After coming over in the Hunter Harvey trade, injuries halted Cayden Wallace’s progress
Cayden Wallace is one of many young Nationals third baseman trying to stake a claim as the 3B of the future. While Wallace certainly isn’t the favorite in that discussion, he has some interesting tools. However, he needs to stay healthy to show off his skills.
2024 was a weird and frustrating year for Wallace. After a solid 2023 season where he reached double-A, his progress was halted in an injury plagued 2024. He only managed 56 games and 195 at bats for the season. Wallace posted a solid .777 OPS in the Royals system before struggling in the Nats system. When he played in Wilmington and Harrisburg, it was clear he was still battling through injury. It was also a new environment for him. Wallace came over in a trade that sent Hunter Harvey to Kansas City.
When Wallace came over to DC, he was nursing a fairly significant oblique injury. In a cruel twist of fate, he broke a rib shortly after returning. The Nats sent him down to the Arizona Fall League, but injuries limited him to only three games. At the time of the trade, he was the number two prospect in a shallow Royals system. He is probably outside of the top 10 in a stronger Nats system. However, he remains a well rounded profile and his stock could rise with a big 2025.
Cayden Wallace was a second round pick after a successful career at the University of Arkansas. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 31st best prospect in the 2022 draft. Wallace has a well rounded profile where he does a lot of things at a pretty good level, but doesn’t really have a standout trait.
He has good exit velocities, but has not really been able to translate that into a ton of power. Wallace only has 18 homers in over 800 minor league at bats. He is more of a gap to gap hitter, racking up a bunch of doubles at his best. While he has a solid feel for the barrel, scouts have questioned his ability to hit breaking balls.
While Wallace projects as about an average hitter, he has made big strides defensively since being drafted. He has an absolute cannon of an arm, with scouts giving it plus or even plus-plus grades. Wallace is not an elite athlete, but he is a solid athlete with good range at third. He is an well above average defender at third at this point. In college he was seen more as a bat first prospect, but now his glove is his biggest selling point.
Staying healthy is an absolute necessity for Wallace’s development. He cannot afford another lost season, or else he will be passed up on the depth chart and become an afterthought. However, if he has a big year in Harrisburg and/or Rochester, he could get a shot at some big league action.
There are so many promising but flawed players battling it out to be the Nats future third baseman. If Wallace can stay healthy, he can throw his hat into the ring as a major player.