Phillies news and rumors 3/21: Taijuan Walker shaky in penultimate spring outing

Taijuan Walker is up against the clock.

The Phillies’ fourth starter made his second start of Spring Training on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, and it didn’t exactly instill tons of confidence with a week and a half until his scheduled regular-season debut.

Walker allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. But most concerning wasn’t the scoring, the five hits, the three homers, the trio of walks or the lone strikeout. Most concerning was his velocity. Statcast information wasn’t available from that particular game, but reports have Walker sitting between 88 and 92 mph with his four-seam fastball.

It’s obviously far from where the Phillies want Walker to be this late in Spring Training, even if he was slowed early by knee soreness and thus didn’t debut until March 9. It’s also not conducive to solving the first-inning problems that plagued him to the tune of a 7.04 ERA last season. (He allowed five runs in the opening frame Wednesday.)

Walker was adamant, after his start, that he feels good physically and that he believes he’s not far from unlocking an uptick in velocity. “It’s a lot different with 40,000 fans in the regular season,” he said, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “If I’m topping out at 93 here, then who knows in the regular season?”

“He’s trying to find it,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Hopefully he does in the next week or two.”

Must-read Phillies content

• Zack Wheeler and Spencer Strider will square off — strangely for the first time — on Opening Day. PN’s Ty Daubert dove into the matchup just over a week away from the regular season.
• It took a while, but Michael Lorenzen finally found a new home. Ty Daubert has more.
• The Athletic’s Matt Gelb wrote about the middle of the Phillies’ starting rotation, with Ranger Suárez trending up and Walker down.
• No notes:

MORE FROM PHILLIES NATION

1. Phillies Nation’s Top 10 Players For 2024
2. Phillies Nuggets: Opening Day Lineup Projection 3.0
3. A Decade After Last Phillies Broadcast, Chris Wheeler Embraces ‘Mr. Spring Training’ Role
4. 6 Questions For The 2024 Phillies Before Regular Season Starts
5. Phillies City Connect Uniforms To Debut In April
6. Do Continued Offensive Struggles Have Johan Rojas On Track For Triple-A?
7. Larry Bowa: ‘As Long As I Can Do It, I’m Gonna Keep Doing It’
8. Jeff Hoffman Reflects On ‘Crazy’ Year That Turned Him From Castoff To Phillies’ ‘Garbage Man’
9. Jake Cave Explains What It’s Like To Be On Fringes Of MLB Roster During Spring Training
10. Phillies 2024 Giveaway Schedule