SB Nation - Brett Wallace

So Far We Are: Meet Your New Blue Jays, Brett Wallace

hugo — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:58:00 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

5 months ago: Team USA third baseman Brett Wallace snags a ball that bounced into the air hit by World Team's Jesus Montero during the first inning of the All-Star Futures baseball game at Busch Stadium on Sunday, July 12, 2009, in St. Louis. Wallace threw to second to force out Barbaro Canizares, but Montero was safe at first. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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This is the second part in a 3-part series that will take a bit of a closer look at the three players obtained by the Blue Jays in the Roy Halladay trades. In part I, we took a look at righty pitching sensation Kyle Drabek.

As you will remember, Brett Wallace (I keep wanting to call him David Wallace after the Dunder Mifflin CFO) wasn't actually traded for Roy Halladay. Rather, the Blue Jays received outfield prospect Michael Taylor in that trade, but had already reached a deal with the Oakland Athletics to flip Taylor for Wallace. What made that trade possible was that neither Taylor nor Wallace, who came over from St. Louis in the Matt Holliday trade, had been drafted by their respective teams and so neither GM had a real vested interest in their player - it's rare to see a GM trade one of his draftee top prospects for another untested propsect before either has ever seen the majors.

Unlike Taylor, who was a 5th round pick, Wallace came with a draft pedigree - he was drafted in the 1st round by the Cardinals in the 2008 amateur player draft out of Arizona State University. That wasn't the first time he was drafted, either - the Jays themselves took Wallace in the 42nd round of the 2005 draft, but the Sonoma, California native chose to become a Sun Devil instead. He met fellow Californian and new organizational teammate Aaron Hill at the all-star break last season when Hill started for the AL and Wallace played in the Futures Game.

In college, Wallace quickly established himself as one of the NCAA's best hitters - he won two triple crowns and was the Pac-10's player of the year twice. Like most college draftees, Wallace was assigned to short-season A ball, but played his way out of A entirely when he was moved to AA for the end of the season. Wallace started 2009 in double A and then went up to AAA, where he especially turned it on after his trade to Oakland's system, hitting .302/.365/.505 in just over 200 plate appearances. Folks that thought Taylor's numbers in the minors to be more impressive than Wallace's just weren't considering that Wallace was younger, played at a higher level, and put up those numbers in his first full season of professional ball (as opposed to Taylor's second full season), which is extremely impressive. Make no mistake, this kid can hit.

His defense, on the other hand, is another thing. While Wallace is a third-base prospect, and has earned praise for his good hands and arm, there has been significant doubt that Wallace can stay at the hot corner. It has been said he is a "good athlete stuck in a bad body" and most baseball people just don't think he has the range or quickness to stick at third. The Jays have already announced that they plan to use him at first base, even though no one is blocking him at third base in the minors and the Jays have Brian Dopirak, who played much of 2009 at AAA, and David Cooper, who played at AA, at first base (though Cooper's star has faded, it's too early to give up on him).

At the plate, Wallace, a left-handed hitter, is described as a "pure" hitter with a solid approach at the plate, reluctant to expand the strike zone on the pitcher's terms. As scouts have noted, Wallace has a very strong lower body he uses to generate power and is very good at staying on his back leg to generate power and lay off bad pitches. Hitters get in trouble when they get onto their front side too early, as we saw all too often with Alex Rios last season. With Wallace's lower body strength and ability to stay on his back side, I think substantial power will come, and his approach bodes well for him to consistently reach base as well. Although Wallace didn't display that patience in AAA last season, it is understandable as he was taking his first taste of AAA in his first full big league season. I'd expect walk rates over 10% this season in AAA.

As a hitter, Wallace has been described as almost ready for the big leagues. It will take some time for him to learn first base, I'm guessing, so that will keep him in the minors for a bit, but with Lyle Overbay perhaps on his way out, Wallace could be in the big leagues in 2009. He says he wasts to make it as hard as possible for the Jays to send him to AAA. It's hard not to be excited about the offensive upside someone like Wallace brings - particularly when combined with fellow young lefty mashers Travis Snider and Adam Lind. We can be patient with Wallace, but I'm not sure we will have to be patient for very long.

Please share your hopes for Wallace and your thoughts on the Taylor-for-Wallace trade in the comments.

