SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The word scrawled across the front of his jersey couldn’t have been any more appropriate, not only for the elite athlete out of Greenbrier, Ark., but also for most of his teammates on this squad that is based in North Little Rock, Ark. The word, written in cursive lettering, was simple and to the point: “Prospects.”
And, as the 2019 Perfect Game 17u World Series enjoyed its opening day on Thursday at the Salt River Fields-Talking Stick complex, one of the event’s top prospects, 2020 third baseman Cayden Wallace, proudly wore the word across his chest that might best define his current status as a member of the talent-laden Rawlings Arkansas Prospects-Menard.
This is actually the third straight year Cayden Wallace has played at the 17u PGWS but it’s his first with the Rawlings Arkansas Prospects-Menard. He took home all-tournament honors playing with the Dark Knights over at Cubs Park Riverview in Mesa in 2017 and was an all-tournament selection again last year while playing with Sticks Baseball Academy 17u at the Peoria (Ariz.) Sports Complex.
“It’s a good event and good competition, and I was really looking forward to this getting me ready for the PG Classic; the competition is great,” Wallace told PG before the Prospects tournament-opener against Team California USA on the Diamondbacks’ side of the spring training complex they share with the Rockies. “I’ve been here the last two years so I’ve been through this before; I’ve really been looking forward to it.”
But there is a big difference this year, and it’s not just that the event has moved to Salt River Fields for the first time but rather the one that Wallace alluded to in the previous statement.
As he stepped up to the plate for the first time on Thursday as the Arkansas Prospects’ No. 3 hitter in the batting order, he also did so for the first time as a Perfect Game All-American.
He’ll play in the nationally televised PG All-American Classic at Petco Park in downtown San Diego on Aug. 11 as a member of the West Team; he’s Arkansas’ only representative at this year’s Classic.
The invitation should have surprised no one. Wallace, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound right-hand hitting third baseman, right-handed pitcher with a low-90s fastball and an incoming senior at Greenbrier High School, is ranked the No. 14 overall top prospect from the class of 2020 and the No. 3 top third baseman prospect (he’s 1/1 in his home state); he has, perhaps not surprisingly, committed to Arkansas.
And, to top it all off, the rankings don’t come close to telling the whole story.
“Cayden is an ultimate teammate and that’s probably the thing that has always impressed me the most about him,” Rawlings Arkansas Prospects program owner/head coach Andy Menard told PG Thursday.
“He’s a very humble kid and a super talented kid and he carries himself the right way. He was raised the right way and, again, from a teammate standpoint I don’t think you can find a better teammate than him.”
Wallace had built an impressive resume and was climbing the PG national prospect rankings even before he was at the PG National Showcase in downtown Phoenix in mid-June, but his profile was certainly enhanced by his performance at the heavily scouted event.
The PG report noted that Wallace “has firmed up nicely over the last year and improved his mobility and athleticism.” That was certainly evidenced by his 6.68-second clocking in the 60-yard dash, a 94 mph throw across the infield and impressive power displays during BP and games.
“Playing in Chase Field, that was impressive,” Wallace recalled. “Just playing in that event with the best guys and seeing the best pitching, it was really awesome. It was a first-class event and I really enjoyed going to the PG National.”
Wallace has been rostered at 17 PG events during his high school years and has stood out at just about every one of them; eight all-tournament citations fill his PG trophy case.
He has also been included on the Top Prospect List at the 2016 and 2017 PG National Indoor, the 2018 PG Junior National and the 2018 PG Underclass All-American Games showcases; his inclusion as a PG All-American puts him on the TPL at the 2019 PG National. The biggest stages seem to bring out his best, although he never changes his approach, regardless of who might be watching.
“I just try to stay relaxed and play like I always play,” Wallace said. “I play the same way as I play in high school and Ii just try to be myself, and I feel like everything will work out if I play more loose.”
An all-around athlete, Wallace played football and basketball and ran track through his middle-school years but once he got into high school he left the other three behind in favor of baseball.
As a competitor first-and-foremost, he decided to pursue baseball because in his mind it’s the most difficult game to play and hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in any sport. In other words, he wanted to be challenged.
“It was just knowing that I can get better every day, and you can work easily by yourself in the shadows” with baseball, he said. “Just working (to get better) every day was something that really interested me.”
Wallace’s Dad, Mike, played college football at Central Arkansas, and even he steered Cayden towards baseball. His older brother, Paxton Wallace, was ranked No. 230 nationally when he graduated from Greenbrier HS in 2017 and is now playing at Wichita State.
“My brother and my dad have had a big influence on me,” Wallace said. “My dad was always making us better; baseball was our thing.”
While Wallace is the only PG All-American on this Arkansas Prospects roster he is not alone as far as being an elite prospect. All from the class of 2020, 15 of the Prospects are ranked in the top-500 nationally, including:
No. 140 outfielder/shortstop Clayton Gray, No. 151 infielder Marcus Brown (Kentucky commit), No. 226 corner-infielder/outfielder Luke Pectol (Kentucky), No. 243 right-hander/outfielder Jaxon Wiggins (Arkansas) and No. 318 outfielder/first baseman Houston King (Kentucky); seven other Arkansas Prospects have also committed to D-I schools.
