Jesse Johnson – USA TODAY Sports
Brett Wallace has had every opportunity in the world to become the everyday second baseman for a team that is ripe with opportunities. Yet the only way he ever ended up getting the job was because there was no other option. But he still got the position, and it was his to lose. Well, for all intents and purposes, he lost it. With the season drawing to a close, Wallace put up a .200 batting average in September, going 4-for-31 in his last ten games. The Houston Astros may have seen the last of Brett Wallace.
Wallace was a first round draft pick after not signing as a 42nd round pick the year before. There is a lot of pressure on guys picked in the first round. Maybe not as much in baseball because very few players are a surefire stud in baseball drafts, but there is still an immense amount of pressure. Wallace was bounced around early on, never seeming to be able to figure out his offensive game. After a lackluster stint with the Astros, he came back into the fold having supposedly fixed his swing and having clearly lost a lot of weight.
He got off to a 1-for-24 start with 17 strikeouts.
I may have been hard on Chris Carter all year because of his strikeout rate, which is currently at a strikeout every 2.38 at bats. Well, Wallace isn’t far behind that number at a strikeout every 2.54 at bats, but Wallace simply does not get on base. His OBP on the year is under .300 at .284. Carter, on the other hand, is at .322 and leads the team in walks.
And that’s another thing; Wallace does not walk either. Carter may lead the entire MLB in strikeouts, but he leads the team in walks as well with 68. Wallace has only walked 18 times in over 200 at bats.
At this point in his career, Wallace is no longer a prospect. He should already be a producing major league player who doesn’t need to keep making minor league stints to fix his game. As unfortunate as it may seem it’s the end of the line for Wallace, and the 2014 Astros have no room for him.
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