Prospect Report: The Roy Halladay Trade

No one here is happy that Roy Halladay was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies this past off-season. He was not only my favourite baseball player, but probably my favourite athlete, which is saying a lot because hockey is my first love.

However, it was obviously a trade that needed to happen. Roy was going to leave after the season anyways since the Jays would once again fail to compete in the ultra-competitive AL East. As nice as it would be to see Roy eviscerate the competition one last time in Toronto, it was in the best interest of the Blue Jays organization to start a re-build

In what is a surprise to no one in Toronto, and likely no one anywhere, Roy Halladay is absolutely dominating the National League (also fondly known as AAAA). Halladay is tied for the league lead with 6 wins, 4th in ERA with a miniscule 1.59, first with 3 complete games and 62 innings pitched, and first with 2 shutouts. The guy is a machine. We all know this.

What isn’t readily known is information on how well the three prospects the Blue Jays acquired for Halladay are doing. This is the first instalment of what should turn out to be a monthly report on Brett Wallace, Kyle Drabek, and Travis d’Arnaud.

Brett Wallace

Michael Taylor was actually dealt from the Phillies to the Jays, but he was quickly flipped to the A’s for Brett Wallace (who was previously dealt mid-season from the Cardinals for Matt Holliday). Wallace is the 27th ranked prospect according to Baseball America and was described as being the most ready for major league action of all the prospects acquired in the Halladay deal and his numbers in AAA Las Vegas are indicating as much.

Wallace is absolutely crushing AAA pitching. In 36 games and 141 ABs, Wallace has a .596 SLG% to go along with a nice .365 OBP. He leads the Pacific Coast League with 10 homers and is second with 30 RBIs (is anyone going to take away my sabermetrics card for mentioning RBIs?).

Wallace is 24-years-old and with Lyle Overbay’s struggles at the plate (.287 OBP and .336 SLG%) it seems highly likely that Wallace will become the Jays’ first baseman by the end of the season. How quickly it happens is dependent on the Jays’ ability to trade Overbay.

At this point Overbay’s production is severely hindering his potential trade value, so there is a reason for the Jays to be patient with the struggling veteran. If Overbay can manage to bring his numbers up (which is likely considering it’s only May 15) the Jays can flip him later in the season for a prospect.

Plus, the more time Wallace has in the minors to play first base the better. Wallace has made three errors so far in the minors and more defensive work will only benefit the Jays in both the short-term and long-term. If Edwin Encarnacion (E5) ever returns the young Jays pitchers will need someone to dig out balls from the dirt with ease, because God knows E5 can’t throw across the diamond.

Kyle Drabek

Drabek will probably face the most pressure of all the prospects involved in the Roy Halladay trade simply because he and the good doctor share the same position. Baseball America ranks Drabek as the 25th best prospect in baseball.

Drabek was a first round selection by the Phillies in 2006 and also happens to be the son of former Cy Young winner Doug Drabek. Wikipedia tells me Doug was known for his fluid pitching motion and sound mechanics. Hopefully, he passed these along to his son. Wikipedia also asserts that he sported a large moustache for most of his career. Hopefully, he passed this onto his son as well.

Drabek is currently pitching in AA and leads all New Hampshire pitchers with 40 innings pitched and 4 wins. Drabek has a SO/9 rate of 9.2, but needs to work on his control as his BB/9 is close to 5. Drabek has a 3.60 ERA, but his FIP (fielding independent pitching) is actually 4.25, which reflects his higher walk rate.

Travis d’Arnaud

d’Arnaud is a catching prospect who is the furthest away from making a major league impact of the three prospects and is currently playing in A Dunedin. Baseball America ranks d’Arnaud as the 81st best prospect in baseball.

d'Arnaud is hitting .328, but has only walked four times in 16 games, which means his OBP is only .362. You can’t complain too much about a guy who doesn’t walk as long as he keeps hitting. d’Arnaud is slugging .547 and has managed to hit 3 homers, while driving in 13 runs.

Michael Taylor

Just for fun let’s compare how Taylor is doing compared to Brett Wallace. Baseball America ranks Taylor as the 29th best prospect (two behind our boy Brett).

Taylor took a drink of AAA last season, playing only 30 games, while spending the majority of the time in AA. Wallace played 106 games in AAA and only 32 in AA.

This season there is really no comparison between Wallace and Taylor. Taylor is only hitting .232 and has an ugly .290 OBP to accompany it. He has hit 2 homers and has driven in 22 runs, which is the second most on the team. Stat heads will jump up and scream that those are 22 RBIs of opportunity and since I’m invested in Brett Wallace I will nod in agreement.

However, Taylor has shown off his speed in AAA (a skill Wallace lacks) and has accumulated four triples. He has stolen three bases, but has also been thrown out twice. Perhaps learning to pick his spots better will help him harness his speed.

Hopefully, the three prospects acquired for Halladay continue their stellar play in the minor leagues. This has the potential of being a trade that greatly benefits both organizations. Now go win that Cy Young, Roy.