Arizona Diamondbacks: Is Taijuan Walker the odd man out of playoff rotation?

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Taijuan Walker #99 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park on September 17, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

Taijuan Walker

Even with Sunday afternoon’s shaky performance against the Giants, Walker owns a sparkling 2.89 ERA in 11 second half starts.

Opposing batters are hitting just .230 against the right hander post All-Star break, but he has also surrendered more home runs, has not struck out as many hitters and has walked more.

Sunday afternoon starts was a perfect example of what has frustrated me about the righty all season. He has been pretty consistent and is great at pitching out of jams, but he cannot go deep into games.

The last time Walker went seven innings in a start was July. In four of his 11 starts in August and September, he went only five and went 5.1 in another. Walker has needed an average of 17.3 pitches per inning this season, which is the worst among the three back end starters, and seems to tire by the sixth.

Considering the bullpen has struggled this month, the D-backs need their starters to go as deep as possible to win in the playoffs.