Down on the Farm: MLB Fantasy Prospects Breaks Down the Roy Halladay Deal

raygu — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

6 days ago: FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2007, file photo, Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Drabek ptiches against Florida State during a spring training baseball game in Clearwater, Fla. Drabek was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009, part of a four-team trade that sent Roy Halliday to the Phillies and Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

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contributed by Stephen Sheridan at MLB Fantasy Prospects

All of the dust has settled on what ESPN's Jayson Stark explains, "...isn't just a trade. It's a foray into the history books." MLBFP closely studied this monster trade to figure out how the pieces fit together. Of course, we concentrated on the prospects, only. If you don't already know that Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are top ten starters in any format, maybe you might need a new hobby.

We begin by taking a look at the Blue Jays' haul for Roy Halladay, which includes Kyle Drabek, Brett Wallace (obtained by flipping Michael Taylor to the A's. Stay tuned for our interview with him, later this weekend), and Travis D'Arnaud.

Loyal MLBFP readers already know that Drabek holds a spot on our list of Top 25 Fantasy Prospects for 2010 & Beyond, coming in at #17. Once you've read our scouting report on Kyle, you'll see that we that this kid might someday follow in his daddy's footsteps and win a Cy Young Award. On December 17, John Manual and J.J. Cooper discussed the big trade on the Baseball America Podcast. They now list Kyle Drabek as Toronto's number one prospect. Who's number two? Brett Wallace, of course.

One of the only knocks on Wallace has been his defense at third base. That may no longer be an issue. Recently, Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos chatted with fans on MLB.com about the Halladay trade and prospects for the Blue Jays in the future. During the chat, Anthropoulos said the following:

We think Wallace is capable of playing third. But, we see him being an above average defensive first baseman. Our hope is to have a strong as a defensive club as we can and putting players in a position where they have a chance to impact the club in the best way defensively.

Sure sounds as if Brett's days manning the hot corner are over. In my opinion, this is a positive move because now he can concentrate on what he does best - crushing the baseball! Back in July, he was traded to the A's in the deal that sent Matt Holliday to the Cardinals. Regardless of where he played in 2009, albeit in the Texas League (AA) or the Pacific Coast League (AAA) - for two different organizations, no less - Wallace proved he's ready for the bigs. For the year, he hit .293 with 20 homers and a .822 OPS. Sure, with the move to first base, we'll want to see him get that .455 slugging percentage a bit higher. Even so, as Bill Root pointed out after Brett's trade to Oakland, "The Arizona State alum has hit at every level in the minors." If that's not enough of a ringing endorsement, Root later proclaims, "he has the skills to win a batting title if he keeps progressing." Upon arriving to the A's organization, Wallace had his best stretch of the season, batting .302 with 9 homers in 182 at-bats.

So when might we see these two top-flight prospects playing in the majors? According to Anthropoulos, (from the aforementioned chat session):

I'd say both Drabek and Wallace are very close. But we don't want to put expectations with respect to a time line on them arriving in Toronto. Since Wallace got to Triple-A last year, you could argue that he is the closest but with Drabek having good success in Double-A last year, he could certainly come fast as well just like Jesse Litsch did.

Barring injuries, MLBFP is willing to bet the house that these guys will be regulars at the Rogers Centre by the end of 2010. So that leaves us with just one player to cover - catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud.

Last season, D'Arnaud played for Single-A Lakewood in the Sally League. When we think Sally, we automatically turn to our friend, Mike Newman and his Scouting the Sally blog. Newman grades Travis really high, as this snippet proves:

At his peak, I would not be surprised to see D'Arnaud surface as a .270-.285 hitter with 18-25 home run power while contributing above average defense and plus game management skills. Among the current catching crop, this would place him in the same company as Geovany Soto, and Miguel Montero who profile as above average regulars, if not occasional all-star caliber players. Select company indeed, but D'Arnaud has the tools and projection to reach those heights. Prospect analysts who regard him as little more than a throw in are seriously undercutting his ability. The Blue Jays gained an excellent prospect.

Those might seem like some lofty expectations, but Newman has been scouting the Sally League for some time now. We at MLBFP highly respect his opinions.

I understand that losing Doc Halladay is a tough pill to sawllow for you Jays fans. But hey, you were going to lose him at the end of the season for nothing! Your new GM came through big in flipping Doc for Drabek and Wallace. Both are blue chippers, just a hair shy of performing in the Major Leagues, potentially at a very high level. Hang in there, Toronto! Anthropoulos might be the real deal.

