Cayden Wallace

For the American football player, see Caedan Wallace.

Cayden Wallace
Wallace with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2023
Washington Nationals
Third baseman
Born: (2001-08-07) August 7, 2001 (age 23)
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

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

Kansas City Royals

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

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

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

  1. ^ Hall, Erik (April 13, 2022). "Cayden Wallace: 3 things to know about the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball third baseman". Southwest Times Record.
  2. ^ Stephens, Donna (January 22, 2020). "Panther lives up to the hype, named Player of the Year". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  3. ^ Askeland, Kevin (June 30, 2019). "Best high school baseball player in each state". MaxPreps.
  4. ^ "Under Armour All-America Game top performers". MLB.com.
  5. ^ Jones, Matt (May 21, 2020). "Arkansas signee Wallace named state player of the year". Whole Hog Sports.
  6. ^ Alderson, Taylor (October 19, 2021). "Diamond Hogs wrap up Fall World Series". The Arkansas Traveler.
  7. ^ Murphy, Tom (June 14, 2021). "Kopps closes out career with fans". Hot Springs Sentinel-Record.
  8. ^ Allan, Nate (June 23, 2021). "Wallace Honored". Batesville Daily Guard.
  9. ^ "Cayden Wallace". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  10. ^ Lynch, Troy (July 3, 2021). "Arkansas freshman phenom Wallace starting summer ball hot after historic season". KLRT-TV.
  11. ^ "Cape Cod Baseball League: Wallace's home run helps Bourne Braves remain unbeaten". Cape Cod Times. July 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Cavadi, Wayne (July 20, 2021). "9 of the hottest hitters in the Cape Cod Baseball League, right now". NCAA.com.
  13. ^ Long, Christina (February 16, 2022). "Who to watch, what to know before Arkansas baseball opens 2022 season". Southwest Times Record.
  14. ^ Jones, Matt (March 14, 2022). "Wallace thrives in leadoff role". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
  15. ^ Law, Keith (May 16, 2022). "2022 MLB Draft prospects scouting notes: Arkansas' Cayden Wallace on the rise?". The Athletic.
  16. ^ Rhttps://www.swtimes.com/story/sports/college/2022/07/17/cayden-wallace-mlb-draft-2022-kansas-city-royals-arkansas-baseball/10015235002/
  17. ^ "MLB Draft Tracker". MLB.com.
  18. ^ "Transactions".
  19. ^ "Cayden Wallace Stats, Fantasy & News".
  20. ^ "Where Royals top prospects are starting 2023 season". www.mlb.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  21. ^ "Royals Promote Cayden Wallace, Gavin Cross, Javier Vaz, and Tyson Guerrero to Northwest Arkansas". OurSports Central. August 7, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  22. ^ "Cayden Wallace Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "Where the Guardians' Top 30 prospects are starting the season". MLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  24. ^ Stebbins, Tim (July 13, 2024). "Nats get highly ranked prospect, Draft pick from Royals for Harvey". MLB.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  25. ^ Rogers, Anne (July 13, 2024). "Royals add reliever Harvey in trade with Nationals". MLB.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  26. ^ Stephens, Donna (July 31, 2021). "Brothers at the bat". 501 Life Magazine.