Wallace Joins Bandits, Two Bats Promoted
Published on July 2, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release
Brett Wallace, the Cardinals' first-round pick in the 2008 draft, was officially added to the Quad Cities River Bandits roster on Wednesday.
The 13th overall pick's pending professional debut marks the most significant transaction in a series of moves made by the Cardinals, who also promoted Charlie Kingrey and Matt Arburr - the club's top two run producers - to the Florida State League while skipping Carlos Pupo over two levels and sending him to the River Bandits.
Wallace, a power-hitting third baseman out of Arizona State, won the Pac-10 Triple Crown in both 2007 and 2008, earning conference Player of the Year honors while leading the Sun Devils to the Pac-10 Championship in both seasons. The 21-year-old hit .410 with 22 homers and 83 RBI as a junior in 2008, one year after batting .404 with 16 homers and 78 driven in as a sophomore. The 6-foot-1, 245-pounder hit .398 - second in school history - during his three-year career in Tempe, blasting 45 home runs with 193 RBI and 193 runs scored.
"We are very happy to have Brett under contract and are anxious to see him start playing for our Quad Cities club," said Cardinals Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow at a Tuesday press conference at Busch Stadium. "He has a high ceiling and will be an exciting player for us and Cardinals fans to follow as he begins his professional career."
Wallace will join forces with Pete Kozma to form one of the most star-studded left sides of the infield in all of Minor League Baseball. Kozma was the Cardinals' first-round pick in the 2007 draft, selected 18th overall out of Owasso High School in Oklahoma. While Kozma has already garnered Midwest League All-Star honors at shortstop, Wallace will step in next to him at third base.
Meanwhile, Kingrey and Arburr were called up to the Palm Beach Cardinals, moving one step closer to the big leagues.
Kingrey, a 23-year-old outfielder from Louisiana, leaves the club with a team-high 40 RBI and 18 doubles to go along with a .289 batting average and six home runs. One of the steadiest bats in the River Bandits' lineup, his batting average has been above .300 for most of the season and has not dipped below .280 since April 18. Kingrey had 22 multi-hit efforts in 68 games with Quad Cities.
Arburr, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound slugger from Connecticut, heads to Palm Beach as the reigning Midwest League Co-Player of the Week thanks to a .391 batting average and a league-best four homers and 1.000 slugging percentage from June 23-29. His 13 longballs lead the River Bandits and include multi-home run games on April 19 and May 30, the latter of which saw the 22-year-old lumber all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park homer. He was hitting .245 through 59 games with 33 runs batted in, second only to Kingrey on the Quad Cities roster.
Filling out the roster is Pupo, a 22-year-old first baseman from Houston, Texas. The powerful 6-foot-4, 240-pounder out of Purdue made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League earlier this season. After hitting .294 with two homers, 12 RBI, and a .618 slugging percentage in the GCL, Pupo skipped both the Appalachian League and the New York-Penn League to join the River Bandits.
The Quad Cities River Bandits roster currently stands at 25 active players, the maximum allowed by the Midwest League.
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