners' top 10 prospects for the 2011 season, ranked fourth according to Baseball America.

Prior to the 2012 season, he was ranked the second best prospect in the Mariners organization and the 20th best overall.

Walker was selected to play in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.

Walker made his MLB debut in 2013 and was an All-Star in 2021.

He has played for the Mexico national baseball team.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Walker's original love was basketball, until he began playing baseball at the age of 11.

Walker attended Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa, California, where he was a pitcher and shortstop, as well as a two-sport athlete.

After Walker pitched to a 5–3 win–loss record and a 3.61 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 57 1⁄3 innings pitched for the Tacoma Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, the Mariners promoted Walker on August 30, 2013.

Walker pitched 5 innings against the Houston Astros, and yielded just 2 hits and struck out 2.

Walker was called up when rosters expanded in September 2013.

He started 3 games, finishing the season with a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings.

On September 24, 2014, Walker pitched his first MLB complete game, allowing one run in a 1–0 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Walker began the 2015 season as a member of the Mariners' starting rotation.

In his first start, at Oakland, Walker gave up nine runs in 3 1⁄3 innings.

He followed that outing by giving up 5 runs in 4 innings against the Dodgers, causing some to question whether or not Walker was ready for the big leagues.

Walker continued to struggle, pitching more than 6 innings only once through his first nine starts.

However, Walker won five straight starts in June and July, improving his record from 2–6 to 7–6.

Walker struggled after winning five straight, going 0–1 with an 8.02 ERA, but on July 31, he threw a complete game one-hitter (his only hit was a home run by Miguel Sano) against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

This time, his offense backed him up, as he won 6–1, striking out 11 only needing 100 pitches to do so.

Overall, Walker finished the 2015 season with an 11–8 record despite posting a 4.56 ERA in 29 starts.

Throughout the first half of the 2016 season, Walker battled with a foot injury.

He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on two occasions.

He began the second half of the season on the disabled list.

Before the all-star break, Walker had a 4–7 record despite a 3.66 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 86 innings.

Walker was optioned to AAA on August 8, 2016.

On September 13, 2016, Walker pitched his first career complete-game shutout in an 8–0 Mariners win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

He carried a perfect game into the sixth inning and a no-hitter into the seventh, finishing the game allowing no walks and three hits while striking out eleven batters.

On November 23, 2016, the Mariners traded Walker and Ketel Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and Zac Curtis.

In 2017, his first season in Arizona, Walker made 28 starts, pitching to a 9–9 record in 157 innings.

On April 15, 2018, Walker was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to right forearm tightness.

Two days later, on April 17, it was revealed that Walker was diagnosed with a UCL injury in his right elbow.

On April 18, it was revealed that Walker had a partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow.

The injury required Tommy John surgery, bringing Walker's 2018 season to a premature end.

Following his Tommy John surgery, Walker appeared in one game for the Diamondbacks, the final game of the 2019 season.

On December 2, Walker was non-tendered by Arizona and became a free agent.