Steele Walker
| Steele Walker | |
|---|---|
| Texas Rangers | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: July 30, 1996 Mount Pleasant, Texas | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left |
Steele Simons Walker (born July 30, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization.
Amateur career
Walker attended Prosper High School in Prosper, Texas and played college baseball at the University of Oklahoma for the Oklahoma Sooners.[1]
As a freshman at Oklahoma in 2016, Walker played in 57 games, hitting .290/.352/.414 with three home runs and 32 runs batted in (RBI). After the season, he played for the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League.[2] As a sophomore in 2017, he started 59 games, batting .333/.413/.541 with eight home runs and 51 RBI. After the season he played for the United States collegiate national team and for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League.[3]
As a junior in 2018, Walker was as a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award.[4] He was named to the All-Big 12 First Team.[5] He finished his junior year with .352 batting average with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs.[6] Considered one of the top prospects for the 2018 Major League Baseball draft,[7][8] he was selected 46th overall by the Chicago White Sox.[9]
Professional career
He signed with the White Sox for $2 million,[10] and made his professional debut with the AZL White Sox. He was promoted to the Great Falls Voyagers and the Kannapolis Intimidators during the season. In 44 games between the three clubs, Walker hit .209 with five home runs and 21 RBIs.[11] Walker returned to Kannapolis to begin the 2019 season.[12] In late April, Walker was promoted to the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League after batting .365 in 21 games.[13] On June 14, Steele hit for the Cycle.[14] He spent the remainder of the season with the Dash, slashing .269/.346/.426 with ten home runs and 51 RBIs over 100 games.[15][16]
On December 11, 2019, Walker was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Nomar Mazara.[17]
References
- ^ Bruce Campbell (July 24, 2015). "Connie Mack Mustangs' Steele Walker, raised a Longhorn, now a Sooner". Enid News & Eagle.
- ^ Tim Johnson (August 8, 2016). "Chucks outfielder chasing historic mark". Wausau Daily Herald.
- ^ Tyler Palmateer. "Steele Walker's flair, talent a good combination for Oklahoma". The Norman Transcript.
- ^ Tyler Palmateer. "OU baseball: Steele Walker named Golden Spikes Award semifinalist". Pauls Valley Democrat.
- ^ "2018 All-Big 12 Baseball Awards Announced". Big 12 Conference. May 22, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ Ryan Aber (June 4, 2018). "Oklahoma's Steele Walker picked by the Chicago White Sox in the second round". The Oklahoman.
- ^ "MLB.com 2018 Prospect Watch". MLB.com.
- ^ "MLB.com draft projection: Oklahoma's Steele Walker a first-round pick". The Oklahoman. April 30, 2018.
- ^ Daryl Van Schouwen (June 4, 2018). "White Sox select Oklahoma outfielder Steele Walker in second round". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ Palmateer, Tyler (June 29, 2018). "Former Oklahoma outfielder Steele Walker signs with Chicago White Sox". The Norman Transcript.
- ^ "Steele Walker Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- ^ Michael Freer (April 3, 2019). "Intimidators' Man of Steele: Highly touted prospect set to enjoy his time in Kannapolis". Independent Tribune.
- ^ "White Sox's Steele Walker: Advances to High-A". CBSSports.com. RotoWire.com. April 30, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Brian Stultz (June 14, 2019). "Walker hits for the cycle for Dash". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Hot Stove roundup: The latest trades". MiLB.com. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ James Fegan (August 7, 2019). "'It's not an act': The dichotomy of White Sox prospect Steele Walker". The Athletic. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Rangers trade OF Nomar Mazara to White Sox for prospect". ESPN.com. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
External links
- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Oklahoma Sooners bio
- Steele Walker on Instagram