A Cold Week in Canada

doron — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:43:22 -0000

More photos » by Matt Rourke - AP

5 days ago: New Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay speaks to members of the media during a baseball news conference in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Halladay was traded to the Phillies on Wednesday in part of a four-team trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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As a Toronto Blue Jays fan all my life, this was a pretty challenging week.

North of the border, we knew it was coming. We’d heard about it daily since July and had seen the stories hit fever pitch a bunch of times – the trade deadline and the Winter Meetings not surprisingly being the biggest culprits. It got curiously quiet last weekend and into the start of the week.

Then, Monday afternoon, headlines broke that Roy Halladay was in Philadelphia. It took a few seconds to gather thoughts before the pieces fit together like a pile of bricks coming down on your already heavy chest. Roy Halladay had been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. A frenzied night of rumors followed until we finally learned exactly which pieces were going where, but none of that was the real story for Jays fans.

For years, Halladay had been the comforting, reliable ace at the front of the rotation. He was dominant. For us, he threw fastballs with more movement than most curveballs. He put in incomparable effort and dedication to his craft. He gave baseball fans in hockey-dominated Canada a reason to be proud.

Until now, Halladay had been criminally under-recognized in the baseball world. It’s an absolute shame that he’s played in the MLB for 12-years without reaching the playoffs or even being nationally broadcasted in the US on any “Fox Game of the Week” or “ESPN Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast.

That’s where it gets easier to bare for Blue Jays fans.

You can ask any baseball fan in Toronto to tell you who won the big four-way trade that went down this week, and they’ll answer that the Phillies did. Our secret weapon won’t be a secret any longer. Everyone that has seen him work his magic on the mound knows what Roy Halladay is capable of doing. The Phillies may have given up Cliff Lee and a number of great prospects in the deal, but if they have any concerns, I can tell you this with complete honesty: You have no idea the type of talent your team just acquired.

I can go on and on about the emotional side of the Roy Halladay trade, but I’ll throw out a few numbers too. On his way to a 2.79 ERAs in 2009, he made 15 of his 32 starts against the Rays, Yankees and Red Sox – who comprised three of top four teams in wOBA and three of the top five in OPS. Imagine replacing a third of those with starts against the Washington Nationals.

In 2008, C.C. Sabathia essentially destroyed the National League for half a season. In 17 starts, he went 11-2, with 7 complete games, 3 shutouts, a 1.65 ERA and a WHIP barely over 1.00. Not to start a debate over it, but by most metrics, Roy Halladay was better in 2009 that C.C. Sabathia was. Now he gets his turn in the NL, and he gets it for at least four years.

As tough as the last week was for Jays fans, it won’t get much easier any time soon. Opening Day 2010 will be started by someone who isn’t Roy Halladay. When the team gets swept and the back of the rotation gets blown out on consecutive days, Roy Halladay won’t be there the next day to spare the bullpen and give every fan something to be happy about again.

Maybe one day Kyle Drabek will fill a similar role. Maybe Brett Wallace and Travis D’Arnaud will be key parts of an offense able to fight back in those rough stretches.

But at least for the next couple of years, Blue Jays fans will still have an escape when the going gets tough in Toronto. Roy Halladay will be carving out his legacy in the American spotlight, marching towards the playoffs, and fighting to win a World Series.

Philadelphia, I hope you don’t mind when a bunch of Canadians are cheering along with you next October. It will be a victory for us as much as it will be for you.

Baseball Prospectus View of the Trade

Tom Dakers — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:41:11 -0000

More photos » by FRANK GUNN - AP

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos makes his first big trade(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn )

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Baseball Prospectus has their opinion of the big trade up on their site. A couple of bits I thought I'd steal:

As good as the Mariners did, though, the big winners here were the Blue Jays. Behind the eight-ball with a pitcher they could not sign and could not trade without his permission, which likely meant a value-killing contract commitment, they were able to bring in three prospects who could all be part of winning teams in the middle of the decade. What Alex Anthopolous brought back dwarfs what the Twins got for Santana two years ago. It’s too easy to say that Drabek could grow into a Halladay replacement, but he has that kind of ability. Remember that the Blue Jays have shown a facility for turning lesser pitchers into league-average starters. Drabek has more talent than any pitcher in their system. D’Arnaud is a polished hitter with a strong enough arm to remain behind the plate, and while he doesn’t have the star potential Drabek has, he projects as an inexpensive, good player at a key position.