“Our biggest thing is chemistry,” said Wallace, who first played in a PG tournament with the program in 2016. “We’ve always played together and we play really good together, and there’s no roughness on our team; we all love each other and play for each other.”
It’s worth noting, too, that in addition to Wallace and Wiggins, top-500s Ethan Bates and Tyler Cacciatori are also Arkansas commits. And while all the players on this roster are tight, there is a special bond between the future Razorbacks.
“Since we’re getting to play together now, we’ll all be ready when we get to Arkansas,” Wallace said. “I think that will be fun because we’ll have all these memories of playing in PG events and other events together; I think that’s really cool.”
Other 2020 top-500s on the roster include Michael Connor Flagg (Central Arkansas), Gavin Glasgow (BYU), Aidan Keenan (Notre Dame), Joe Reid (Oklahoma St.), Jack Dougherty (Ole Miss) and Cooper Jones (Kentucky).
Menard is the owner of the 10-year-old Arkansas Prospects organization and has watched it grow from a couple of teams into the 25-team program that it is today. But he’s also very selective when it comes to deciding which kids will ultimately wear the Prospects’ jersey, and this roster is proof of that. And he really likes this team.
“The thing about this group is that a lot of these guys have played together since they were young and it’s carried over year after year; the chemistry is really, really good,” Menard said. “I think the one thing that sets us apart from a lot of the other teams … is the chemistry that we bring to the table.
“These guys come out to compete and they understand there’s a lot of guys in the stands, but we’re also out here to win baseball games.”
The Arkansas Prospects’ game with Team California USA on Thursday ended in a 1-1 tie, thanks to Wallace. With his team down 1-0, Wallace led off the top of the seventh and smashed the first pitch he saw – a 75 mph curveball – for a solo home run that tied the game. Don’t count Menard among those who may have been surprised by the blast.
“The tools speak for themselves,” Menard said. “He’s got a mid-90s arm, he’s got ridiculous bat speed and he’s a phenomenal fielder. You take that combination and you put him in the lineup day-in, day-out, you can always count on production.”
Even as an Arkansas kid through-and-through, the University of Arkansas was never his “dream school” Wallace said. He had been to a couple of games as a youngster but he didn’t really become enamored with the program until he started making some visits to other schools.
Everything in Fayetteville just stood out in his mind’s eye, including the coaching staff, the facilities and just everyone involved with the program. He just loved the atmosphere and, to top it off, it’s only about a 2 ½-hour drive from the school’s campus to his home in Greenbrier.
The Arkansas high school baseball culture is really gaining a stronghold even on a national basis with outstanding summer ball programs like Rawlings Arkansas Prospects and Sticks Baseball Academy gaining prominence.
“I think every year it’s getting better for Arkansas baseball,” Wallace said, adding that the success the U. of Arkansas program has enjoyed in recent years is also feeding the fire. “It was good in the past but (now) there’s some really good baseball players and I think it’s just getting stronger. … I think Arkansas is becoming more of a baseball state.”
Wallace was at the PG Underclass All-American Games in San Diego last August and had the opportunity to attend the game in person. He had watched it on TV in previous years and it had become a dream of his to one day wear a PGAA uniform, and that dream was intensified when he was able to watch last year’s game live.
“I just thought that was like the coolest event; it was awesome,” he said. “I wanted to be playing in it so bad. It was fun being there and I got to experience it from the stands and now I’m going to be playing in it; it’s going to be really cool.”
After his PG All-American weekend concludes in San Diego Aug. 11, Wallace will travel north to take part in the USA Baseball 18u National Team Trials in Los Angeles, which run Aug. 13-17. The Trials can be a lot of fun, of course, but they’re also serious business, which will make the PGAAC experience all the more valuable from at least one important aspect.
“I really think it’s going to be a relaxed atmosphere, just playing and having fun with the best in the country,” at the Classic, he said. “I’ve played with all of them, pretty much, so it’s just going to be fun getting back with the guys and playing.”
With the PG All-American Classic and the 18u National Team Trials coming up in the next several weeks, this last month of Wallace’s “summer vacation” is going to be an important one. But, and this is the most important thing, it’s also going to be a very enjoyable one.
“I think it’s a great way to start my senior year,” he said. “I’m looking forward to learning and getting better every day.”
History tells us that a tie to start play at the 17u PGWS is in no way a deal-breaker when it comes to the odds of winning the championship. The EvoShield Canes started play at the 2013 event 1-0-3 but won their last five games and claimed the title with a 6-0-3 record.
And with just 32 teams at this exclusive, invitation-only tournament, and with a PG All-American game-changer like Cayden Wallace in his lineup, Menard likes his team’s chances against the field.
“We love the smaller events because it kind of puts you right into bracket (play); there’s no games off,” he said. “All these teams are loaded with power-5 commits and juco commits and D-II commits and they’re all out here playing for the same reason. These guys are all trying to play against the best and get ready for what’s next, and that’s exactly why we’re out here.”