D-backs’ Christian Walker, Ketel Marte are 2022 Silver Slugger finalists
Oct 27, 2022, 11:31 AM
Arizona Diamondbacks infielders Christian Walker and Ketel Marte made the list of 2022 Silver Slugger Award finalists at their respective positions, first and second base.
Walker at first is joined by Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals), Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers), Pete Alonso (New York Mets) and Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves).
Second base finalists include Jeff McNeil (New York Mets), Jake Cronenworth (San Diego Padres), Kolten Wong (Milwaukee Brewers) and Brendan Rodgers (Colorado Rockies).
Walker, who is also a Gold Glove finalist at first base, hit .242 on the year but was seventh in MLB with 36 home runs. He led the D-backs with 278 total bases, 23rd in baseball.
Those items would be his strongest case to win the honor, as his on-base percentage, slugging and OPS rank below the top-10 among first basemen. Goldschmidt and Freeman are in the top-three for each of those three categories.
Marte struggled through a relative down year.
His .240 average was the lowest of his career. Marte added 52 RBIs, 108 hits and slugged .407, his lowest mark since 2017. He added a .727 OPS, a personal worst since 2016.
Players qualified to be Silver Slugger finalists with a minimum of 100 games played.
The award is decided by MLB managers and coaches who vote on the best offensive players at their respective positions for both the National and American leagues.
Stats such as home runs, RBIs, batting averages, total bases and runs, as well as OPS and OPS+, are considered by voters.
The winners of the awards will be revealed on an MLB Network telecast on Thursday, Nov. 10.
