The Phillies’ Taijuan Walker worked hard this offseason. He’s seeing results so far this spring.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Taijuan Walker worked hard this offseason — adding muscle and throwing weighted balls twice a week — but it wasn’t until he threw his first live bullpen session that he realized how far he’d come. It was in mid-February, and Walker was facing J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott, and Max Kepler.

Realmuto noticed a difference immediately. Walker wasn’t just throwing harder; his fastball had its trademark heaviness again. It snuck up on him.

“The last year or two, it felt like he’d kind of lost that a little bit,” Realmuto said. “But this year, the life is back. It was jumping out of his hand.”

The bullpen session gave Walker a confidence boost that he’s carried throughout the spring. He has yet to allow a walk through his first two Grapefruit League outings. He’s allowed two earned runs through 5 ⅓ innings pitched.

On Saturday, in the Phillies’ 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays, he averaged 92.4 mph on his four-seam fastball, topping out at 93.4 mph.

He averaged 92.1 mph on his sinker, topping out at 93.4 mph. It is a far cry from where he was almost a year ago, when he faced this same team and could barely touch 90 mph.

On March 9, 2024, Walker averaged 89.1 mph on his sinker, and 89.3 mph on his four-seam. In his next outing, March 20, he allowed seven earned runs on five hits over 2 ⅔ innings pitched, and was shut down a few days later with a shoulder impingement.

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Those two games ended up foreshadowing the worst season of his big league career. Walker posted a 7.10 ERA in 2024. Opposing hitters were batting .317 against him, and his strikeout rate was the lowest it had ever been (15.2%).

The velocity problems persisted, so this winter, he chose to do something different. He’d never undergone a weighted ball program in the offseason before.

“I was throwing weighted balls just to warm up and stuff, but the pull downs with the weighted balls, it was like 5, 6, 7 ounce and then 3 ounces,” Walker said. “So, I would do that twice a week.”

It has made a difference in everything from his confidence to his velocity. Manager Rob Thomson said that he sees “a different guy.” Realmuto says he looks like “his old self.”

“He just looks explosive to me,” Realmuto said. “He’s a super athletic person, and he looks like he got some of that explosiveness back this year, which is a really good sign.”

Even without looking at the radar gun, Walker says he can feel a difference. That’s become clear to him in his two Grapefruit League outings. He’s given up two home runs — one to Toronto outfielder Addison Barger in the fourth inning on Saturday — but neither was the result of a poorly located pitch.

“I just feel like I have control of my arm,” Walker said. “I know where my arm is. I know where my hand is, my release point and everything. I have a good idea of where the pitch is going now, and I can locate it better.

“If I’m a little off, I can feel it and see it visually, and then I can just make an adjustment right away.”

The right-hander filled up the strike zone on Saturday, and was efficient. He allowed only one earned run (Barger’s homer) over four hits with three strikeouts. The Phillies have a lot of starters in camp, and there is no guarantee Walker has a spot on the Opening Day roster.

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But Thomson says that so far, he is seeing what he needs to see from him.

“If he does what he’s doing right now, he’s back,” Thomson said. “He’s been really consistent ever since he’s been back.”

The Phillies play the Orioles at home in Clearwater, Fla., on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Ranger Suárez will start against Baltimore right-hander Thaddeus Ward. The game will be broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia and 94.1 WIP-FM.