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Padres Minors: Brett Wallace 2015 Outlook

By Jeremy Loeks |

This spring the Padres have 20 non-roster invitees competing for a job in Peoria and as Cory Brock of MLB.com writes one that has a chance to make an impact in 2015 is Brett Wallace.

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Wallace like Trea Turner and Hunter Renfroe is a former 13th overall draft pick, and once had a bright future with the Houston Astros. Now like many non-rosters invitees he is trying to win a job on the big league club in 2015. When Brock asked Wallace on his chance to make the team this year he had this to say:

“You have to believe there’s a possibility you can help this team. It’s my job to work as hard as I can to try and show I can help them.”

However, the Padres seem like an odd landing spot for the left handed hitting first baseman, as Yonder Alonso who is ahead of Wallace on the depth chart brings a similar skill set. But Wallace had this to say on why he chose the Friars over any other team in 2015.

“They showed interest early on and you look at the group of the guys they assembled here, the coaching staff, the job the front office has done and that they were open in what they were thinking, it started to look more and more appealing.”

Okay, so like many other players and fans Wallace sees a potential winner in the Padres and likes what the team is building, but what do the Padres see in a player that hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2013? Well when the Padres manager Bud Black was asked about Wallace he had this to say.

“Bats are hard to find, as a left-handed hitter with some power, and a natural hitter, he could be a possible bench hit.”

Alright Black didn’t have the greatest optimism when talking about Wallace projecting him at his best to be a possible bench player. But should we, as fans be cheering for the 28 year old to make the team in 2015. I speculate that maybe we should.

Wallace does have mediocre success at the major league level slashing .242/.313/.391 and hitting 29 home runs over parts of four seasons. However, last year at Triple A for the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltmore Orioles he hit .282/.350/.426 and 17 home runs in 128 games. Did he finally figure out what it takes to be a successful hitter? Wallace seems to think so, when asked about the success he had last year, he was quoted to say:

“The first month last year was rough, but after that it was getting back to where I was comfortable and to where I was more natural at the plate, about mid-season I was swinging it better.”

While the odds are stacked against him, and Wallace will go into spring fighting for time at first with Yonder Alonso and Will Middlebrooks, he may have a chance to make the club in 2015 with a strong spring. What do you guys thinks should Wallace make the team? Let me know in the comments.

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