Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
When the 2014 fantasy baseball season kicked off, not many fans pegged Pittsburgh Pirates 2B Neil Walker to be a top-tier second baseman this season. He may have posted a career-high 16 home runs during the 2013, but he only drove in 53 runs all year. He has basically been a middle-of-the-road option throughout his entire fantasy career.
However, Walker has been absolutely punishing the ball this season. The veteran has already slugged six long balls through the first 20 games, which is tied for first among second basemen. The Pittsburgh native is also tied for third with 13 RBIs to go along with an incredible .506 Slugging Percentage. Walker has become a legitimate fantasy second baseman.
The only facet of Walker’s game that has been lacking has been his batting average. He currently has a rather lackluster .263 batting average, but his jaw-dropping power numbers have been enough to carry him this fantasy season.
Walker’s newfound confidence has helped him come up with some big hits this season, most recently on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds. The second baseman had a heroic game-winning single in the 6-5 win over the team’s division rival, which allowed Russell Martin to jog in for the winning run. Walker has easily been the team’s fantasy MVP this season.
Walker has been putting up All-Star fantasy numbers and will continue to be a starter in all formats. He will obviously hit a slump at some point this year, but expect him to have no problem hitting 20-plus homers this year after his sizzling start.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
