Chad Wallach 2021 Topps #593

Card Review: Very Cool

Since the advent of this blog, I've refrained from giving the cards (up until recently, entirely minor league cards) of the Wallach kids number grades the way I do Tim Wallach cards.  I also don't keep track of how many copies I have.  That said, I'm always excited when a new card of one of the three "kids" crosses my desk.  This is the second year in a row that Topps has included Chad in the base set.  It should be at least the fourth, a fact I think Topps tacitly admitted last year when rather than showing the stats of Chad's previous three seasons on the back of the card, they showed his minor league stats.  This year collector's are finally allowed to see all Chad's major league stats on the back of the card, and give him a nice little write up.  Still no mention of the fact that is father was a 5x All-Star over 17 MLB seasons, but going with Chad's post-season success is a more meritocratic write up.

Hopefully Chad does well enough this Spring with the Angels down at Tempe Diablo Stadium to earn a spot on the roster and a spot in the 2022 Topps set.  Despite being shorted a couple of cards in the 2018 and 2019 sets, Topps has given Chad a nice tandem of cards to show for his MLB time.

Chad Wallach 2020 Topps Heritage #507

 

Card Review: I like it

I've decided not to give the Chad Wallach cards number grades out of ten the way I do the Tim Wallach cards.  It's just fun to see Chad Wallach showing up in regular card sets.  Hopefully he's able to put together a few more years in the majors and show up in a lot more sets going forward.  As it stands, I didn't buy any Heritage this year.  I don't think it ever showed up in my Target.  I suspect the lady who stocks my Target is wise to the current number of certifiably insane lunatics buying new baseball cards right now, and has figured out a way to scam the product for herself to sell on the secondary market.  My area is not a baseball card crazy area.  In twelve years of buying cards at my current Target I've never seen a single other person buying sports cards.  A few kids buying their comic book or pocoman cards or whatever that other stuff is.

After seeing this card, I'm not sure I missed out.  I like the 1971 design, but I'm not sure my life would be better by paying to get to own copies of Francisco Lindor and Tim Anderson on it.  Nothing against those guys, my money is just better spent trying to complete the actual 1971 Topps set.

Number of this card in my collection: 2, but one is plenty and I'm not going to be keeping track.

Chad Wallach 2020 Topps #658

Card Review: Awesome

It took longer than it should have, but one of the Wallach kids finally has his own Topps Baseball card.  Before I get into critiquing this card, I feel the need to point out how exciting it is to finally see this happen.  Any of the nitpicking that is about to follow is just that, nitpicking.  Hopefully this won't be Chad's last appearance in the base set.

That said, and I do love the fact that this card now exists, here are my issues with it.  First off, what in the world is going on with this stat line?

That'd be a fine way to handle Chad's stats, had 2020 been in a normal season, and Chad had made the roster coming out of Spring Training and made his Major League debut this year, earning himself a spot in the 2nd series of the Topps flagship set.  That happens every year.  However, this isn't Chad's first MLB rodeo.  When he checks into a game this season, it'll be the fourth Major League season he's played in.  This is is what baseball reference shows for Wallach:

 Chad already had three seasons worth of MLB stats coming into the 2020 season.  Just because Topps was asleep at the wheel and didn't include him in the base set until now, doesn't mean those seasons didn't happen.  And sure, they don't reflect a ton of playing time, but as any kid who ever picked up a glove and didn't make it to the majors can attest to, every one of those 117 plate appearances counts.  He actually played five times as many games in the Majors last season as he did the minors, but some how Topps felt the need to show us a split minor league line of 4 games between two different farm clubs.  It's ridiculous.

My next issue is with the bio.  For one, it's wrong.  Take a look:

2019 wasn't Chad's first Opening Day roster.  Not only was he on the Opening Day roster in 2018, he was the Opening Day starter for the Marlins in an 8-4 loss to the Cubs.  Again, this just feels like someone at Topps trying to cover up the fact that they screwed up by not including Wallach in the set the last three years.  He certainly warranted inclusion in the Update sets.

