Went with Brett Wallace for #2 mainly because I believe in his bat. After hitting 20 HR in 138 games in his first full year as a pro he has answered some of my questions about his power potential and I think it’s realistic to project him at around 25 HR’s a year in the majors with the possibility of a few more as he matures.

His K-rate is a little higher than I would like but he has managed to hit for a good avg. at every stop even while being rushed. Also, most scouting reports seem positive that his swing will equate to good BA in the majors and while scouts aren’t the end all be all, I think this is a plus in Wallace’s favor.

Defense wise I think I am a little higher than most on his chances of sticking at 3rd. His size will always be an issue but he has good hands and a pretty good arm with decent strength and good accuracy. Everything I have heard about him suggests that he has a very good work ethic and a strong desire to work on his defense at 3rd. He will never be a gold glover at 3rd but I think he can be average to slightly below for a few years.

I know it’s a pain in the ass, but I’d like to see more than five options on the poll. That kind of limits the available choices, which are going to get pretty broad once we’re past #3.

I was excited earlier in the season, but he just doesnt have much upside. At best he reminds me of a freddy sanchez type hitter, solid/above avg player. he still cant hit lefties, the speed/defense projects to be about avg, and the power has yet to develop. Its too bad, A’s couldnt get a taylor, brown, donald, or happ in that blanton deal instead of cardenas.

1. Adrian Cardenas 2b/3b Cardenas’ tendency to struggle when promoted and then upon returning to the level dominating it, which seems to be reoccurring. In the past month, Cardenas has a roughly calculated wOBA of .386 compared to a .336 league wOBA. Lack of power projection turning into power in the box score is concerning but scouts say that he can hit .300 in his sleep so with his walk rate he becomes a very good player even without the power. If he hits close to .300, he is a excellent candidate to hit something like .300/.375/.400 in the bigs which is good for about 25 BRAA. His defense at third should be at least average once he learns the position. Essentially Cardenas isn’t a bad bet to be a 4 WAR player once he gets settled in the bigs and could be up to a 5 WAR player. That is a very good prospect with the chance to be one of those extraordinarily valuable players who gets absolutely no street cred.

1. Brett Wallace 1b/3b/DH I don’t like putting him here and until his recent hot streak and Donaldson’s slump, I had Donaldson in this position. Defensive concerns with Wallace trouble me as does his low walk rate and his lack of production this year with the bat until the last two weeks. Hopefully, the improved productions recently is a sign that Wallace was rushed all the way to AAA less than a year after he was drafted and has recently caught up. His walk rate is very concerning as a pro. During his junior year Wallace walked in 16.6% of his PAs in AAA it has been less than half that. Defensively Wallace at 3b i think is at least a -10 FRAA from UZR. I expect him to have a bad range number but good double play runs and error runs since Wallace has a strong accurate arm. This would place his defensive comparable somewhere in the Ty Wiggington, Mark Teahen, and Josh Fields range. Putting up .280/.340/.480 line would give him about a .380 wOBA or about 25 BRAA. Defense would probably take away 7.5 to 10 runs fielding projecting him to be a 3.5 WAR player.

Donaldson should be on there instead and there are a bunch of prospects that I would pick before him.