<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3M5UdfJJkUStQLpzP5YvyGxfZ40=/0x1:2915x1944/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73731217/2160388246.0.jpg">
Photo by Casey Sykes/Getty Images
Wall broke camp with Atlanta but only saw action in a baker’s dozen worth of games with the Braves When Forrest Wall was called up by the Atlanta Braves at the end of the 2023 season, the speedy outfielder put up a comical line in with a .569 wOBA (.224 xwOBA) to go with five stolen bases and 0.4 fWAR in just 15 PAs. With a heaping helping of speed, the 28-year-old looked to follow-up his super-small sample size of success by carving out a role as a reserve outfielder.
For a few weeks, that was indeed the case. But after a several trips on the shuttle between Atlanta and Gwinnett, the Braves opted to move on from Wall by designating him for assignment; they lost him to the Miami Marlins, and he finished his season with the Baltimore Orioles.
How acquired
Wall was a first round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2014 out of high school. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2018 season and spent several years in the Jays organization before ending up at Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners in 2022. The Braves signed him as a minor league free agent in 2023.
What were the expectations?
Wall is known for his speed on the basepaths, but not much else, other than perhaps spending a ton of seasons in the minors without making his MLB debut. He has stolen 281 bases during his minor league career — including 52 in back-to-back season in 2022 and 2023. Coming into the 2024 season, Wall was ticketed as a reserve outfielder who could provide Atlanta with a pinch-running option when rostered. Beyond that, though, there wasn’t much to talk about, as Wall had been a guy with a roughly league-average batting line in Triple-A for about a half-decade now, reflecting a pattern of arrested development that doesn’t bode well for his ability to hit MLB pitching.
2024 results
Wall saw action in 13 games with Atlanta, including 10 starts, while with the Braves. He picked up seven hits in 32 plate appearances but none of them were for extra bases. He finished with a 62 wRC+ for the Braves, baking in below-average baserunning (going 3-for-6 in stolen base attempts) and defensive value for -0.2 fWAR. He then had three PAs in three games for the Marlins, and didn’t make it onto the Orioles’ major league roster. Overall, he finished with that same -0.2 fWAR, a .235 xwOBA, and a .261 wOBA... while once again putting up essentially a league-average slash line when playing in Triple-A.
What went right?
The good news for Wall was that he made the Opening Day roster for the Braves and started 10 games. After toiling in the minors for nearly a full decade before his debut, he performed well enough to get rostered on what was, going into the season, MLB’s best on-paper team. That’s quite a turnaround.
Wall’s shining moment for the Braves came in June — during his second stint with the team. With the Braves down a run in the seventh, and in danger of stranding a leadoff double, Wall did what Wall apparently does at the plate: hit a slow grounder that this time snuck through and tied the game (the Braves went on to win thanks to a homer in the eighth).
What went wrong?
Perhaps disappointingly for him, Wall wasn’t able to stick on the Braves roster despite the team’s outfield injuries, and didn’t really stick with either the Marlins or Orioles either. For a guy whose theoretical calling card is speed and/or baserunning, finishing with below-average baserunning value is also brutal.
The bigger problem, though, is something that’s always held Wall back. He has no pop or oomph and largely just slaps the ball on the ground, but also finds himself in a lot of deep counts that denies him the opportunity to benefit from a natural elevated BABIP. This pattern has repeated for him so often in Triple-A that it’s unclear whether he can even implement any changes to his approach. Given his speed-based skillset, time is running out even faster for him than a similar 28-year-old who is looking to shed the Quad-A label.
2025 outlook
Wall will likely be ticketed for Triple-A again in 2025, although has he showed in 2024, it is possible he could stick on a roster as a 26th-man bench player. He has minor league experience at second base but is probably an outfielder at this point, except in an emergency. A team with post-season aspirations could bring Wall in as a stolen-base threat as teams did with former Braves outfielder Terrance Gore during his career. They’ll have a chance to do so given that Wall elected minor league free agency.
Will Wall ever make good on his promise as a top-40 draft pick? Probably not, and he’s got a ways to go before he appears as anything other than a replacement level guy.
