M’s Select RHP Taijuan Walker with #43
The Mariners have built a farm system around Midwest scouting for many years. Ryan Feierabend, Tony Butler, Nate Adcock, the list goes on. When #43 came up, it seemed logical. It seemed like the Mariners were going to pick Ohio right-hander Stetson Allie, widely regarded as a top ten prospect, who had somehow managed to drift all the way to them. And then the Mariners picked California RHP Taijuan Walker.
This wasn’t really what we expected. It wasn’t really what anyone expected, but that doesn’t automatically make it a bad pick. It is a signability pick, however, as Walker has no known college commitments and is likely to be brought in with some ease. He’s certainly not lacking on overall ceiling either, it’s just that he hasn’t had all that much experience to this point.
Walker is roughly 6’5 and 200 lbs, which would project him to around Michael Pineda’s body type in the long term. He throws in the low 90s and can touch 95 on a good day. The arm action is a little whippy and he’ll throw across his body, but the delivery itself is not so damning as his mechanical consistency.
A team that picks Walker is likely to be in love with his athleticism. He’s a two-sport star at his high school and known as a competitive basketball player, which leaves him a little unrefined on the baseball front. Last season, he was even tried out on the infield for a while before they ultimately decided he was uncomfortable out there and better suited to starting on a regular basis.
Unfortunately for Walker, the extra focus on pitching has not helped his performances a great deal. He showed signs of a plus curve in the past, and that went south on him this spring. The slider he developed to compensate has been nothing extraordinary, and the change-up is merely an offering he has, not one that he uses, or demands to be used. A chart climber in summer and fall play for last year, this spring he wasn’t doing a lot to attract scouts on a regular basis.
Like their confidence in his athleticism, the Mariners will also have to be convinced that they can build a consistent motion for him in order for this one to work. This isn’t a bad pick, but it is more long-term than most of us might have hoped, with the potential of giving us some of that high-end pitching that the system so desperately needs at the lower levels.
MLB.com Player Profile
Baseball America Video (via YouTube)
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Pronounced Taiwan?
Pronounced, and according to my brain, typed, which is why I’ve been referring to him by his last name.
Looking at his myspace page, I’m thinking this is a kid who puts basketball first.
Whoops.
I think that him being a compensatory pick, they probably also believed that they could get him to sign for baseball, but everything else I read was alluding to it without coming right out.
Forgot the link
He may love basketball, but I don’t think he’s gotten national attention for anything but baseball. He doesn’t have a profile on any of the major recruiting websites for basketball so I don’t think its something we have to worry about.
What is this, 2003? I’m kidding, but you’re probably right. Basketball is the glamorous sport. Any word on potential (basketball) scholarships?
The only thing I can think of when I look at that page is ‘God, I’m getting old.’ Anyone else feel like they’re about 75-years-old when looking at that kid’s page?
“The only thing I can think of when I look at that page is ‘God, I’m getting old.’ Anyone else feel like they’re about 75-years-old when looking at that kid’s page?”
The fact that people consider Mike Sweeney old makes me feel pretty old.
When I look at his myspace page I think of personal Angelfire Web sites from 1997. Then soon after I think seizure.
Well, there’s “sports old” and then there’s old. There’s a reason endurance events have “Masters divisions” for people 40 and over, and why the PGA’s “Senior Tour” starts at 50. It doesn’t mean those guys can’t still run circles around normal people in the batters box, or on the basketball court, or on the course – they’re just not quite among the 50/100/500 best in the world anymore.
BTW I have to note that I work with college kids on a regular basis, and I can’t believe this guy is still on MySpace. Facebook is where the cool kids hang out! 😀
Maybe the Midwest is just lagging the coasts by a couple years…
Yeah, it was quite jarring the other day when Niehaus said Sweeney was 36 years old. Cripes, I just turned 36 a couple of weeks ago. I always think of Sweeney as being about 62, so hearing that I was the same age as him made me want to put my tongue in the garbage disposal.
Since he lives in California, I’m not sure how that’s relevant
That link is to the wrong Taijuan Walker. That Taijuan Walker lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. Our Taijuan Walker lives in Yucaipa, California. There are apparently two Taijuan Walkers on Facebook, too, but neither of them allows non-friends access to his profile.
Reading comprehension, I guess. I used Midwest scouting as an intro to what was expected to be the Allie pick.
This kid is from my alma mater…hopefully he does not disappoint.
Breadbaker, that Myspace page talks about “being a baller at yuc high school”.
Maybe he is originally from Louisiana or something?
More like a short term memory issue. I read the “built around… Midwest scouting” line, fully understood that you said he was from California… then somewhere between going to that jarring MySpace page and coming back here he magically turned into a Midwesterner.
It’s probably due to global warming – my skull overheated.
AH! (Partially) vindicated by Mr. Nye – the MySpace page DOES say Shreveport, Louisiana.
He lists his income as $250K+, so maybe he won’t be such an easy sign.
250k would be under slot.
I read about this guy, and two words leap to mind:
Brandon Morrow, with less control.
OK, five words.
If you are brave enough to read the scintillating and highly intellectual comments of various HS-age bros and ladies, you can see that it is indeed #44, born Aug 13th.
I envision an Ian Snell clone. Control issues.
