51s’ Wallace has bat, will travel

The Toronto Blue Jays have had their sights set on slugger Brett Wallace since 2005, when they drafted him in the 42nd round out of Justin-Siena High School in Napa, Calif.

But he declined their offer and instead decided to attend Arizona State, where he was named a first-team All-American and captured consecutive Pacific-10 Conference Triple Crowns and Player of the Year honors in 2007 and 2008.

Wallace said the Blue Jays expressed interest in drafting him again in 2008, but the St. Louis Cardinals beat them to it, selecting him in the first round with the 13th pick.

Wallace was traded to an American League team in July 2009, but it was the Oakland Athletics, who acquired him and two other players for outfielder Matt Holliday.

However, more than four years after they first drafted him, the Blue Jays were finally able to acquire Wallace on Dec. 16.

About 30 minutes after Toronto traded former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies for three prospects, it shipped one of them, outfielder Michael Taylor, to the A's for Wallace.

"When you're a player, you want to play for someone who wants you. Playing for a team you know had interest in you for a while is fun," said Wallace, 23, who has several family members living in Las Vegas. "I knew Toronto was trying to rebuild with youth, and it's pretty exciting when a team wants to do that."

So far this season, his second full one as a professional, Wallace has impressed as a first baseman for the 51s.

He leads the Pacific Coast League in home runs, with eight, and is batting .282 (24-for-85) with team highs of 17 RBIs and 16 runs in 23 games.

Wallace went 2-for-4 with two RBIs Saturday to help Las Vegas (12-11) to a 10-7 win over Colorado Springs (12-10) at Cashman Field. He had a run-scoring single in the first inning and drilled an RBI double to deep center field in the 51s' three-run third.

"I've definitely, as a hitter, improved every game and every series, and that's all that really matters," said Wallace, ranked Toronto's No. 2 prospect and No. 16 on mlb.com's list of top 50 prospects. "In the minor leagues, the main thing is to keep going forward, learning things and getting ready for that time when you hopefully get a chance (in the majors)."

51s manager Dan Rohn described Wallace as a "pure hitter" along the lines of former Seattle Mariners star Edgar Martinez and said he's nearly ready to play in the big leagues.

"He's a month or two away from being an everyday first baseman in the major leagues," he said.

Once Wallace ascends to the next level, Rohn said he expects him to be an impact player there for years to come.

"He's going to be fun to watch in the big leagues for a long time," he said. "He's a 25-homer-plus and 100-RBIs guy. He'll be a guy who is a mainstay in the middle of the order. He's got power to all fields. It's big-time power, too."

At Arizona State, the 6-foot-2-inch, 205-pound Wallace batted .423 with 16 home runs and 78 RBIs as a sophomore and .410 with 22 homers and 83 RBIs as a junior.

He hit .336 in 53 games at Single A and Double A in 2008 and last season batted .293 with 20 homers and 63 RBIs in 138 games at Double-A Springfield, Triple-A Memphis and Triple-A Sacramento.

Wallace has made a smooth adjustment from third base to first.

"He's made big strides at first base," Rohn said. "He's been outstanding over there for the most part."

While Rohn raves about Wallace's bat, he said he needs to be more consistent with it.

"He's been up and down," he said. "He's going to have to clean up his strike zone knowledge a little bit. He has to quit chasing balls in the dirt and make some little adjustments. But he's going to hit, no doubt about it."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.