The other odd thing about the bio is what's not there.  It's certainly nice to see a young players college listed on the back, or an extra stat like how many base runners they threw out, at least it is when there isn't anything more interesting to say about the guy.  Maybe I'm biased, but if a kid gets his first Topps card, and his father happened to be a 5x All-Star, or even just a coach on the team the kid plays for (let alone both), that's something I would have been interested in.

That said, I'm very happy this card finally exists.

Chad Wallach MLB Hit

Congratulations to Chad Wallach 

on his first MLB hit!!!

Chad and his father have now combined for 2,086 career hits.

Best of luck next year Chad, I hope it's the first of many.

You may have noticed that this blog has been dormant for awhile.  I am in the process of moving, and as such the majority of my belongings are in boxes and storage units 1,200 miles away from me as I tie up loose ends with my office here in New Mexico.  

I am still receiving your cards, and this blog is still "active," it's just a little "slow" right now.  I will get everything posted before the end of the year.  Please check back periodically.

Thanks for reading.

Chad Wallach Cincinnati Reds Spring Training Jersey

I recently acquired this Chad Wallach Spring Training jersey on the MLB Auctions webpage.  I really liked the new Spring Training logos used this year, and that served as some of my justification for the price of this jersey, which was still well under what a new authentic jersey would demand on the Shop MLB website.  But regardless of what kind of "deal" I got, blowing anything on something like this inherently counterproductive to my ongoing efforts to load up on Wallach baseball cards.  I can't imagine ever having much occasion to wear this jersey, and it's not going to end up framed, so it's probably going to hang in a closet with what is slowly becoming an alarming number of collectible jersey's for guy who doesn't collect jerseys. 

The "interstate" Spring Training patch is made out of a sort of firm rubber material, and the MLB logo on the back is of the same material.  The Reds patch, and running man logo are both of the more traditional variety.  The other distinction with this jersey is the Spring Training logo pattern used on the numbers on the back.  I noticed this at some Spring Training games this year, and just thought it was some sort of ugly color variant from afar.  Up close, it's kind of cool, but what's the point if the only way to tell is up close?

This marks the second jersey of the Wallach trio of children that I've come across.  A year or two ago a reader sent me a Matt Wallach St. Patricks Day green Dodger jersey.  I mentioned it in that post and I'll mention it here again, but I'm curious how much stuff these guys actually get to keep.  I'm talking about the Spring Training invites with little to no expectation of making the roster.  There must be an impulse to take everything from jersey's on down to extra gum home with you as keepsakes.  At some point in player's career, I'm sure it becomes gratuitous, but it has to be sort of cool to see your name on a big league jersey for the first time, even if an MLB career is the expectation and you've enjoyed success/fame in college and/or the minors.  So I feel a little guilty having these hang in my closet if the players themselves weren't able to shove a couple jersey's into their travel bags when they left.  For that reason, it's a standing offer, if Matt or Chad Wallach ever stumble across these post and would like these jersey's back, just ask, they're literally yours.

    

Chad Wallach 2014 Bowman Draft Scouts Breakouts #BSB-CW Die-Cut Refractor

Card Review: C+ The title to this card is way to long.  "1977 Topps" was a lot easier to say.  I mentioned it on the post for the base card from this set, but Chad is no longer with the Marlins.  He was dealt to the Reds for Mat Latos.  In addition to catching, Chad has been seeing a decent amount of time at first base so far this season.  He's playing for Cincinnati's high-A affiliate, the Daytona Turtugas.  This will blog will have updates when that changes.

Chad Wallach 2014 Bowman Draft Scouts Breakouts #BSB-CW

Card Review: C-
Before I start complaining about all the technicalities about this card that upset the baseball card collecting dork side of me, I'd just like to point out that it's pretty cool that Bowman included Chad Wallach in this set.  He's the second Wallach kid to be included in one of these semi-main stream sets (Brett was in a couple, Matt only had minor league team set issued cards).  Hopefully, he'll be the first Wallach kid to be included in a Topps base set down the road.

