Astros slugger gaining attention as early trade candidate amid hot start to campaign originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Around Major League Baseball, some teams just haven't played the type of ball that was expected of them coming into the season. At the top of that list is the Houston Astros, which sit at 11-19 and 3-7 over their last 10.

This has been as bad of a start as anybody could have imagined for the Astros, though there's reason to believe that it can help the future of this organization if the front office does what's needed at the trade deadline.

It's rather obvious that things aren't going to be what they once were in Houston, and the only way to fix that is by moving on from some veteran guys.

One of those players would be Christian Walker, who had one of his worst seasons as a professional a season ago, his debut year with the Astros. Fast forward to 2026, and Walker is seemingly back on track with a .291 batting average and seven home runs with 23 RBIs in 103 at-bats.

Entering the next few months, he's already being viewed as an early trade candidate.

“Christian Walker is having a serious bounce-back season for Houston. Last season, he slashed .238/.297/.421 with 27 homers and 88 RBIs in 154 games played. He had a .717 OPS. So far this season, he has played in 29 games and has seven homers, 23 RBIs and a .291/.373/.573 slash line with a .946 OPS. There was chatter throughout the offseason about the idea of moving Walker, but the Astros held him. If they look to make a deal this summer, there should be a suitor,” Patrick McAvoy of SI wrote.

There's a lot to like about what Walker has done offensively, and his defensive ability speaks for itself. He's been one of the better defensive first basemen in baseball over the past decade, and should be wanted by teams around the league at the deadline if he continues to play this type of way.

More MLB news:

• Mets moving on from Carlos Mendoza now considered a ‘drastic change’

• Phillies reasoning for offensive struggles sounds crazier than it really is

• Roman Anthony makes ridiculously bold comment after Alex Cora firing

• Trevor Story has no reason to comment on Red Sox’s decision to fire Alex Cora

• Insider reveals what involvement Red Sox players had in Alex Cora being fired

• Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla breaks silence on Red Sox firing Alex Cora