2015 Pittsburgh Pirates Gradeout – Neil Walker

The offseason is unfortunately here and so we are simultaneously tasked with reflecting on the 2015 season and looking forward to next spring. As part of Rumbunter’s off-season coverage, we will be grading out virtually every member of the Pittsburgh Pirates who spent substantial time on the team’s 25-man roster over the past season. We will look at their seasons as a whole, show you their relevant stats, and assign a final grade to each player. Today’s entry: Neil Walker

One of, if not the most polarizing figure for the Pirates over the last few years has been Neil Walker. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, and son of a former major league pitcher, Walker was drafted by the organization that he loved growing up, and has been the starting second baseman for the team since 2010. He’s seen the franchise at its worst, and he’s seen it close to its best. And now, his future is in doubt. But before we speculate about his future in Pittsburgh, let’s take a look back at his 2015 campaign and try to evaluate his performance.

Walker has always been an offensive second baseman. He can hit for power, and he plays adequate defense. But his offensive production is great for a position where offense is at a premium. However, when Walker had a chance to try to replicate his 2014 season in which he hit a career-high 23 home runs, he couldn’t do that. When all was said and done, he essentially hit right along his career numbers. His 16 home runs were a few over his career average, and his 71 RBIs was also above his career average of 59.7 per season. He had more walks than his career average, but he also had more strikeouts. His line of .269/.328/.427 was a few ticks below his career line of .272/.338/.431. I could go on about other stats, but it’s clear that we know what Walker is at this point.

Walker outperformed the money he made last year even though his WAR of 2.4 was a dip from his previous three seasons. His murky future and his injury issues often cloud his on the field production. He was yet again an above-average offensive second baseman that plays sub-par defense, and he’s worth the money he makes right now. There’s truly not much to complain about with what you get from Walker from year to year.

In terms of what Walker did well, his power and run production was good for a second baseman, and he managed to play in 151 games, good for the second-highest season total of his career. He managed to do this in a less pressurized role, considering the rise of Starling Marte and the coming out party of Jung Ho Kang as run producers. On the downside, Walker continued to hit lefties poorly, to the tune of a .574 OPS and no home runs from that side of the dish. And while he did play in 151 games, his RBI total went down from his 2014 campaign when he only played in 137 games. He was also very streaky, as his average and production fluctuated greatly from the beginning of the year to the end, as he started poorly and finished strong.

It’s hard to think of Neil Walker’s 2015 campaign as anything more than average to slightly above average. He didn’t continue the improvement shown from 2014, but we shouldn’t hurt him for giving us what we’ve expected of him, which is above-average offensive play from the second base position. Let’s not fault him because his future is uncertain.

You’ve heard our take. Now it’s your turn. Sound off in the comments below, OR let us know on twitter.

For more Hot Stove Talk, please subscribe to our podcast!  You can do so on an iPhone/iPad by clicking this link. Android users – Simply download the Stitcher podcast app and search for “Rum Bunter.” Kicking it old school on a desktop?  Here’s the iTunes link, or you can listen a la carte over at our SoundCloud account.

Next: Despite postseason struggles, future bright for Pittsburgh Pirates