Davis Taylor Walls (born July 10, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Amateur career

Walls attended Crisp County High School in

Cordele, Georgia Cordele is a city in and the county seat of Crisp County, Georgia, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2010 census. Cordele calls itself the Watermelon Capital of the World. History Cordele was incorporated on January 1, 1888, and ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. In 2014, his senior year, he batted over .400 while pitching to a 0.70

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). Undrafted in the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, Walls enrolled at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

(FSU), where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. In 2015, during Walls' freshman year at Florida State, he earned a starting spot, and started all 65 of FSU's games, batting .220 with 22

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs) and seven

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s. As a sophomore in 2016, Walls slashed .355/.479/.516 with six

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 46 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases over 63 starts, earning All-ACC Second Team honors. In 2017, his junior season, Walls started 68 of FSU's 69 games, hitting .273 with eight home runs and 47 RBIs. After the season, Walls was selected by the

in the third round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

Professional career

Walls signed with the Rays and made his professional debut with the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

of the Low–A

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, batting .213 with one home run over 46 games. In 2018, Walls played with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

of the Single–A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

(with whom he earned All-Star honors), slashing .304/.393/.428 with six home runs, 57 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases over 120 games. Walls started the 2019 season with the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

of the High–A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, being named an All-Star. He missed three weeks during the season due to a quadriceps injury. In June, he was promoted to the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

of the Double–A Southern League, with whom he finished the season. Over 96 games between the two clubs, Walls batted .270/.343/.452 with ten home runs, 46 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases. Walls did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On November 20, 2020, he was added to the 40-man roster. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. On May 22, 2021, Walls was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that day and recorded his first MLB hit, a double off of

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

starter

Robbie Ray Robert Glenn Ray (born October 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. Ray was an ML ...

, during the game. Walls ended the 2021 season with Tampa Bay slashing .211/.314/.296 with one home run, 15 RBIs, and ten doubles over 152

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s. In 2023, Walls played in 99 games for Tampa Bay, hitting .201/.305/.333 with 8 home runs, and new career–highs in RBI (36), and stolen bases (22). Following the season on October 30, Walls underwent hip surgery to relieve discomfort and repair a labrum tear.

Personal life

Walls' wife, Hallie, gave birth to their daughter in April 2021. Their second child, a son, was born in September 2023.https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2023/09/16/tristan-gray-taylor-walls-paternity-list-manuel-margot/

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, Taylor 1996 births Living people People from Cordele, Georgia Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Major League Baseball infielders Tampa Bay Rays players Florida State Seminoles baseball players Hudson Valley Renegades players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Anchorage Bucs players