No pressure there on the poor kid. Could be a Halladay replacement. But I agree that Anthopoulos got far more that the Twins got for Sanatana. And under a bigger microscope.

Anthoplolous traded the third prospect, Taylor, to the A’s for Brett Wallace. This is an interesting challenge trade, dealing the more complete player for the player with one dominant skill. The Jays’ advantage in acquiring Wallace is that they will be able to develop him as a first baseman if need be, as they have only Lyle Overbay in his way, and that only for a year. Wallace isn’t as bad a third baseman as he looks to be on first glance, lacking lateral range but having acceptable hands and moving fairly well back and forth. An eventual move off of third has long been assumed inevitable, and if that is necessary, the Jays can fade that. Wallace joins Travis Snider and Adam Lind for what could end up as a championship-caliber middle of the lineup. For the A’s part, they get the player with the broader skill set who may fit their situation a bit better; the A’s need outfielders who can cover ground, and Taylor is a good right fielder who could make their team out of spring training.

This is the real interesting part of the trade to me. Michael Taylor is a good prospect and I was pretty happy when we thought the Jays were going to get. He would fill in the gaping hole in RF and if he didn't turn out to be great, Alex could have just said 'well we all thought he would be good'. But trading him like this shows guts. For the rest of each of their careers we'll be comparing the two of them. If Wallace turns into the better player, Alex is a genus. If Taylor turns out to be the better player, he'll never hear the end of it.

You do have to like that he has the guts to do it. Right or wrong a GM has to make the moves he believes in. If he thinks Wallace will be the better player, he can't be afraid of the reaction if he is wrong. If you worry about what happens if you are wrong, you won't do anything.

I hope it works out but more than that, I'm happy Alex has shown the guts needed to be a GM.

Wednesday Open Thread: the Aftermath

hugo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:09 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

So long, Doc. You are one of a kind. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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Just wanted to check in with some links around the blogosphere about the Halladay trade and then open it up to y'all:

At Fangraphs, Dave Cameron takes a look at the trade (not the Wallace-Taylor part):

Let’s start with the Blue Jays. They were obviously over a barrel with Halladay after the debacle of trying to trade him this summer. New GM Alex Anthopolous knew he needed to move his ace for the best package he could get, but also come away with enough young talent to sell this as more than an admission that they screwed up in July. In the trio of young players they’re getting from the Phillies, they were able to do just that.

Drabek, Taylor, and D’Arnaud are high quality prospects. For one year of Halladay (and $6 million in cash, which isn’t trivial but less useful to a Toronto team that won’t win in 2010), that’s a very strong return. Anthopolous did well to come away with that level of talent, given his leverage in the situation.

Also at Fangraphs, Dave Allen takes a look at Roy Halladay's stuff. Yeah, he's good. Now, I don't get why Philadelphia felt like they had to deal Cliff Lee on the same day they acquired Doc, since it really wasn't a three team trade. I would've thought they could have done better holding on to him for the best possible return, considering that worst-case scenario is probably a year of Cliff Lee well below market value for a competing team, followed by Type A free agent status. That said, I don't get why Phillies fans aren't happier with the deal. You got Roy Halladay, guys. It's a win. And he signed a team-friendly extension, and you replenished your farm system a bit by dealing Lee.
The Hardball Times likes the deal for the Jays too, including the acquisition of Wallace for Taylor:

Toronto made out extremely well, netting a high-upside pitcher in Kyle Drabek that they don't have anywhere in the system. Toronto has solid rotation depth, especially in the major leagues, but no one you can give the ball to on Opening Day and expect to win. Drabek can be that guy.

Travis D'Arnaud has been coveted by Toronto ever since he was selected a pick ahead of the Jays in 2007. The Blue Jays have J.P. Arencibia in their farm system, but there are questions about his ability to stay behind the plate, and D'Arnaud is the better value anyways. Michael Taylor was a Blue Jay for only the briefest of moments, as he was immediately shipped to Oakland for Brett Wallace.

While Taylor might evolve into a 20/20 player and provide good overall value out of the outfield, Wallace is the type of hitter Toronto needs in its next wave of youngsters. Toronto absolutely needs the upside that Wallace brings with the bat and can afford to worry about defense later. Assuming Wallace can't stick at third (which is not a done deal just yet), he has the options of moving to first or designated hitter, with no one blocking him at either position.

Toronto has put themselves in great position to field a young, competitive club as soon as 2012. That's all they could have asked for in a trade of Halladay.

