Diamondbacks' Taijuan Walker: Whiffs seven in final spring start

Walker surrendered three runs on eight hits and no walks across 5.2 innings in Thursday's 3-1 exhibition loss to the White Sox. He struck out seven batters in the 90-pitch outing.

Analysis:

Though he took the loss Thursday and yielded five extra-base hits -- including a Yoan Moncada home run -- in his final start of the Cactus League, Walker was encouraged by the outing and specifically noted that he was pleased with how he located his fastball, per Fabian Ardaya of MLB.com. Walker is expected to start the Diamondbacks' final exhibition against the Indians on Tuesday at Chase Field, giving fantasy owners a glimpse of how he might benefit from the humidor that was installed at the ballpark in February. Since he has already built up to 90 pitches, Walker may be in store for an abbreviated outing Tuesday as he prepares for his first start of the regular season, which will likely come April 2 against the Dodgers.