[農場] Prospect Spotlight: Brett Wallace
http://www.baseballdailydigest.com/blogs/2009/07/25/
prospect-spotlight-brett-wallace/
Scouting Report: When discussing Brett Wallace's game we have to first start
with his bat. There really isn’t any other direction to go since it is what
makes him worth talking about. As I have mentioned before, despite people who
have strongly disagreed with me, I believe Wallace is one of the best
offensive player that came from the 2008 MLB draft. While he may not have as
much power of some of his fellow draftees, his overall offensive game is the
strongest.
First let's start with his approach at the plate. Wallace has very good
plate discipline considering his age as it generally takes some time to get
everything in synch. But Wallace is the type of hitter who refuses to expand
his strike zone and waits pitchers out, forcing them to throw him something
he can make solid contact with. Wallace also does a great job in plate
coverage thanks to his batting stance which crowds the plate. With his
advanced approach, Wallace has the potential to translate his success to the
pros and could end up being a perennial on-base machine with OBPs around .400.
With having such a fine tuned eye at the plate, Wallace's ability to be
productive in the pros is pretty much set. But when you include his swing and
the power he generates, you end up piecing together why he has the potential
to be so special.
We now move on to what happens when Wallace finds his pitch. As I mentioned
earlier, Wallace tends to crowd the plate which gives him great reach for the
entire plate. This allows him to reach the outside corner and his short
stroke allows him to turn on inside pitches. He also keeps his hands held
high in the air and keeps his weight back allowing him to help generate power
and use as a timing mechanism. Wallace’s short stroke goes right through the
ball which follows up with a very hard uppercut swing. His swing is built to
be a line drive, gap-to-gap hitter but he is strong enough and has the bat
speed to hit homer totals into the 30's.
If I were going to portray his skills to what they would translate to in the
majors, I would say he is a .280-.300 hitter, around .380-.400 OBP and a
slugging percentage in the upper .500's. Then add in his 25-30 homers and
100+ RBI and you have a pretty strong offensive weapon that the A's will
love to have in the middle of their lineup.
On the defensive side however, things aren’t quite as rosy. Wallace's
offense has never been questioned but his defense has always been something
he's criticized for. Wallace would be best suited to play first base and may
have more of an opportunity to do so now that he’s out from under Albert
Pujols. Many don’t think he is athletic enough to stay at this position but
after the trade he now has the DH option as well.
By simply looking at him you would automatically assume he won't be able to
play the hot corner. Sometimes I wonder if this is as deep as many scouts dig
into his defensive abilities and just label him as a liability there. But the
truth is Wallace does have some quickness and the feet to play an average
third base. He also has pretty good hands and a fairly strong arm. Not
exactly a glowing recommendation, but it is what it is.
While all this translates to an average third baseman, where I worry is in
his ability to react to hard hit balls. I mentioned earlier how he has some
quickness, but perhaps not enough to compensate on balls that are smashed in
his direction. This could partially be counteracted by where he positions
himself depending on the hitter, count and situation, but you really can’t
coach reaction time which could be a giant flaw in his game. Basically I don't
see him killing his team with his defense, but I don't see him helping at
all either.
Overall Brett Wallace is going to be a solid player for the A's for many,
many years. If they can just get adequate defense from him at third they will
have found themselves an All-Star offensive weapon that they have been
looking for since the loss of the real Eric Chavez.
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