2026 Projections: Taylor Trammell and Christian Walker
The project and the renaissance
The final two, at least for now, offensive players for the 2026 Astros.
I may add a couple more, if roster decisions warrant, but this will wrap up the bulk of batters.
Taylor Trammell
Once again, Taylor Trammell is battling for a spot on the Astros roster, and there appears to be a difference of opinion on whether the non-roster invitee will make the team out of the spring.
Chandler Rome has Trammell on his 3.0 version as of March 16, but Roster Resource does not.
I don’t think it’s a big deal either way, because I’d be surprised if Trammell makes a major impact before someone takes his spot.
He simply hasn’t produced at the MLB level.
My son says that when Trammell hits the ball, it goes a long way, but he doesn’t hit it enough (30.4% Ks last season) to add much value.
Summary: Small sample, lots of volatility, but based purely on his stats and average defense, expect a very poor ~75 wRC+ and near 0 fWAR (or even slightly negative).
Christian Walker
Somewhere along the line, I wondered if I had projected anyone to improve year over year, and then I hit Christian Walker.
Not the guy most would want to project improvement on, after his disappointing 2025.
In fairness to Walker, he did hit 27 home runs (I projected 30), but a bunch came late in the season, and his underlying stats were disappointing, including striking out 177 times. Yikes.
Why would I project wild numbers like the fWAR below for such a big disappointment?
My model sees 2025 as an outlier; looking at Walker’s history, it was, as Walker posted fWARs of 3.9 in 2023 and 3.1 in 2024.
Even if you believe he hit the proverbial cliff, which is definitely a possibility, the drop from 3.1 to 1.1 feels like too much, and he’s due for some positive regression in 2026.
Summary: No longer a star, Walker can be a positive-impact player well above replacement level. He’s a dependable, power-focused above-average first baseman, a solid offensive contributor relative to his position, with average-to-good glove work keeping overall value strong for an everyday role in 2026.
A 3.8 fWAR sounds like a lot, but I’m betting it’s closer to that number than it is to last season’s 1.1.
Projections to Date
As always, thanks for reading!