The Houston Astros signed first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract this offseason to take over the role Jose Abreu occupied the last two years. However, early the season, Walker's production was a rough reminder of what Astros fans were hoping was in the past with Abreu.
The Astros signed Abreu to a nearly identical contract in 2023, and Houston released the slugger before the end of the 2024 season because of his awful hitting.
Abreu hit .237 with a .679 OPS in 2023, and was hitting .124 with a .362 OPS in 2024 before his release. Through Walker's first 50 games as an Astro, he was hitting below .200 with an OPS around .600. However, the Astros' first baseman has figured it out at the plate lately, and it's coming at a good time.
Christian Walker is Turning Things Around
Walker homered twice in the Astros' 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon. The Astros' first baseman hit a solo home run in the second inning, going back-to-back with Jose Altuve and then hit the eventual game-winning solo home run in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie.
Walker's two home runs on Thursday give him five over the last seven games. During that span, he hitting over .300 with nine RBI and seven runs scored.
"Whatever is happening right now is part of work that started much earlier in the year," Walker said (h/t MLB.com). "The beauty of a baseball season is the length and the amount of opportunities that you have, and we started working pretty hard pretty early when I didn’t like how I felt. Here we are with three, four months of reps and work and good stuff under my belt, and I think it’s showing up in the game for sure."
Oppo homer Christian Walker!! pic.twitter.com/YNKSK8M87z
— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) August 28, 2025
Walker's impressive recent stretch is the latest of what's been a resurgent second-half of the season. Since July 1, he's hitting .279 with an OPS over .700, 11 home runs and 37 RBI.
"He’s done it before where, [in] the second half of the season, he gets hot and he knows he’s going to hit,” manager Joe Espada said (h/t MLB.com). "For us, it’s continue to help him through this process. It’s been an up-and-down season for him, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. And he’s finishing really strong."
Walker is still hitting just .235 on the season, but his OPS is over .700. Regardless, the Astros could care less what his season numbers look like if he can continue this upward trajectory.
Christian Walker's second homer of the day breaks the tie in the eighth! pic.twitter.com/6WKkd5kGa4
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 28, 2025
The Astros' lineup is finally getting healthy and coming into form, with Yordan Alvarez back, the addition of Carlos Correa at the trade deadline, and Walker's improvements. It creates a deep lineup that puts traffic on the base paths for opposing pitchers.
"I think that’s a good thing for us," Walker said (h/t MLB.com). "That presents some opportunities of hitting with guys on base, recognizing when a pitcher is not giving in and taking walks and getting traffic. We have a lot of confidence in this lineup now."
The Astros now lead the Mariners by two games in the American League West with their Thursday afternoon win. The Mariners are off on Thursday before both teams return to action on Friday.