Who Should I Draft?
Steven Matz or Taijuan Walker (2022)
Experts' Pick | ||
| Steven Matz SP - STL  | Taijuan Walker SP - NYM  | |
Expert |
85% Recommended by 35 of 41 experts |
15% Recommended by 6 of 41 experts |
| Rankings | ||
| ECR | # 92 | # 120 |
| Best Rank | # 61 | # 65 |
| Worst Rank | # 149 | # 329 |
| ADP | ||
| Composite | # 237 | # 340 |
| Best Rank | # 210 | # 248 |
| Worst Rank | # 328 | # 411 |
| Projections | ||
| Strikeouts | 141 | 133 |
| Wins | 10 | 8 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| ERA | 4.38 | 4.31 |
| WHIP | 1.30 | 1.29 |
| Misc | ||
| Injury Alert | IL15 | - |
| Expert Ranks | ||
| Andy Behrens Yahoo! Sports | # 90 | # 102 |
| Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports | # 63 | # 96 |
| Pat Fitzmaurice FantasyPros | # 100 | # 102 |
| Jody Smith FullTime Fantasy | # 95 | # 121 |
| Steve Gardner USA Today | # 77 | ‐ |
| Grey Albright Razzball | # 82 | # 136 |
| Jeff Boggis Fantasy Football Empire | # 94 | # 107 |
| Dave McKay The Fantasy Sports Brain | # 103 | # 107 |
| Andrew Gould FantasyPros | # 88 | ‐ |
| Rudy Gamble Razzball | # 78 | # 329 |
| Wayne Bretsky BretskyBall | # 113 | # 123 |
| Jake Ciely The Athletic | # 94 | # 143 |
| Joe Bond Fantasy Six Pack | # 84 | # 120 |
| Adam Ronis Fantasy Alarm | # 82 | ‐ |
| Mario Mergola Sporfolio | # 95 | # 122 |
| Christopher Welsh FantasyPros | # 89 | ‐ |
| Nick Pollack Pitcher List | # 105 | ‐ |
| Mike Maher FantasyPros | # 103 | # 110 |
| Dan Harris FantasyPros | # 94 | # 112 |
| Pierre Camus RotoBaller | # 102 | # 127 |
| Andrew Seifter FantasyPros | # 121 | ‐ |
| Max Freeze Freeze Stats | # 88 | # 114 |
| Bart Wheeler Hail to Fantasy Football | # 97 | ‐ |
| Mick Ciallela Fantrax | # 91 | # 128 |
| Ariel Cohen FanGraphs | # 100 | # 161 |
| Ryan Amore Pitcher List | # 139 | # 182 |
| Nate Miller Fantasy Six Pack | # 61 | # 118 |
| Brad Camara RotoBaller | # 82 | # 101 |
| Corbin Young FantasyData | # 136 | # 256 |
| Chris Clegg Fantrax | # 99 | # 125 |
| Scott Youngson Pitcher List | # 92 | # 121 |
| Nicklaus Gaut RotoBaller | # 78 | ‐ |
| Scott Bogman FantasyPros | # 87 | ‐ |
| Travis Argo Fantasy Six Pack | # 70 | # 117 |
| Fred Zinkie Yahoo! Sports | # 108 | # 144 |
| Todd D Clark The Fantasy Fix | # 95 | # 84 |
| Dalton Del Don Yahoo! Sports | # 100 | # 75 |
| Lucas Spence Pitcher List | # 113 | # 79 |
| Jordan Eisen Field of Vision Sports | # 149 | # 148 |
| Joe Pisapia FantasyPros | ‐ | # 65 |
| Josh Shepardson FantasyPros | ‐ | # 93 |
| Steven Matz SP - STL | Taijuan Walker SP - NYM | |
| 2021 Stats | ||
| Games Played | 29 | 30 |
| Games Started | 29 | 29 |
| Innings Pitched | 151.1 | 159.0 |
| Wins | 14 | 7 |
| Losses | 7 | 11 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Blown Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Holds | 0 | 0 |
| Hits Allowed | 158 | 133 |
| Earned Runs | 64 | 79 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 18 | 26 |
| Strikeouts | 144 | 146 |
| Walks | 43 | 55 |
| ERA | 3.82 | 4.47 |
| WHIP | 1.33 | 1.18 |
| Steven Matz SP - STL | Taijuan Walker SP - NYM | |
| 2022 Projections | ||
| Games Played | 29 | 27 |
| Games Started | 29 | 27 |
| Innings Pitched | 153.2 | 145.0 |
| Wins | 10 | 8 |
| Losses | 9 | 9 |
| Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Blown Saves | 0 | 0 |
| Holds | 0 | 0 |
| Hits Allowed | 150 | 135 |
| Earned Runs | 74 | 69 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 22 | 24 |
| Strikeouts | 141 | 133 |
| Walks | 49 | 52 |
| ERA | 4.38 | 4.31 |
| WHIP | 1.30 | 1.29 |
| Steven Matz SP - STL | Taijuan Walker SP - NYM | |
| News | ||
| The Cardinals placed Steven Matz on the 15-day IL with a left shoulder impingement on Monday. Dan Harris Mon, May 23rd | Taijuan Walker pitched seven shutout innings on Sunday against the Rockies, allowing five hits and two walks. He struck out six and earned the win, moving to 2-0. Dan Harris Sun, May 22nd | |
| Cardinals starter Steven Matz was removed from his Sunday start against the Pirates after throwing just four pitches. Matz appeared to tweak something after delivering a fastball that was not at his normal velocity. Jesse Garcia Sun, May 22nd | Taijuan Walker allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He struck out four and did not factor into the decision. Dan Harris Tue, May 17th | |
| Cardinals SP Steven Matz was solid on the mound Tuesday night, allowing two runs on three hits while also striking out seven in five innings pitched, picking up a no decision in the Cardinals' 4-3 win over the Mets. Chris Schommer Wed, May 18th | Taijuan Walker tossed seven shutout innings on Thursday against the Nationals, allowing three hits and a walk. He struck out one and earned the win, moving to 1-0. Dan Harris Thu, May 12th | |
| Cardinals SP Steven Matz was solid on the mound Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits while also striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings pitched in the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the Orioles. Chris Schommer Fri, May 13th | Taijuan Walker allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and two walks over four innings on Thursday against the Phillies. He struck out two and did not factor into the decision. Dan Harris Thu, May 5th | |
| Per Jeff Jones on Twitter, the Cardinals have scratched Jordan Hicks and moved Steven Matz’s scheduled start to today against Baltimore. Jesse Garcia Thu, May 12th | Taijuan Walker scattered two hits and two walks over five shutout innings against the Phillies on Saturday. The righty got a no-decision while only recording one strikeout during the 4-1 loss. Brad Richter Sun, May 1st | |
| Notes | ||
| Matz had a surprisingly effective year despite moving to the AL East and Toronto, pitching 150 2/3 innings with a 3.82 ERA. We know what he is by now in his career - a strikeout rate that won't hurt you, a decent walk rate that isn't enough to keep his WHIP in check, and a ceiling of about 160 innings. Moving to St. Louis is a great thing for him, however, as he'll benefit from the Cardinals' excellent infield defense (Matz has a 47.1% ground ball rate). But he's essentially a replacement level fantasy starter at this point, and entering his age-31 season, we're probably not going to see much growth. Dan Harris - FantasyPros | ||
