There’s a whole lot less (right now) about SS Zach Walters, acquired in the trade for Jason Marquis, but in the interest of serving our readers…
A 9th-round pick last year out of the Univ. of San Diego, Walters is your prototypical “athletic shortstop” — raw power, runs well, has range and arm… and makes a ton of errors (40 in 160 games). Injuries dogged him in college but he’s stayed off the DL this year and last.
Sickels graded him a “C” in his 2011 Prospect Book and cautioned that his plate discipline needs improvement. So far so good, as he’s improved his OBP from .338 to .377 while still batting .302 and improving his slugging percentage from .440 to .485.
Baseball America describes the switch-hitter as having “all the hallmarks of a future utility player,” and say the scouts have doubts that his arm and range will improve enough to stick at shortstop.
If he is indeed assigned to Potomac, I’ll obviously have more to say after the next homestand on August 8-14. In the meantime, I’m off to Woodbridge…
UPDATE: Bill Ladson is reporting that Walters will be placed on the Potomac roster. With Walters leaving from Michigan, his debut is most likely going to happen on the road in Salem, Virginia, where the P-Nats begin a three-game series on Tuesday.