Not all breakthroughs appear the same. Christian Walker languished in the minors until last season’s opportunity to play first base in Arizona occurred. Previously labeled a Quad-A player, Walker made the most of his opportunity finishing second among all National League rookies with 29 home runs and 73 RBI. In fact, over 152 contests, Walker hit .259/.348/.476 with 86 runs and eight stolen bases as well. Walker recorded an 11.1 walk percentage and a 25.7 percent strikeout rate with a .217 isolated power. He notched a 20.1 percent home run per fly ball rate buoyed by the “bouncy” baseballs of 2019.

Still, Walker did not crumble during his first full season in the majors in terms of plate discipline. He finished with a 12.7 swinging strike percentage, 73.8 percent contact rate, 81.9 Z-Contact (in the strike zone) percent and 28.2 O-Swing (out of the strike zone) percentage. Before deciding to fully invest in Walker as a corner infielder, his numbers align very closely to Jesús...