A solid mid-season debut followed by injury and a less effective return. Walston could be a great candidate for an uptick in performance with the new coach Kaplan.
2024 overview
- Rating: 3.86
- MLB Stats: 7 G, 18.1 IP, 4.42 ERA, 6.17 FIP, 1.418 WHIP, -0.1 bWAR
- Date of birth: June 28, 2001 (22-23 years old season)
- Earnings: Pre-arbitration
- 2025 status: On the 40-man roster, two options remaining
The tall, lanky, lefty Blake Walston was once a first round draft pick (1-26) for the Dbacks out of high school in North Carolina. If you would have asked many of us myself included, projections were pretty high for the left hander largely because of his size, athleticism and ability to spin the breaking ball from the left side even as a high school kid. Walston was 6’5’’ and a lanky 175 pounds as a high schooler and so despite sitting 90-92 mph with his fastball, every scouting report on the young man was drooling over his projectability. “Scouts think he can add 30-40 pounds of muscle which would really complement his existing stuff’ was a pretty standard phrase mentioned around Walston’s scouting report.
Fast forward to his long-awaited major-league debut in 2024, he is still listed as 6’5’’ 175 lbs and his fastball still sits 90-92 mph. It is really that simple for me when evaluating Walston’s development or lack there of.
Dbacks have had their struggles developing major league quality pitching. And Walston is just another member of that group so far. While Walston’s overall MLB debut numbers don’t look that bad especially for a pitcher who turned 23 in the middle of the season, the underlying metrics for me are still not inspiring much confidence. There was a big gap between his 4.42 ERA and his 6.17 FIP. Walston also allowed a ton of baserunners with his 1.418 WHIP and because he doesn’t have swing and miss stuff (8.84 k/9) I don’t have much confidence in the Blake Walston we saw in 2024 being a reliable big league arm. The other troubling trend for Walston that has emerged is his high walk rate of 4.29 BB/9 in 65 innings at Reno and 4.91 in MLB. I do think there is something to be said for being effectively wild, especially in the case of a left handed specialist reliver (see Saalfrank) however, not many quality starters can get away with high base traffic and low stuff and have consistent success.
2025 Outlook
Walston will be an interesting player to watch going into 2025 especially with the new pitching coach Brian Kaplan being a strength and performance guy. For me, this is the perfect player for Kaplan to work with! Walston already has the length and the ability to spin the ball possessing an arsenal with 6 different pitches already as a 23 year old lefty. To me however it is inexcusable to continue to be the same 6’5’’ 175 lbs lanky lefty averaging 91.5 mph you were when you were drafted in high school when you show up at spring training this year. Blake if you are listening, take that 2.45 million dollar signing bonus you got in 2019 go buy yourself some protein powder and get your butt down to Cressey Sports Performance with your new coach in Florida immediately!
Because Walston is still so young and underdeveloped physically, I think you can still dream on him showing up to camp at 200-210 lbs sitting 94-95 with his 6 pitch arsenal and being a back of the rotation lefty option. However if he doesn’t develop physically and continues to sit 90-92, he is going to have to continue to rely on being effectively wild to stick as a long relief guy that bounces back and forth from AAA. Choosing to remain positive, I am still holding out for the former.