Donovan Walton
- The Athletics’ roster as it stands part-time 2B · 336 PA (2B 336) · 0.4 WAR in the role
- Trade read Available at a price: ATH sits near the seller line (27% playoff odds, within a projected win of 30%); control through 2030.
Hitting · 2026
267 PA: percentiles need 300+, so values only
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 20 | .222 | .243 | 10% | 5% | 42% | −0.43 | −3.53 |
| RHP | 247 | .363 | .330 | 18% | 11% | 28% | +1.11 | −0.89 |
- Attack angle
- 13.3° (51% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- −5.9°
- Swing length
- 6.9 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 1%
- Pull-air %
- 21.5%
- Hard-hit %
- 31.7%
- Slash · wRC+
- .261/.358/.448 · 124
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage up and away (+3.6 vs. league per 100; 1.6 standard errors on 45 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest down and in (−2.6), but only 1.1 standard errors from average on 52 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 936 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Walton: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | Chase Meidroth CWS · ’01 | .305 | 4.5 | 3.0 | Pre-arb |
| 64 | Nick Sogard BOS · ’97 | .315 | 1.2 | 0.9 | Pre-arb |
| 58 | Austin Hedges CLE · ’92 | .290 | 1.0 | 0.5 | Free agent |
| 56 | Tristan Peters CWS · ’00 | .317 | 3.5 | 2.4 | Pre-arb |
| 55 | Travis Bazzana CLE · ’02 | .300 | 2.8 | 2.4 | Pre-arb |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3B | −2 | −1 | −0.1 | −1.1 | 453 |
| 2026 | SS | 0 | 0 | −0.1 | −0.1 | 467 |
| 2026 | 2B | −8 | −6 | −0.4 | −6.4 | 1,532 |
| 2025 | 2B | −1 | −1 | 0.0 | −1.0 | 77 |
| 2024 | 2B | −2 | −2 | −0.6 | −2.6 | 259 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At 2B in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 3B line (−4 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among 2Bs)| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2B | 130 | +4.1 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
* projected arbitration or minimum salary. Contract Studio →
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026AAA | AAA | Salt Lake Bees | 32 | 43 | 168 PA | 168 PA · .282/.429/.481 · 7 HR · 12.5% K · 19.0% BB |
| 2025AAA | AAA | Lehigh Valley IronPigs | 31 | 123 | 504 PA | 504 PA · .270/.356/.396 · 13 HR · 13.3% K · 10.9% BB |
| 2025AAA | AAA | Syracuse Mets | 31 | 1 | 1 IP | 1 IP · 36.00 ERA · 0.0% K · 0.0% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant