Josh Walker is a left-handed relief pitcher the Toronto Blue Jays could potentially use in their bullpen this season.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man Roster Review, where we look at the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. We’ll look at how the player performed in 2024, his season projections for the 2025 season, and any storylines heading into this coming season. In this article, we’ll look at Josh Walker.
Walker was selected in the 37th round of the 2017 draft by the New York Mets. The left-handed reliever spent the majority of his career there, posting a 4.91 ERA and a 2.89 FIP in 22 innings pitched with the team in 2022. Walker started the 2023 season with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets, where he had a 1.84 ERA and a 2.82 FIP in 29.1 innings pitched. His success gave him his first taste of big league action that season, as he had an 8.10 ERA and a 5.26 FIP in 10 innings pitched.
The 2024 season saw Walker split time between the big leagues and Triple-A. In 12.1 innings with the Mets, he had a 5.11 ERA and a 3.90 FIP, with a 20 K% and a 10.9 BB%. With the Mets’ Triple-A team, he had a 2.83 ERA and a 4.15 FIP in 28.2 innings pitched with a 31 K% and a 16.7 BB%, while he struggled with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A team after being traded to them.
Despite his struggles in the big leagues, Fangraphs’ projections are rather high on the left-handed pitcher. Walker is projected to have a 3.84 ERA and a 4.07 FIP in 42 innings pitched, with a 23.9 K% and a 9.9 BB% by Steamer. The worst projection he received was from ATC, who projects Walker will have a 3.96 ERA and a 4.25 FIP in 28 innings pitched with a 23.4 K% and an 11.1 BB% in 2025.
The Blue Jays have done a good job rebuilding their bullpen, but a glaring issue is their lack of a high-leverage left-handed pitcher. As of right now, Brendon Little and Walker are the two left-handed relief pitchers on the 40-man roster, and while Walker is projected to do well and has options, it’s an area of focus for the Jays.
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