Brandon Walter DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Houston Astros added left-hander Brandon Walter to their taxi squad, and The Athletic's Chandler Rome suggests he could make the start on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that hasn't been good against lefties in 2025. Houston currently has not listed a starter for Tuesday's game. Walter has looked good at Triple-A Sugar Land this year, going 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 0.70 WHIP with 34 strikeouts and seven walks in 35 2/3 innings over nine appearances (five starts). The 28-year-old southpaw had a cup of coffee with the Boston Red Sox in 2024 in his big-league debut and allowed 17 runs (16 earned) while walking seven and striking out 16 in 23 relief innings. This would be Walter's first-ever MLB start if he gets the nod on Tuesday, and while the matchup is a good one, Walker would be a shaky deep-league streaming option in fantasy.

Houston Astros left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter has enjoyed an impressive start to the Triple-A regular season and was named Pacific League Pitcher of the Week. Over his last two outings this past week, Walter has logged 10 shutout innings (two starts) and allowed just four hits and no walks. During this stretch, he has struck out nine batters. Before this impressive week, Walter held a 3.95 ERA with an impressive 0.80 WHIP across his first 13 2/3 innings of the campaign. Walter was unable to pitch at all during the 2024 season due to a shoulder injury, but appears to have already found his footing early in the 2025 season. He made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Red Sox but held a modest 6.26 ERA across his first 23 major league frames. If he continues to perform well at Triple-A, he could push for a return to the big leagues.