Mike Wallace

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2015
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.50 K/9
R+:  1-1-0, 7.89 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 21.2 IP, 2.9 BB/9, 6.2 K/9

Following a one-game tuneup in the GCL, Wallace made 13 relief appearances for Bristol and had a very rough time, with opponents batting .337 against him.  A lot of the damage came in two games, in which he allowed 13 of his total of 19 earned runs.  Of course, two games out of 13 isn’t an insignificant sample size, and he allowed earned runs in four of the other eleven.

2016
R+:  4-4-0, 3.10 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 52.1 IP, 2.2 BB/9, 7.2 K/9
A-:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 4.5 K/9

The Pirates sent Wallace back to Bristol and he improved substantially.  He opened the season in the bullpen, but started six of his last seven games there.  Oddly, he gave up five earned runs in both his first and last game for Bristol, while allowing only eight earned runs in a dozen games in between.  He was helped by a .228 BABIP that isn’t going to be repeatable, but he didn’t walk many and allowed only one HR every 18 innings.  He got better as the season went along, allowing just a .495 OPS in August and retiring all six hitters he faced in a one-game cameo at Morgantown at the end of the season.

2017
A:  5-6-1, 3.47 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 98.2 IP, 2.5 BB/9, 7.0 K/9

Wallace was up and down between West Virginia and extended spring training several times early in the season as the Pirates sorted through their pitchers.  He eventually stuck in the bullpen and moved to the rotation at the end of June.  He had very similar stats starting and relieving.  Wallace put up solid numbers across the board and had his best month in August.

2018
A+:  5-11-1, 5.56 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 110.0 IP, 1.5 BB/9, 5.8 K/9

Wallace served as a swing man for Bradenton, mostly relieving early in the season and mostly starting later.  He finished with 14 starts and 13 relief appearances.  He had a rough season, with opponents batting .341 against him and slugging .526, which was 142 points above the league norm.  Wallace led the league in hits allowed and had problems with gopher balls, allowing 18.  Some of his trouble was a high batting average in balls in play of .365, which explains his xFIP of 3.78.  For the last two months of the season, Wallace and his brother Gavin were both in the Marauders’ rotation, with remarkably similar, and unhappy, results.

Wallace stuff evidently didn’t play well at high A.  He could return there in 2019.