That said, I have a lot of complaints about this card.  For one, it's ugly.  The colors, the way the player is cropped out of any background, the lack the stats, and the picture itself all upset me.  It's a weird photo of Chad that barely looks like him.  Worst of all, Chad isn't with the Marlins anymore, he was traded to the Reds.  I understand timing and lack of photos probably played into this, but it's still a bit annoying.

My final thought is on the back.  I think it's cool that it mentions Tim.  But I've always wondered what kids of major leaguers think.  On one hand, I'm sure being the child of successful major leaguer opens a lot of doors and gets you a lot of extra looks from scouts that others may not get.  But you still have to be able to play to reach this level.  At some point I imagine you'd want to escape that shadow.  I just question where that point is.  I think it's probably somewhere in between when people start saying "Did you know Barry's dad Bobby also played major league baseball?" instead of "Did you know Delino Desheilds kid made it to the majors?"  It's a tough spot.  Most guys that get so much as a single at-bat probably have a Little League field named after them somewhere.  As kid of a successful major leaguer, you're going to be held to some unfair higher standards.

2014 SAL All-Star #21, Chad Wallach

Card Review: A  This is a very nice card for a set that was presumably made for one A-Level game.  That game being the South Atlantic League All-Star Game, which Chad Wallach played in last summer as a member of the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

My only gripe, and I'm definitely nit-picking here, is that the photo and bio information are a little too familiar.  The photo on the front is the same one that was used on his Greensboro card, it's just been cropped differently.  The bio information is identical.  But as I mentioned above, for a card set produced for one minor league game, this card is pretty nice.

You can see the 2014 Greensboro card on the left. 










In some more quasi-Wallach related news, I went to the Championship Game of the Arizona Fall League this past Saturday.  Chad Wallach was one of the prospects the Marlins chose to send, and his Salt River Rafters defeated the Peoria Javelinas 14-7 to win the League.  If anyone wants a program I ended up with a couple extra, your welcome to them, though I can't guarantee the condition.  Just let me know.

2014 Greensboror Grasshoppers #16, Chad Wallach

Card Review: B+  This is pretty nice looking card for an A-Ball team to put out.  It's a solid design, has nice colors, complete stats, and even an impressive amount of bio.  Somebody at Greensboro put some effort into this set.

This post will also serve as the Final Season Review for all the catchers in the Marlins organization.  Chad advanced to High-A Jupiter this season, and is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League. 

It could be a tough climb for Wallach to make it to the Majors next season as the Marlins expect to return both Saltamacchia and Mathis. Additionally J.T. Realmuto is clearly regarded as the top catching prospect by the Marlins.  On the positive side for Wallach, other than Realmuto, Austin Barnes is the only other catching prospect ahead of him in the organization that has shown any ability to hit.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Marlins part ways with either Brantly or Skipworth (or both), and move Barnes to AAA and Wallach to AA for the start of next season.

Below Wallach, Chris Hoo is the only catcher whose numbers can be described as anything other than terrible, and Hoo's sample size is pretty small.  I'd be shocked if he jumped Wallach before the start of next season.

Marlins Catchers Final Season Statistics

 Italics = No longer with the oragnization

Miami Marlins                      GP        Avg.        H       HR       RBI      CS%

Jarrod Saltalamacchia           114        .220         82       11            44         19%

Jeff Mathis                             64         .200         35       2             12          33%

J.T. Realmuto                        11          .241          7         0            9          20%

New Orleans Zephyrs "AAA"

Rob Brantly (40-man)           101       .255         93          4           37       28%

Kyle Skipworth                      70         .216         44         10           30       22%

Jacksonville Suns  "AA"

J.T. Realmuto  (40-man)        97        .299          112       8           62         39%

Austin Barnes                        78        .296          84      12           43         30%

Wilfredo Gimenez                  44        .243          36       1           21         32%

Jupiter Hammerheads "A+"

Sharif Othman                       29         .133          12         3            8          26%

Chad Wallach                          19           .328           21         0            8          14%

Austin Barnes                        44         .317          57       1            14        41%