I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about moving Taylor for Wallace at first, as it seems like Wallace will have to move to first base and I was looking forward to a season of Taylor, not Jose Bautista, in right field for the Jays in 2010 (and beyond). But the more I think about it, the more I'm pleased that the Jays have decided to go with the best talent they can get - I think it shows confidence in evaluation and in the ability to deal one of their 1st basemen/DH types if it comes to it. Overbay is clearly on his way out, Cooper is a big question mark, I like Dopirak well, but Ruiz can't be thought of as any time of long-term plan.

The Drunks have a run-down of Keith Law's comments on the deal. Law doubts Drabek can be a true ace because of the lack of a great third pitch, but likes him as a number two or, at worst, a number three. He thinks Wallace will be a great hitter, albeit as a first-baseman. And he projects d'Arnaud as a solid everyday catcher. Sounds like a plan to me. \
Jordan Bastian mentions what seems inevitable, that Overbay is on his way out, at the latest after 2010, that Cooper's stock has fallen, and that the Jays are considering moving Wallace to third base. I don't see the harm in keeping Wallace at third base in AAA if he's not going to make the major-league roster, though, unless they want to try Scott Campbell everyday at third in Las Vegas again.

What say you, banterers?

Update: 1:30 pm. Apparently, someone failed a physical, potentially putting the deal in jeopardy depending on who it is. We've heard it wasn't Doc or Cliff Lee (can you imagine Doc failing a physical? I think the treadmill used for the stress test would fail first) or Phillipe Aumont, so who?

Update^2: 2:45 pm. Blair says the entire physical-failing rumor was completely false, and other sources are confirming that the deal is final and there will be a Doc press conference this afternoon. That was a weird hour.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:16:15 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Mark DiFelice hopes to pitch for the Brewers again in 2011.

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Some things to read while choosing carefully.

Well, this was bound to happen eventually: There's virtually no Brewer news today. Today's top story is the $100,000 minor league deal given to Mark DiFelice, who will spend the 2010 season rehabbing with Brewer trainers in the hope of returning to the mound with the Crew in 2011 (FanShot).

Elsewhere, Marc Hulet of FanGraphs has a look at the last few Brewer drafts, from a somewhat pessimistic point of view. The Brewer organization is down a bit and there's certainly not a lot of depth to speak of, but I think they deserve a little more credit than that.

I recently contributed to a discussion on the NL Central's moves at the Winter Meetings over at The Nats Blog, along with seven other NL Central sites.

We're continuing to plug away at the BCB All Decade Team. You have until 4 pm today to vote for our final starting outfielder, and 4 pm tomorrow to vote for our first bench infield spot. Geoff Jenkins has a pretty commanding lead in the former, but Craig Counsell's lead is much smaller in the latter. A new vote will open at 4 today.

Around baseball:

Royals: Are expected to sign former Twins pitcher Phil Humber to a minor league deal.
White Sox: Acquired Juan Pierre and cash from the Dodgers for two PTBNL.

Meanwhile, side deals are being struck to go along with the not-yet-official Mariners-Phillies-Blue Jays deal involving Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay: When/if the deal becomes official, the Blue Jays will send outfielder Michael Taylor to the A's for third baseman Brett Wallace, recently acquired in the Matt Holliday deal.

In a financially larger transaction, the Rangers are one large step closer to having a new owner, as Tom Hicks has selected a group of investors including current team president Nolan Ryan to begin negotiations.

Not much else going on, so I guess we can talk about a couple of former Brewers: The B-Ref blog has a look at some of the unique facets of Mike Cameron's career. He's in elite company on some relatively significant all-time lists. The Transaction Oracle projects him to hit .252/.349/.442 in 2010.

Meanwhile, I know I said I'd try to go the rest of the week without mentioning Jason Kendall, but this Transaction Oracle quote is a little too good to pass up:

Seriously, if the Royals gave me $1 million to me to kick Moore in the crotch, they'd be better off from both a financial and a baseball standpoint.

How about a note about a former Brewer catcher that was actually pretty good? Cardboard Gods has a post where at least a couple of paragraphs are about Darrell Porter.

Here's a study I'd like to see someone duplicate for the Brewers: DRaysBay has a look at variations in the 2009 Rays' attendance based on starting pitcher. There's a lot of factors to consider (opponent, day of the week, position in the standings), but I wouldn't be surprised to discover the Brewers lost a fair chunk of attendance on days when Jeff Suppan or Braden Looper pitched down the stretch last season.

