Cayden Wallace
| Cayden Wallace | |
|---|---|
 Wallace with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2023 | |
| Washington Nationals | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: August 7, 2001 Little Rock, Arkansas | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Cayden Browning Wallace (born August 7, 2001) is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Washington Nationals organization.
Amateur career
[edit]Wallace attended Greenbrier High School in Greenbrier, Arkansas. As a freshman in 2017, he hit .349 with four home runs before batting .481 with 11 home runs as a sophomore in 2018.[1] As a junior in 2019, he batted .514 with six home runs and 22 RBIs.[2][3] That summer, he played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Wrigley Field.[4] His senior season in 2020 was cancelled after eight games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he was still named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for the state of Arkansas.[5]
Wallace went unselected in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at the University of Arkansas to play college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. In 2021, as a freshman at Arkansas, Wallace started sixty games (mainly in right field) in which he slashed .279/.369/.500 with 14 home runs, 44 RBIs, 11 doubles, and a team-leading 67 hits.[6] His 14 home runs were second on the team behind Robert Moore and also tied the freshman home run record set by Heston Kjerstad.[7] He was named a Freshman All-American, making him the 24th Razorback to earn the honors.[8] After the 2021 season, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[9][10][11][12] For the 2022 season, Wallace moved to third base.[13] He was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week on March 15 after he hit three home runs (two grand slams) and had 13 RBIs over a weekend series.[14] Over 65 games, he batted .297 with 16 home runs, sixty RBIs, and 19 doubles, and ended the season as a top-40 prospect for the upcoming draft.[15]
Professional career
[edit]Kansas City Royals
[edit]The Kansas City Royals selected Wallace in the second round with the 49th overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[16] He signed with the team for $1.70 million.[17]
Wallace made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Royals and was promoted to the Columbia Fireflies of the Single-A Carolina League after three games.[18] Over thirty games, he batted .297 with two home runs, 17 RBI, and eight doubles.[19] Wallace was assigned to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the High-A Midwest League to open the 2023 season.[20] In early August, he was promoted to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Double-A Texas League.[21] Over 130 games between the two teams, Wallace slashed .254/.331/.414 with 13 home runs, 84 RBI, and 18 stolen bases.[22] He was assigned to Northwest Arkansas to open the 2024 season.[23]
Washington Nationals
[edit]On July 13, 2024, Wallace was traded to the Washington Nationals, along with the Royals’ Competitive Balance Round A pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft, in exchange for Hunter Harvey.[24][25]
Personal life
[edit]Wallace's older brother, Paxton, played college baseball at Wichita State University and currently plays in the Royals organization. Their father, Mike, played college football at the University of Central Arkansas.[26]
References
[edit]- ^ Hall, Erik (April 13, 2022). "Cayden Wallace: 3 things to know about the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball third baseman". Southwest Times Record.
- ^ Stephens, Donna (January 22, 2020). "Panther lives up to the hype, named Player of the Year". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
- ^ Askeland, Kevin (June 30, 2019). "Best high school baseball player in each state". MaxPreps.
- ^ "Under Armour All-America Game top performers". MLB.com.
- ^ Jones, Matt (May 21, 2020). "Arkansas signee Wallace named state player of the year". Whole Hog Sports.
- ^ Alderson, Taylor (October 19, 2021). "Diamond Hogs wrap up Fall World Series". The Arkansas Traveler.
- ^ Murphy, Tom (June 14, 2021). "Kopps closes out career with fans". Hot Springs Sentinel-Record.
- ^ Allan, Nate (June 23, 2021). "Wallace Honored". Batesville Daily Guard.
- ^ "Cayden Wallace". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ Lynch, Troy (July 3, 2021). "Arkansas freshman phenom Wallace starting summer ball hot after historic season". KLRT-TV.
- ^ "Cape Cod Baseball League: Wallace's home run helps Bourne Braves remain unbeaten". Cape Cod Times. July 1, 2021.
- ^ Cavadi, Wayne (July 20, 2021). "9 of the hottest hitters in the Cape Cod Baseball League, right now". NCAA.com.
- ^ Long, Christina (February 16, 2022). "Who to watch, what to know before Arkansas baseball opens 2022 season". Southwest Times Record.
- ^ Jones, Matt (March 14, 2022). "Wallace thrives in leadoff role". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
- ^ Law, Keith (May 16, 2022). "2022 MLB Draft prospects scouting notes: Arkansas' Cayden Wallace on the rise?". The Athletic.
- ^ Rhttps://www.swtimes.com/story/sports/college/2022/07/17/cayden-wallace-mlb-draft-2022-kansas-city-royals-arkansas-baseball/10015235002/
- ^ "MLB Draft Tracker". MLB.com.
- ^ "Transactions".
- ^ "Cayden Wallace Stats, Fantasy & News".
- ^ "Where Royals top prospects are starting 2023 season". www.mlb.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "Royals Promote Cayden Wallace, Gavin Cross, Javier Vaz, and Tyson Guerrero to Northwest Arkansas". OurSports Central. August 7, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "Cayden Wallace Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "Where the Guardians' Top 30 prospects are starting the season". MLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Stebbins, Tim (July 13, 2024). "Nats get highly ranked prospect, Draft pick from Royals for Harvey". MLB.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ Rogers, Anne (July 13, 2024). "Royals add reliever Harvey in trade with Nationals". MLB.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ Stephens, Donna (July 31, 2021). "Brothers at the bat". 501 Life Magazine.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)