Jarrod Saltalamacchia            2          .286          2        0             0         50%
Chad Krist                              8         .200             6      0            1        29%
Luis Sanz                               7         .154             2       0             1       13%

Josh Adams                          30          .148        16        1             10        38%

Greensboro Grasshoppers "A"

Joel Jimenez                          27           .191         18          0           9        35%

Brad Haynal                           13          .226        12           1           6       28%

Chad Wallach                        78          .321          87         7          49       31%

Sharif Othman                       20          .219          16        2            9       35%
Chris Hoo                             13           .382          13          0           3       56%
Rodrigo Vigil                         14           .296          10          0          3        55%

Batavia Muckdogs  "Low A"

Luis Sanz                              21            .212          14          0          4        56%

Rodrigo Vigil                         32             .280          30          1          10        41%

Chris Hoo                               10            .321           9          0           1         39%

Brad Haynal                          30            .271          32          2          21       36%
Felix Castillo                          5             .250          4          0          2        20%
Joel Jimenez                           2           .125          1          0           1        50%

Gulf Coast League Marlins "Rookie"

Blake Anderson                     26            .108          8         0           5        30%

Roy Morales                          25            .224          17          0           7        29%

Angel Reyes                          26            .203           16          1           9        18%

Felix Castillo                          5             .333           5          0           1        20%

Chris Hoo                               7             .188           3          0           1      54%

Chad Wallach July Update

 Marlins Catchers

Chad Wallach was promoted to the Jupiter Hammerheads this week.  The Hammerheads are the "High A" or "A+" affiliate of the Miami Marlins.  Given the way Chad has been knocking the cover off the ball all summer, it's not that surprising to see the promotion.  In fact, I'm surprised it took this long and it wasn't a bigger one.  But congratulations to Chad, and best of luck to the first place Grasshoppers he leaves behind.

Josh Adams is the first casualty from this watch, as the Marlins released the former 13th Rd pick from Florida over the weekend.

Barnes and Realmuto are now playing together in AA Jacksonville.  I can't imagine this scenario will last long as both are allegedly thought very highly off as prospects, unless the Marlins intend to get Barnes more playing time at second base.  The production of Wallach could very well have made this more of a viable option.

Active Catchers within the Marlins Organization

Italics = currently at a different level

# Italics = No longer with the oragnization

Miami Marlins                      GP        Avg.        H       HR       RBI      CS%

Jarrod Saltalamacchia           67        .226         51       9            28         18%

Jeff Mathis                            40         .206         21       2             6          31%

J.T. Realmuto (40-man)        7          .200          4         0            5          20%

New Orleans Zephyrs "AAA"

Rob Brantly                          68         .260         65          2           25       33%

Kyle Skipworth                     49         .214         33         10           26       21%

Jacksonville Suns  "AA"

J.T. Realmuto  (40-man)       66        .298          75       6           42         43%

Austin Barnes                        37         .281          38      3           21         35%

Wilfredo Gimenez                  37        .264          34       1           20         35%

Jupiter Hammerheads "A+"

Sharif Othman                       20         .145          9         2            4          24%

Chad Wallach                         2           .429           3         0            0           0%

Austin Barnes                        44         .317          57       1            14        41%

Jarrod Saltalamacchia            2           .286          2        0             0         50%

# Josh Adams                       30           .148        16        1             10        38%

Greensboro Grasshoppers "A"

Joel Jimenez                          7            .200         12          0           6        31%

Brad Haynal                           1            .250          1           0           0       50%

Jose Ceballos                         0              NA          0          0           0        NA

Chad Wallach                        69          .342          82         7          41       29%

Sharif Othman                       20          .219           16        2            9       35%

Batavia Muckdogs  "Low A"

Luis Sanz                              15            .208          10          0          3        53%

Rodrigo Vigil                         14             .296          10          0          3        41%

Christopher Hoo                     1             .000           0          0           0         0%

Brad Haynal                          15            .254          15          1          10       43%

Gulf Coast League Marlins "Rookie"

Blake Anderson                     9            .074          2         0           1        33%

Roy Morales                          7            .176          3          0           2        17%