Speaking of things someone could duplicate for the Brewers, FishStripes has a Marlins add-on for Firefox. I'm not sure what exactly that entails, but if someone made a Brewer one and it didn't get in the way while I'm trying to work, I'd use it.

It's possible it's just something to do for the sake of pretending to do something, but Bud Selig has formed a committee to consider and address on-field improvements for the game, and one writer (Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune) thinks it might be the first step towards a legitimate challenge of the DH rule. (h/t BBTF) Craig Calcaterra, however, threw some cold water on the theory.

On this day in 1999, the Brewers signed Jose Hernandez to a three year, $10 million deal. Hernandez had one very good season as a Brewer and made the All Star team in 2002, but also struck out 498 times in three seasons, leading the NL in two of his three years.

On this day in 2002, the Brewers traded Ray King to the Braves for Wes Helms and John Foster. Helms spent three years as a Brewer, hitting .268/.335/.425. Somehow, I remember him being much worse than that.

Happy birthday today to:

Alcides Escobar, who turns 23.
2003-2004 Brewer Matt Kinney, who turns 33.
Former Brewer first round pick and 1975 Brewer Tommy Bianco, who turns 57.

Drink up.

Blue Jays set to deal Michael Taylor?

Eli Greenspan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:57:17 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

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The Blue Jays are reportedly poised to swing top prospect Michael Taylor, who was recently acquired from the Phillies in the Roy Halladay deal, to the A's for top prospect Brett Wallace.

Neither side would comment on the issue, but Beane wouldn't go as far as to deny the whole deal.

"We're not in position to comment right now," Beane told Bay Area News Group.

The A's have a lot of depth at the corner infield positions, especially after landing 3B Jake Fox from the Cubs, who is expected to be in the teams Opening Day lineup. Adding Taylor gives them a player with just as much upside, and can be slotted into an outfield spot when ready to go.

In two minor league seasons, Wallace is a .302 career hitter with 34 home runs. He has the potential to hit for 20-30 home runs once he reaches the major leagues.

Taylor, 23, is .312 career hitter with 45 home runs and a .383 OBP in three minor league seasons. He also has the potential to hit for power in the major leagues.

There is no timetable for an announcement of the deal.

Blue Jays Trade Michael Taylor to Athletics for Brett Wallace

R.J. Anderson — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:43:45 -0000

Michael Taylor will turn 24 on Saturday. Yesterday, he was part of a package sent to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for starting pitcher Roy Halladay. Hopefully none of his family or friends went out and bought Blue Jays gear for his celebration, because Taylor is no longer with organization. Instead, he will wear the green and gold of Oakland next season as Toronto swapped him out with "third" baseman Brett Wallace.

Turnaround deals like this involving Billy Beane invoke memories of Moneyball scenes from the past with him edging on Omar Minaya to land some fat third baseman named Youkilis before flipping him to Oakland. Either this swap had been discussed before hand or Toronto worked at rapid pace while Halladay went suit-shopping for his introductory press conference.

As mentioned, Taylor is currently 23 and formerly a Stanford attendee who stands around 6'6" and weighs 250 pounds. Baseball America describes him as "A physical specimen", which is a kind way of saying he sticks out in a crowd of normal folk. The most endearing skill Taylor possesses is his power. In 128 Triple-A plate appearances - small sample, indeed - Taylor's ISO was .209; in 363 Double-A plate appearances it was .236 and even before then, in High-A it was .230. The man has the ability to crush baseballs. Defensively he has a good arm but, like his offensive game, the finer things need developing.

By comparison, the 6'1", 245 pound Wallace is small. Not many things human can make Wallace look small, but Taylor is one of them. Wallace's position is listed at third base, but that seems rather unlikely to be the case. Wallace is supposedly more polished at the plate than Taylor, but I'm not sure how much of that is true. Wallace spent most of last season in Triple-A and had a .203 ISO once joining the Cardinals. Scouts seem to like his plate approach more than Taylor's, but their walk and strikeout rates suggest Taylor does more of the former and less of the latter.

The Jays definitely need some positional players. The question is whether Wallace is a better fit than Taylor, and honestly I'm not sure. If they think Wallace can play an okay third, then fine, but otherwise their roster already holds a DH (Adam Lind) a center fielder who shouldn't play center (Vernon Wells), a corner outfielder (Travis Snider), and a first baseman (Lyle Overbay) and while Taylor would be restricted to the other corner, Wallace should probably only play first.