<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3M5UdfJJkUStQLpzP5YvyGxfZ40=/0x1:2915x1944/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73731217/2160388246.0.jpg">
Photo by Casey Sykes/Getty Images
Wall broke camp with Atlanta but only saw action in a baker’s dozen worth of games with the Braves When Forrest Wall was called up by the Atlanta Braves at the end of the 2023 season, the speedy outfielder put up a comical line in with a .569 wOBA (.224 xwOBA) to go with five stolen bases and 0.4 fWAR in just 15 PAs. With a heaping helping of speed, the 28-year-old looked to follow-up his super-small sample size of success by carving out a role as a reserve outfielder.
For a few weeks, that was indeed the case. But after a several trips on the shuttle between Atlanta and Gwinnett, the Braves opted to move on from Wall by designating him for assignment; they lost him to the Miami Marlins, and he finished his season with the Baltimore Orioles.
How acquired
Wall was a first round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2014 out of high school. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2018 season and spent several years in the Jays organization before ending up at Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners in 2022. The Braves signed him as a minor league free agent in 2023.
What were the expectations?
Wall is known for his speed on the basepaths, but not much else, other than perhaps spending a ton of seasons in the minors without making his MLB debut. He has stolen 281 bases during his minor league career — including 52 in back-to-back season in 2022 and 2023. Coming into the 2024 season, Wall was ticketed as a reserve outfielder who could provide Atlanta with a pinch-running option when rostered. Beyond that, though, there wasn’t much to talk about, as Wall had been a guy with a roughly league-average batting line in Triple-A for about a half-decade now, reflecting a pattern of arrested development that doesn’t bode well for his ability to hit MLB pitching.
2024 results
Wall saw action in 13 games with Atlanta, including 10 starts, while with the Braves. He picked up seven hits in 32 plate appearances but none of them were for extra bases. He finished with a 62 wRC+ for the Braves, baking in below-average baserunning (going 3-for-6 in stolen base attempts) and defensive value for -0.2 fWAR. He then had three PAs in three games for the Marlins, and didn’t make it onto the Orioles’ major league roster. Overall, he finished with that same -0.2 fWAR, a .235 xwOBA, and a .261 wOBA... while once again putting up essentially a league-average slash line when playing in Triple-A.
What went right?
The good news for Wall was that he made the Opening Day roster for the Braves and started 10 games. After toiling in the minors for nearly a full decade before his debut, he performed well enough to get rostered on what was, going into the season, MLB’s best on-paper team. That’s quite a turnaround.
Wall’s shining moment for the Braves came in June — during his second stint with the team. With the Braves down a run in the seventh, and in danger of stranding a leadoff double, Wall did what Wall apparently does at the plate: hit a slow grounder that this time snuck through and tied the game (the Braves went on to win thanks to a homer in the eighth).
What went wrong?
Perhaps disappointingly for him, Wall wasn’t able to stick on the Braves roster despite the team’s outfield injuries, and didn’t really stick with either the Marlins or Orioles either. For a guy whose theoretical calling card is speed and/or baserunning, finishing with below-average baserunning value is also brutal.
The bigger problem, though, is something that’s always held Wall back. He has no pop or oomph and largely just slaps the ball on the ground, but also finds himself in a lot of deep counts that denies him the opportunity to benefit from a natural elevated BABIP. This pattern has repeated for him so often in Triple-A that it’s unclear whether he can even implement any changes to his approach. Given his speed-based skillset, time is running out even faster for him than a similar 28-year-old who is looking to shed the Quad-A label.
2025 outlook
Wall will likely be ticketed for Triple-A again in 2025, although has he showed in 2024, it is possible he could stick on a roster as a 26th-man bench player. He has minor league experience at second base but is probably an outfielder at this point, except in an emergency. A team with post-season aspirations could bring Wall in as a stolen-base threat as teams did with former Braves outfielder Terrance Gore during his career. They’ll have a chance to do so given that Wall elected minor league free agency.
Will Wall ever make good on his promise as a top-40 draft pick? Probably not, and he’s got a ways to go before he appears as anything other than a replacement level guy.
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