Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Christian Walker keeps running into walls at first base

Behind every door of Christian Walker’s wild walk through the major leagues thus far, there has been a wall. Considering the position he plays and the four different organizations that, however briefly, acquired his services, the wall hasn’t just been any wall.

It’s been more like the Hoover Dam at every stop.

That’s what happens, though, when you’re a power-hitting first baseman and you just happen to be stuck, in order, behind sluggers like Chris Davis in Baltimore, Freddie Freeman in Atlanta, Joey Votto in Cincinnati and now Paul Goldschmidt in Arizona.

That’s a combined 866 career home runs and 13 All-Star appearances worth of wall log-jamming Walker’s path to the majors as an everyday player. But you know what? He doesn’t care. And he doesn’t feel the least bit sorry for himself, either, even though he probably should.

“I know hitting is going to be my ticket, so if I can keep doing that and showing them that I belong here, that’s all I’m worried about,” said Walker, 26, who was named the Pacific Coast League’s Most Valuable Player last season after batting .309 at Triple-A Reno, leading all minor leaguers with 114 RBIs and 104 runs scored, finishing second with 159 hits, 32 home runs and a .980 OPS, and ranking third overall with a .597 slugging percentage.

Those numbers, haven’t been able to help win him a full-time job in the majors just yet.

Maybe if he hadn’t kept landing in spots with established, cornerstone first basemen, it would have already happened. He isn’t confounded, though, by being stuck behind Davis, Freeman, Votto and Goldschmidt.

“No. Not at all,” Walker said. “In the moment, you kind of look at the big picture and it might seem frustrating, but at the same time, there’s so many ways to get into the big leagues and show my worth that I don’t really get caught up in it.

“I’ve just got to do what I can do and hopefully, it translates.”

The good news for Walker is that he made himself more versatile by transitioning into an everyday left fielder two years ago, while also learning how to man third base in addition to first.

The bad news, of course, is that the Diamondbacks just acquired themselves two brand new outfielders in Steven Souza and Jarrod Dyson, giving Arizona at least five capable starters for three spots and once again, creating yet another logjam for Walker.

Not that he isn’t used to that.

“What it means is we’ve got some really good baseball players,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “Christian Walker is a quality bat and somebody that probably could get some time, more time, if he didn’t have a guy named Paul Goldschmidt playing in front of him every single day.

“We’re very fortunate we have Christian, though, and he’s going to continue to plow away, get some opportunities and show us what he can do.”

Walker just shrugged his shoulders and smiled when asked about the additions of Souza and Dyson. He said he still likes his chances to eventually find a home with Arizona, even though the outfield now looks like it’s blocked, too.

“There’s a lot of moves made, especially at this time of year leading into the season," he said. "But I do feel good about it. I like it here, I’m happy here, and I hope I can contribute to this team.”

Walker played about 100 innings at third base last year and said he feels almost as comfortable there now as he does in left field. First base, though, will have to wait, and he knows it. Maybe there will be an opening in a couple of years if Goldschmidt is allowed to test the free-agent market. Maybe a move to yet another team might be in his best interests.

For now, he’ll likely get plenty of at-bats at Reno and play first base until the Diamondbacks call upon him to help break some windows.

“Everywhere I’ve been, the guys in front of me were really great,” Walker said. “They were great about things and were always really nice. I spent the most time in Baltimore and I had a great relationship with Chris Davis. I wasn’t in Atlanta too long, but yeah, everybody has been really helpful.

“Paul has been incredibly helpful to me. It’s nice to have a seasoned first baseman who’s played at this level to bounce ideas off of and talk it up with.”

At some point, Walker figures the walls will come down. Until then, he plans on trying to break through them, using his bat to smash them down one swing at a time.

“I know what I can do and what I’m capable of,” he said “I know it will be valuable to a big-league team. I would love for it to be this team, so that’s what I’m focused on right now. I want to help this team win, for sure.”

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Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Wednesday night between 7-9 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.