One thing you can throw out the window about the new Jays front office is any doubts about their willingness to pull the trigger.

Down on the Farm: Part 2 of Interview with Adam Foster from Project Prospect

raygu — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:00:16 -0000

Here is the part 2 of the two part interview with Adam Foster from Project Prospect. Foster and the guys over at Project Prospect recently posted their top 15 catching prospects, so head on over to Project Prospect and check out their top 15 rankings.

Fake Teams: Aside from the AFL, what prospects that you have seen this year made the biggest leap forward? Step back?

Adam Foster: James Darnell is a guy who I went well out of my way to see this year. His swing really impressed me at Minor League Spring Training. He's very athletic with a good chance of sticking at third base. And his power potential is outstanding.

Some of my colleagues who are really into college statistics pointed Darnell out as a guy who may have fallen further than he should have in the draft - he wasn't healthy his junior season. Then I bumped into Darnell's Cape Cod League coach in Phoenix one night and he said he wanted Darnell over Justin Smoak on his Cape team.

I'm not saying that Darnell is a lock to become a superstar. But he's one of the best prospects in baseball. And people who aren't giving him that kind of recognition probably haven't done their homework.

As far as guys who took a step back, unfortunately Tim Alderson was a different pitcher this year than last. He lost some movement on his fastball. And his pinpoint accuracy left him. There are guys who chose to give up some velocity to gain movement. Alderson may have gone the opposite direction in 2009, I'm not sure. But even though his curveball is already a plus pitch, he wasn't giving High-A or Double-A hitters much trouble last season. He definitely has elite control. I just don't think he's a big league pitcher without outstanding command.

More after the jump:

Fake Teams: I read in your Rising Stars game chat that you and your colleagues are not as high on the Phillies outfield prospect Domonic Brown. What are your reasons?

Adam Foster: Guys who are outstanding fast-twitch athletes can become overrated in a hurry. People like to assume that they're athletic enough to do things that other players can't. In Brown's case, there's some false information floating around that he's an elite defender. He has a very good arm and he's fast, but he doesn't get good reads or take good routes. Those skills can't really be learned. So it's highly unlikely that he'll be more than an average defensive right fielder.

Additionally, he's really not very coordinated - compared to his peers. My first reaction when I saw him bat was that he looked awkward. He gets in a crouch to try to shrink down his big strike zone (Brown is 6-foot-5). And while he has a lot of bat speed, is patient, and recognizes pitches well, he's not going to be an above-average contact hitter. There's not much he can do about that. He doesn't have very good bat control.

Keep in mind that Brown is an elite prospect. He's in the 99^th percentile for his class. I'm just dissecting the heck out of him here. If you compare him to the other guys who are at the head of the class, I don't think he stands out as one who's going to become a star. He's very good and a likely bet to become an average big leaguer. But there are a dozen or so hitters out there who I see as better prospects than him.

Fake Teams: What players who underwhelmed in 2009 do you expect to jump back into the limelight in 2010?

Adam Foster: Reese Havens is a good one to start with. He moved to second base in the Arizona Fall League and looked solid at the position. He's a polished, well-rounded hitter who can play up-the-middle defense. He was a first rounder. And had a successful junior season in college - I'd be more confident in him if he was better his sophomore year, though. His baseball resume puts him in elite company. I'll be surprised if he doesn't break out in 2010.

Don't sleep on Jon Niese and Kevin Mulvey. They are solid bets to turn into useful big league starters. You could also end up looking like a genius if you snatch up Kellen Kulbacki cheap now that a lot of people have forgotten about him. Nick Noonan was one of the youngest players in High-A and has a lot of potential. Ivan De Jesus may not be a fantasy stud, but if you play in a deep dynasty or sim league, don't forget about him - and I'm sure you haven't ;).

Fake Teams: What prospects do you feel who should be getting more press based on their talent/performance?

Adam Foster: Josh Bell is just starting to get the attention he deserves. I guess you lose some street cred when you get traded for a reliever. But the Dodgers are clearly working under the win-now model, so I wouldn't hold it against him. He can play third base and has a lot of power. If Pedro Alvarez and Brett Wallace can't stick at third - and they probably won't - then Bell starts looking like a pretty good pick for the best "true" third base prospect in the minors. I'll have to compare my video of him and Darnell this offseason, though.