I wouldn’t say a guy who plays basketball most of the time and has only been pitching in earnest for a little over a year will never develop command.
That said, it feels more like a Fontaine pick than anything else.
I just don’t think it’s a good idea to pick a guy this high based on raw athleticism.
He could turn into something awesome, but it’s a big risk in my mind, and you have to at least be a little worried about how attached he actually is to baseball.
I think this organization needs to draft players that can be competent major league caliber players sooner than later. Now, is not the time for drafting a 17 year old hope and prayer pitcher with your top draft pick. Perhaps, they haven’t noticed, but more than half of their rooster is composed of triple A caliber position players. The fans have noticed!
Watching his video, it seems like he’s not getting full rotation out of his wind-up. I could be wrong, but it looks like he could get a lot more velocity out of his arm with better mechanics.
However, I would like to see the M’s draft a shit-ton of catchers over the next two days and two years. Apparently we don’t have a single one in the whole system capable of A) catching the baseball and B) staying healthy.
Fixed.
His whole motion is terrible, and I think they’ll probably work on fixing it first thing.
Fixed again.
Add Catcher(s) and Left fielder. Perhaps, utility players?
FIXED!
I’ve seen a curve and a fastball. The fastball appeared to be a cut fastball, but the camera angle may have just made it look that way.
There is also a video of what appears to be a slider, I think. The video doesn’t have the plate, and it’s hard to see the left-to-right movement of the ball.
His delivery bothers me more and more every time I look at it. Given how he appears to be throwing you should expect that type of velocity out of the stretch. He could flirt with 97 or 98 from the wind-up if that is straightened out.
Robot Chicken? Anyone?
Goofiness aside, if you’re expecting to get a sure-fire frontline starter or a #3 or #4 hitter with the #43rd overall pick in the MLB draft then you don’t know how it generally operates. The M’s were going to go for someone who would sign easily with the compensation pick, and you might see them gamble on someone who’s going to take more money with their second pick tomorrow. One pick does not make a draft unless you’re picking super high.
Some of them can. They just can’t hit, or sometimes, can’t throw runners out. Micah Gibbs and Jake Hernandez are both still on the board, but it’s generally recognized that catching is one of the weaknesses of this particular draft.
I’m sure the M’s Front Office had a pretty good feel as to whether he would sign or not before they actually drafted him.
I don’t understand the thinking behind this pick. Besides signability, why draft a big project this early in the draft with a depleted farm system?
Obviously our scouts saw something in him. Raw untapped potential is a powerful drug.
@spankystout – I heard on the radio the idea might be that they could sign Walker – a guy with upside, but a project – at slot or less, then turn around use the money they saved and overpay for their next pick to guarantee that they come play for the M’s.
Supposedly, there is still a lot of talent left for the 2nd round, and that saving here to overpay later is better than having to overpay twice. This makes sense if we have a certain budget for the draft.
What that doesn’t figure is what that budget for the team going forward will look like.
And after saying all that, all I should have said is to see JayYencich @ 11:17PM.
People, we have to remember that the draft is not a fast track to the majors, contrary to what you see with Strasburg and Leake. Unless, you’re talking about Japanese baseball – then that’s different.
The draft will take time for it to work. And after hearing Ian Furness (yeah, I know), the message for people like him who can’t wait for whatever reason – tough.
It will take time, but if done right, it will work. See Cincinatti. Sure there was Mike Leake, but you also have Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, and now Sam LeCure. Are there growing pains there? Sure. But there’s also a heck of a lot of promise there too.
Nobody likes to wait, not after the last couple of years of futility, not after the promise shown last year. But the team before Z came was gutted, and while Z’s begun the rebuilding process, this year the house that is the M’s is screaming at every joint. Z’s working hard to lay that foundation in the minors, but it has to be done right. And it will take time.
This is one of the weaker drafts in recent memory so, while I would have much rather the M’s had taken a home run swing with someone like Castellanos (who went one pick later) or a higher-upside play with, I can’t really knock the pick. BA had him as the 40th-best prospect in the draft, I believe, and Allan Simpson at PG had him fast-rising to 37th.
I heard this guy is definatley a project. But if he pans out he could be a good starter. I am happy for this pick. I guessed the guys at MLBN really loved the pick.
Obviously, we won’t know how good this draft is for years. I’d love to see an analysis, ranking each team’s drafts from 2009, 2008, and 2007, based on what we know now. Even then, those would be incomplete grades, but it would be fascinating (and a whole lot of work!)
I’ll bet something like that has been done somewhere. Maybe at Fangraphs?
The draft is back on… M’s took Marcus Littlewood with the 67th pick.
The scouts who looked at this guy are new within the M’s scouting department. When you mention Cincinnati, it’s noteworthy to mention that our West Coast Supervisor was with Cincinnati the last few years.
Right, I know their Midwest coordinator, Ken Madeja was promoted, and there has been a fair amount of turnover.
I’d love it if we got better about drafting in our own backyard, but the Rays are beating us to the punch here.
I’m going to have a new post up for picks through round five and then I’ll think about doing it through ten.
I’m a little disappointed–I believe Castellanos was one of the best pure hitters in the draft and possesses more long term upside than a crap shoot project like Walker. Granted the Mariners would pay more money to sign Castellanos, but I believe he’ll be worth it. The Tigers got lucky, I’m sure.