Who’s Cold This Week? Brett Wallace

This is now the fourth season that we have go through this. Brett Wallace has potential. That much is true. But, the problem is that he has yet to consistently live up to that potential.

Brett Wallace (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

So how many chances are too many? At what point do we cut bait with Wallace and acknowledge that his ceiling might be that of a platoon or a 4-A player.

When the Astros acquired Wallace in 2010, he was a highly regarded hitting prospect. The problem though, is that Wallace’s minor league success (which he has had in abundance) has not translated to the major league level.

Wallace began 2013 with the Astros in what some thought would be his last chance at proving himself at the major league level with Houston. However, the first baseman only lasted seven games before he was sent back to Oklahoma City with a .042 average. Of course Wallace went on to hit .326 for RedHawks in 60 games again tricking Astros’ fans into thinking that he could be a major league hitter.

Upon his return from AAA, Wallace started off pretty well in July hitting .273 with five home runs and 12 RBI’s. However, he has quickly regressed and is hitting .231 in August and only .194 in his last 10 games (through Wednesday). In that stretch, Wallace has had 36 at bats and struck out in half of them while only hitting one home run and driving in four runs.

That is not a performance that will secure the first baseman a spot in 2014.