Taijuan Walker’s velocity is up this spring.
This is very good news. Last season, his sinker averaged 91.5 mph, the fourth straight year decline from 2021, when it averaged 94.5 mph with the Mets. The lack of velocity made his sinker utterly destroyable, which opposing batters did on the regular in 2024.
After a rigorous off-season working on regaining some of that lost velocity, it has appeared that much of it is back this spring. In his first Grapefruit League outing on Sunday, Walker’s sinker and fastball averaged 93-94 mph. Last spring, it was around 89 mph in his first spring start.