Orioles call up Christian Walker

With Chris Davis now gone for the remainder of the season, the Baltimore Orioles have decided to call up first base prospect Christian Walker from Triple-A. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com notes, Walker's promotion will enable the Orioles to give Steve Pearce some much-needed rest for the postseason.

The loss of Davis has severely crippled the Orioles' corner infield depth, and with the AL East division title already wrapped up, there is little risk in bringing up Walker to give Pearce some time off and see if he can hold his own at the highest level. The Orioles were in a similar situation last year, calling up Jonathan Schoop for a trial run in September. Surprisingly, Schoop made the Opening Day roster this season, and has been with the club ever since. The one questionable part of Walker's call-up is that he doesn't need to be placed on the 40-man roster until next year, though Davis's extension opens up a spot on the 40-man, so the Orioles don't have to risk losing anyone by adding Walker.

The Orioles' fourth round pick in the 2012 draft, Walker was rated by Baseball America as Baltimore's 18th best prospect entering the year. Scouts noted his gap-to-gap power but suggested the didn't have "the power associated with the first-base profile." Walker seems to have defied those comments this season, as he blasted 26 home runs and hit .288/.357/.489 in 599 plate appearances at Double and Triple-A. Some believe that he profiles as an average regular at the big league level.