Brief notes on Northwest Arkansas Naturals’ players of interest from 6/13 game against Frisco.

RHP Jacob Wallace: 25-year-old RHR with standout FB effectiveness. Works from the stretch with a long, offline arm action and effort / head-whack to his finish (fringe control of his body). FB thrown at 94-96 with plus traits — vertical slot and releases from a relatively low height that produces a flat approach angle. Induces frequent swing-and-miss and weak pop-ups when located up in the zone. Throws a SL in the low 80s with 11/5 shape that pairs well off his FB — at best flashed above-average dive, but frequently flattened. Appeared to throw one cutter at 89 but lacked shape and hard to consider it a relevant part of his arsenal based on this look. Fair general control of the zone — delivery makes it hard to believe he ever excedes below-average command, but could be enough to suffice in a short relief role. 

Possible his FB dominance carries him to a low-mid leverage ML relief role. See it as more likely that his lack of a standout secondary allows big league hitters to sit on the FB and mitigate its effectiveness, which would limit him to an up-and-down type reliever. Upside if consistency and quality of his SL takes a step forward, but at nearly age-26 hard to believe he has the necessary hand feel to achieve this. 

2B/OF Peyton Wilson: Switch-hitting 2B/OF with an intriguing toolset. Athletic with a compact, mature build and short levers. Quality visual look as an LHH with a short, quick path and above average bat speed — able to generate solid raw juice despite his relatively short stature. Showed ability to recognize and square up breaking balls in this brief look, along with a selective approach that is supported in the underlying data. Didn’t get a great look from the right side, but has struggled here. Despite quality visual evaluation, some concern in the underlying strikeout data as a 24-year-old repeater in AA. Lacked a real opportunity to assess his defensive or running ability, but has stolen 18/20 bases already this year and public reports indicate he’s a plus runner. 

Difficult to project based on this brief look, but base of traits that create appeal. Quality runner with defensive versatility and a chance to hit for some impact buoyed by an advanced approach at the plate. See potential to provide value as a utility man at the ML value, but very low confidence based on limitations to the evaluation. 

RHP Eric Cerantola: Tall, mature-built RHR with a big fastball. Fringe athlete with limited body control, losing balance to his glove side on release. Worked the FB at 94-97 from a high 3/4 slot, quality carry through the zone and able to generate consistent S/M when located up (buoyed by his quality down-mound extension). Throws a gyro SL at 86-87, flashes solid dive with some 2-plane action, but inconsistency to the execution. Public reports indicate he features other secondaries but only observed the slider in this outing. Was generally around the zone in this appearance but lacks any touch and is working a 6.2 BB/9 on the year.

Power FB gives chance for low-leverage single-inning relief role with increased SL consistency and better feel to locate. That said, his lack of athleticism makes it hard to bet he makes these requisite improvements.