Angel Reyes                          9            .143          4          1           5        18%

Felix Castillo                          2            .143          1          0           0        20%

Christopher Hoo                    6            .188           3          0           1      54%

Chad Wallach Update

Chad Wallach continues to put up impressive numbers for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Class-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.  Impressive enough to be named the starter at catcher for the SAL All-Star game.  There has been some movement within the Marlins organization at catcher, mostly due to a Saltalamacchia injury, but Wallach remains in Greensboro.  His backup Shariff Othman was actually called up a level, but I presume this was more out of a desire for Wallach to continue to get at-bats, and less a "promotion" for the Mendoza Line hitting Othman.

* = not currently with this team

Miami Marlins                      GP        Avg.        H       HR       RBI      CS%

*Jarrod Saltalamacchia         48         .237         37       6            17         17%

Jeff Mathis                            30          .211         16       2            5          33%

J.T. Realmuto                        7          .200          4         0            5           20%

New Orleans Zephyrs "AAA"

Rob Brantly                         48         .274         49        2           18        33%

Kyle Skipworth                    35         .202         23         6           19       21%

Jacksonville Suns  "AA"

*J.T. Realmuto                      46        .301          52       5           31        45%

Austin Barnes                       11         .244          10      0            7          0%

Wilfredo Gimenez                 24         .286         24       1          11         33%

Jupiter Hammerheads "A+"

*Austin Barnes                      44           .317         57       1            14        41%

Josh Adams                          18           .169         11        0             5        33%

Jarrod Saltalamacchia           2             .286          2        0             0         50%

Sharif Othman                      6              .176         3         1            3         20%

Greensboro Grasshoppers "A"

Chad Wallach                       49          .328          57        4          30        29%

*Sharif Othman                     20          .219          16        2            9        35%

Joel Jimenez                          3            .455          5          0           3        40%

Batavia Muckdogs  "Low A"

Luis Sanz                              3            .333          3          0           0        100%

Rodrigo Vigil                       2              .167          1          0          0         100%

Gulf Coast League Marlins "Rookie"

Season yet to begin

Chad Wallach update

Catchers in Miami Marlins Organization

It's been a month since I lasted posted a breakdown of all the catchers currently in the Miami Marlins organization.  Chad Wallach's hot start hasn't slowed down much at all since that first post.  Below is a look at all the catchers in front of him and where he stands.  Rookie and Short Season A haven't started yet.  No catchers have been promoted, demoted, traded, signed or released thus far.

Miami Marlins                      GP        Avg.        H       HR       RBI      CS%
Jarrod Saltalamacchia           35         .269         29       6           12         20%
Jeff Mathis                            11         .227          5         1            1          23%
New Orleans Zephyrs "AAA"
Rob Brantly                         22         .279         24        1           12        25%
Kyle Skipworth                    19         .141          9          5           10       29%
Jacksonville Suns  "AA"
J.T. Realmuto                       28        .295          31        3           19        37%
Wilfredo Gimenez                11         .351          13        0            5         33%
Jupiter Hammerheads "A+"
Austin Barnes                      29          .294         37        1            7        45%
Josh Adams                          7           .292         7          0            3        18%
Greensboro Grasshoppers "A"
Chad Wallach                       24          .321        27        3          16        24%
Sharif Othman                     11           .167          7        0            5        20%

Marlins Depth Chart

Chad Wallach is off to a good start with his new team the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Class A Affiliate of the Miami Marlins.  His two run homer on April 9 was the game winner in a 2-1 win over the Lakewood Blueclaws.

Chad is the only one of the three Wallach kids to play so far this season.  The oldest Matt, has allegedly moved on to new endevors after spending a good chunk of last season with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes.  Last I heard Brett was still recovering from Tommy John surgery, but may still pop up somewhere this season (not a lot news to found out there).

This blog will be pulling for Chad to move up the Marlins ranks and make it to the majors and into the Topps base set (I won't be collecting all of his cards).  Here's a look at the catchers in the Marlins Organization presently, and something I plan to update as changes occur this season.  I have no idea how aware minor leaguers are as to the stats of the guys just ahead of (or behind) them in the system, but if it were me, I would have daily results of both taped in my locker.

