MLB hitters turn into prime Joe DiMaggio when facing Phillies' Taijuan Walker in 2026

TL;DR

MLB hitters are performing at an elite level against Phillies' Taijuan Walker, resembling Joe DiMaggio's prime. Walker has a troubling 9.13 ERA this season, contributing to the Phillies' struggles.

Key points

Taijuan Walker has a 9.13 ERA this season
MLB hitters are performing like prime Joe DiMaggio against him
The Phillies are struggling as a team this season

Philadelphia Phillies

MLB hitters turn into prime Joe DiMaggio when facing Phillies' Taijuan Walker in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies struggles this season don't fall squarely on any one players' shoulders. Alec Bohm has struggled a ton, Jesus Luzardo has been a disappointment, and Trea Turner hasn't been nearly as good as he was last year.

But, one of the players who is struggling the most this season is Taijuan Walker. He's only temporarily part of the rotation until Zack Wheeler returns, but in the meantime, he's allowed a brutal 9.13 ERA on the season.

That's not even the worst of it. As Jayson Stark of The Athletic highlighted, MLB hitters facing Walker this season are essentially turning into prime Joe DiMaggio from his 56-hit streak season.

Taijaun Walker is making MLB hitters turn into prime Joe DiMaggio

"Opposing hitters vs. Taijaun Walker this season: .353/ .417/ .657/ 1.074. Joe DiMaggio the year he hit in 56 games in a row: .357/ .440 / .643 / 1.083," Stark posted on Twitter/x.

The Phillies right-hander, who is in the final year of a $72 million four-year deal, is helping turn hitters into a Hall of Fame hitter at their peak this season.

If the 9.13 ERA wasn't bad enough, hitters against Walker this season are posting a 1.074 OPS, right behind DiMaggio's 1.083 OPS during the best season of his career.

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Walker's struggles this season are a massive problem for the Phillies, and is something the team cannot afford to keep dealing with.

They tried him with an opener in front of him, and things weren't much better. The Phillies cannot keep trotting Walker out there, as they're effectively forcing themselves to face prime DiMaggio every time Walker's on the mound.

It's a statistic that's almost hard to believe. Walker's struggles were well known, but this context is unbelievably bad. Something needs to change, as essentially facing prime DiMaggio every week is not a sustainable practice for a struggling Phillies team.