The Diamondbacks Leadoff Should be...

This is my favorite take.

My favorite Diamondbacks take that I’ve been beating the drum for since last summer is that Christian Walker should be the leadoff hitter for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Christian Walker has put together back to back over .800 OPS seasons with a combined 69 homers (nice) while winning the Gold Glove at 1B both years. To compare, Paul Goldschmidt’s best 2 year stretch was when he also combined for 69 homers (nice again) between 2017 & 2018.

There is just one knock on Christian Walker as all Diamondbacks know, he’s terrible with runners in scoring position.

2023:

Career:

Anyone who watched the 2023 Diamondbacks were frustrated by C Walk’s nightly RISP at bats. Walker’s .198/.323/.427 RISP slash line was actually just slightly below his career .222/.333/.413 line. At age 33 in 2024 with 2401 career at bats, it is what it is.

Torey Lovullo and the Diamondbacks have been slow to modern ideas, as we know they just discovered a bullpen game in 2023. But seeing 7 games of power hitting Kyle Schwarber leading off in the NLCS with Anthony Rizzo famously doing so a half decade ago with the Joe Maddon Cubs, MAYBE the Diamondbacks one day take a look at this. While Rizzo and Schwarber historically have hit better in RISP than Walker by a significant margin, their on base skills helped their case for the lead off spot. For the Diamondbacks to move C Walk to leadoff, that would mean Carroll and Marte would get bumped to 2/3. So lets take a look at that.

2023 Christian Walker RISP vs Bases Empty splits reminder

2023 Corbin Carroll reminder that he’s just awesome all the time:

2023 Ketel Marte RISP vs Bases Empty

Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte are awesome and batting them 2/3 and hopefully getting them the most RISP opportunities is ideal. There is a drop off in OBP going from Carroll and Marte to C Walk, but I think the advantage gained by handing Carroll/Marte more RISP opportunities is worth it. Christian Walker’s .280/.335/.519 slash with bases empty is not too far off Corbin Carroll’s .285/.362/.506 season!

There’s a serious advantage sitting here by knocking down some norms and going with C Walk in the lead off spot. The addition of power hitting Eugenio Suarez makes this an easier move to make as he can bat clean up followed by

Gurriel or maybe a new DH signing going 5/6.

One last Christian Walker stat. As we’ve established C Walk’s RISP/Bases Empty splits are significant and 2023 wasn’t fluke, but as a final point for Leadoff C Walk… he has a career .836 OPS when leading off an inning!

This is the hill I choose to die on, Christian Walker should be the 2024 Arizona Diamondbacks leadoff hitter.

-@GoldyHappens