Taijuan Walker’s velocity was lower than usual in his first spring start. Here’s why he and Rob Thomson aren’t worried.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Taijuan Walker took the mound on Saturday for his first start of the spring after experiencing knee soreness last week. He pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Walker threw 38 pitches, of which 20 were strikes.

The right-hander averaged 89.4 mph on his four-seam fastball and 89.2 mph on his sinker. His hardest pitch of the day clocked in at 90.3 mph. Walker’s velocity was a point of focus last season, so it garnered some attention on Saturday. But he and Phillies manager Rob Thomson say the dip is because of his unusual build-up this spring.

“I really only got one live BP in,” Walker said. “A couple of bullpens. [The velocity] is expected.”

Said Thomson: “Yeah, [being behind schedule] is all it is. And that’s typically how he is. When he starts his spring trainings his velocity is usually down, and he builds up from there. He’s one of those guys. I have no concerns about him.”

It will be something to monitor over the next few weeks. In previous springs, Walker has come out of the gate in his first start averaging approximately 92-93 mph. He was in that range last season, just before he left for the World Baseball Classic. He was in that range in his first spring start of 2022, after the lockout, and averaged 93.6 mph on his four-seam fastball in his first spring start of 2021.

Walker said in mid-February that it’s possible the velocity dip last year was because of weight loss. He pitched at 235-240 pounds in 2023 and 255-260 pounds in previous seasons. He added strength in the offseason to get back to his normal weight, in the hopes of seeing an uptick in velocity.

Regardless of the reason, maintaining consistent velocity will be a goal of his in 2024. He said he wants to be 94-95 mph in the first inning of a regular-season game. Thomson said he’d be happy with 92-93 mph.

“[My goal is] to stay strong all year,” Walker said. “To keep the velocity consistent. If that’s consistent, then my numbers and everything else will be pretty consistent.”

» READ MORE: Kyle Schwarber had a ‘weird’ 2023 season. Here’s what the Phillies slugger wants to change.

Walker said that velocity aside, he felt good about his first outing on Saturday afternoon. He was inducing weak contact and mixing his two-seam and four-seam well. Thomson was happy with it, too.

“[It was] good,” Thomson said. “Threw strikes. Velocity was 88-90, which is pretty typical of him this time of year. I thought the split was good. Had some depth. Cutter was good, got some swing-and-miss. I thought it was good the first time out.”

Recently acquired utility player Whit Merrifield hasn’t played since March 4. He was out of camp because he and his wife recently welcomed their first child. Thomson said Merrifield will be back with the team by Sunday.

Outfielder Brandon Marsh (arthroscopic knee surgery) took five live at-bats on Saturday (not in a game). He’s now had 29 at-bats off live pitching. On Sunday, he will DH in a player development intrasquad game to get more at-bats and run out of the box. Thomson said Marsh is on track in his rehab and could get in a Grapefruit League game by the middle or end of next week.

Outfielder Cristian Pache was not in camp on Saturday because of the illness that is going around the clubhouse. … Right-hander Max Castillo will make his second spring training start on Sunday against the Pirates in Bradenton, Fla. …Zack Wheeler will make his second spring training start on Monday against the Yankees in Clearwater.