| Cayden Wallace | |
| Team: | Washington Nationals |
| Position: | Third baseman |
| Birth Date: | 7 August 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
Cayden Browning Wallace (born August 7, 2001) is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Washington Nationals organization.
Wallace attended Greenbrier High School in Greenbrier, Arkansas. As a freshman in 2017, he hit .349 with four home runs before batting .481 with 11 home runs as a sophomore in 2018.[1] As a junior in 2019, he batted .514 with six home runs and 22 RBIs.[2] [3] That summer, he played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Wrigley Field.[4] His senior season in 2020 was cancelled after eight games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he was still named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for the state of Arkansas.[5]
Wallace went unselected in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at the University of Arkansas to play college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. In 2021, as a freshman at Arkansas, Wallace started sixty games (mainly in right field) in which he slashed .279/.369/.500 with 14 home runs, 44 RBIs, 11 doubles, and a team-leading 67 hits.[6] His 14 home runs were second on the team behind Robert Moore and also tied the freshman home run record set by Heston Kjerstad.[7] He was named a Freshman All-American, making him the 24th Razorback to earn the honors.[8] After the 2021 season, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[9] [10] [11] [12] For the 2022 season, Wallace moved to third base.[13] He was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week on March 15 after he hit three home runs (two grand slams) and had 13 RBIs over a weekend series.[14] Over 65 games, he batted .297 with 16 home runs, sixty RBIs, and 19 doubles, and ended the season as a top-40 prospect for the upcoming draft.[15]
The Kansas City Royals selected Wallace in the second round with the 49th overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[16] He signed with the team for $1.70 million.[17]
Wallace made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Royals and was promoted to the Columbia Fireflies of the Single-A Carolina League after three games.[18] Over thirty games, he batted .297 with two home runs, 17 RBI, and eight doubles.[19] Wallace was assigned to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the High-A Midwest League to open the 2023 season.[20] In early August, he was promoted to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Double-A Texas League.[21] Over 130 games between the two teams, Wallace slashed .254/.331/.414 with 13 home runs, 84 RBI, and 18 stolen bases.[22] He was assigned to Northwest Arkansas to open the 2024 season.[23]
On July 13, 2024, Wallace was traded to the Washington Nationals, along with the Royals’ Competitive Balance Round A pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft, in exchange for Hunter Harvey.[24] [25]
Wallace's older brother, Paxton, played college baseball at Wichita State University and currently plays in the Royals organization. Their father, Mike, played college football at the University of Central Arkansas.[26]