Brandon Snyder is another guy who has the resume to turn into a solid big leaguer. But you don't hear much talk about him. I'm a big Drew Cumberland believer. Matt Sweeney is a breakout guy. Lorenzo Cain has fallen out of the spotlight but I still see a lot of potential in him. Che-Hsuan Lin gets lost in the Red Sox depth of athletic hitters. Jaff Decker gets overlooked largely due to some old scouting biases.

Fake Teams: Who are your top 5 hitting prospects going into 2010? Who are your top 5 pitching prospects going into 2010?

Adam Foster: At the end of the 2009 season, we ranked Jason Heyward, Carlos Santana, Jesus Montero, and Buster Posey as the game's top five hitting prospects with Dustin Ackley, Desmond Jennings, Fernando Martinez and Mike Stanton on the bubble. Those guys will account for the bulk of - if not all - the spots among our top five hitting prospects entering 2010.

We didn't get to see many of baseball's top pitching prospects at the AFL. And I still want to get better reads on some guys. But Stephen Strasburg and Brian Matusz are clearly at the head of this class. Daniel Hudson and Jeremy Hellickson were two of the most impressive pitchers I saw in 2009 - Hudson for his FB and CH movement; Hellickson for his command. Then it's hard not to like Neftali Feliz' stuff. The five guys I've mentioned were our top five pitching prospects when we put together our October top 25 pitching prospect list. Most of them should also be top five on our 2010 list.

I want to thank Adam for taking the time for this interview.

First Base: A Glut With No Players

Nico — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:27:34 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

"Chloroform? Oops."

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Imagine playing "musical chairs" at a party, where the music stops and there's an empty chair but nobody standing looking for a place to sit. That's more like the "musical chairs" problem the A's could find themselves with at the one position commonly thought to be over-crowded: 1B.

Brett Wallace? That's the guy who has never actually played over at 1B, the guy who continues to play at the position the A's really need a solution. Sure, he could move over to 1B at some point and stay there, but that's a bit different from saying he's adding to a glut. That's kind of like hearing that someone is from Michigan and replying, "Really? I have a brother who's from Wisconsin."

Speaking of my brother, he and his family had a turkey for Thanksgiving again this year. And as usual, they ate lobster. You see, each year my brother (I'm the normal one), his wife, and their three kids, adopt a foster-turkey -- which is different from a Foster Farms turkey in that these turkeys are neither frozen nor deceased. Tom, as this year's guest of honor was called, was very much alive, trotting around the house while somewhere upstream in Philadelphia a lobster went, "Aw man, really?" to a skilled fisherman. However, as my brother projects to be no more than an average 1Bman, he will no longer be part of this conversation.

Chris Carter? Well, in contrast to Wallace 1B is exactly where Carter has been playing but it seems pretty widely agreed that it's one position where he won't stick. In other words, Wallace hasn't yet proven he can't stick at 3B and hasn't shown he can play 1B, but Carter has shown what he can't do at 1B and it's a lot. LF seems like a good bet, and DH appears to be in Carter's future ahead of "happy 30th birthday, Chris!" 1B, on the other hand, is looking less for Carter like a position he'll play long-term, and more like a place he has stood near for far too long.

Sean Doolittle? Here's a guy who finally has the right combination of "plays the position well" and "might hit big league pitching." However, he now has multiple strikes against his making it as a major league 1Bman. Generally healthy, Doolittle suffered a rather significant knee injury last season, one that could impact him into this year. So before we worry about where he'll play and how well he'll play, we need to wait to see when he can play and whether he can come back at 100%. Then he has to be good enough for the big leagues -- which was never a certainty, just a hope. And then 1B has to be where he lands, and it's not where he was primarily playing at the time he lost a knee.

Speaking of which, I'm thinking of starting a knee replacement company. I'm going to call it the Knee Co. (pronounced "NEE-koh") and...well, honestly that's as far as I've gotten.

All of which brings us back to Daric Barton. A guy who didn't take at catcher, couldn't handle 3B, but has found 1B much to his liking -- so much so that he singles a lot, but then so did Hatteberg -- and now stands as an incumbent who is still young, can field the position well, and was always touted for his hitting.

Could 9 Daric Bartons outscore the 1927 Yankees, or would they just fall off, one by one, into a shallow pool in some Synchonized Swimming nightmare? I don't know. But right now Barton is more than the best 1Bman the A's have. He might actually be the only one.