 






Miami Marlins              GP   Avg.       H    HR   CS%
Jarrod Saltalamacchia     13     .282     11     1       25%
Jeff Mathis                       3       .286      2      0       0%
AAA New Orleans Zephyers
Rob Brantly                     9      .314     11     1       18%
Kyle Skipworth               4       .077      1     0        40%
AA Jacksonville Suns
J.T. Realmuto                  9     .189       7      2       57%
Wilfredo  Gimenez          2      .500       3      0       N/A
Adv A Jupter Hammerheads
Austin Barnes                  9      .289      11     1       57%
Josh Adams                     2      .286       2     0         0%
A Greensboro Grasshoppers
Chad Wallach                  7       .364        8      1      13%
Sharif Othman                 5       .211        4     0       11%
Short Season A Batavia Muckdogs
Season yet to begin

Chad Wallach 2013 Batavia Muckdogs #21

Card Grade: A-  This is the first card of Chad Wallach, the youngest of the  Wallach kids.  Chad was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 5th Round last spring (in 2010 he was a 43rd rd pick of the Dodgers),  signed immediately and was shipped out to Batavia of the New York Penn League.  Chad, like his brother Matt and father Tim, played for Cal St. Fullerton in college.  The Titans starting catcher last year, Fullerton looked destined for Omaha before being upset by eventual National Champions UCLA in the Super Regionals.

I don't know where the Marlins plan to assign Chad this spring, but I thought it was very cool a Wallach was playing in the New York Penn League.  My father's side of the family is from Rome, NY, and I graduated from Cooperstown High School, so NY Penn League support runs deep in my family.  I went to a lot of Oneonta Yankee games as a kid.  Hopefully Chad will be moving up the Marlins ladder and not spend too much time doing bus tours of upstate New York with the Muckdogs.  AAA is the high water mark so far for the Wallach kids, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Chad on a major league roster at some point in the next few years.  Just a question of whether or not he beats his brothers there.

1994 SP Die-Cut #81

Card Review: 5.1 These die-cuts remind me of a scene from Oliver Stone's "Born on the 4th of July."  Tom Cruise is getting a tour of the burger joint is friend has started.  The marquee burger is in the shape of a ring.  The friend is bragging that his idiot customers are actually paying for less meat.  That's kind of how I feel about die-cuts.

Here's a link to the regular un-cut card.

Number of this card in my collection: 2
2013 update: 3
2014 update: 10 
2016 update: 15
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 16

2019 update: n/a

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: 18

2023 update: 19

2024 update: n/a

2025 update: 20

1994 SP

Card Review: 8.7  It's a bit of an unusual photo for a baseball card.  In the early 90's that was sort of a trend, thanks in no small part to the 1992 Bowman set.  It was kind of a big deal in my mind for Wallach to be given the attention getting photo, and be one of the cards people were talking about.  The back photo is pretty cool too, and would have made for a great card as well.

Coach Wallach has cited this card as his favorite.

Fun Facts: *All three of Wallach's sons have been selected in the MLB Draft.
*Matt Wallach was a 23rd rd pick of the Yankees in 2005.  He went to Cal-St. Fullerton instead, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the 22nd rd in 2007.  He reached AAA ball before retiring.
* Brett Wallach was a 3rd rd pick of the Dodgers in 2009. He was subsequently traded to the Cubs and is currently playing independent ball while rehabbing from arm surgery.
*Chad Wallach was drafted by the Dodgers in the 43rd rd in 2010.  He chose to attend Cal.-St. Fullerton and was drafted in the 5th rd by the Miami Marlins.  He currently plays in the Reds organization.

Number of this card in my collection: 1
2012 update: 4
2013 update: 22
2014 update: 29
2015 update: 31 
2016 update: 32
2017 update: n/a
2018 update: 40
2019 update: 42

2020 update: n/a

2021 update: n/a

2022 update: 57

2023 update: 59

2024 update: 61

2025 update: 66

2026 update: 67