Born: San Diego, CA, Raised: Lakeside, CA -- 11/12/78 -- Age 21
High School: Rancho Bernardo, El Capitan (CA)
College: Letter/Intent UC/Sants Barbara, Grossmont (CA) JC, Ark
How Obtained by NYY: 1st round '99 Draft
Awards: None Yet

PITCHES Fastball - 6-6.5 (scale of 8 Rating); After a draining college season, players lose steam entering the pros. But, glad to report, his FB is up from 88-89 to a consistent 90-91. We expected a rise and it's a doozy. After a quick look behind the back, hitters see it only when it leaves his hand so it explodes on hitters. Gets over well and keeps it low. Works the outside corner with an occasional message/inside pitch. As his 4-seamer doesn't move much, he 2-seams for sink (a gift from his father) early, or in FB counts when he's behind. FB is his primary pitch, 70% of the time (69% TO righties, 74% to lefties). Fortunately, he's on target 74% of the time. Used as 1st pitch 73%, more to lefties (77%). When behind, it's about the only pitch, 86%. It drops to 60% when he's ahead. 4-seamer is straightish and when he falls behind it becomes hittable. As he keeps it low, he gets mostly grounders for outs or if hit sharply through infield holes, for base hits.

Curveball - 5.5 Rating; 70-73; A big bending 10-to-5 pitch he admits is pitiful and used only occasionally. NYY are working on tightening it. Don't be surprised if they turn it into a SL, a pitch he never had. A righty will see a CU 23%, a lefty only 6%. Uses it as a first pitch 19%, other times only when ahead or even in the count. Command is iffy, on the mark only 45%.

Change - 6.5 - circle - 80-81 -- Had it way back, source unknown, tho he guesses it was his father. It has excellent drop and swerve that hitters have trouble touching, let alone hitting solidly. Says he has the confidence to throw it at any point in the count. With fairly tidy outings, he hasn't broken it out as expected of such a good pitch with 60% accuracy -- only 8% to righties, 20% to lefties. As a first pitch, 9%, 16% when behind in count, 6% when even or behind, 20% at 3-2.

Delivery - Just slides his hands back as he twists to the right. Lifts his leg high, well balanced, and comes forward with moderate plant of front foot. The ball seen when he drops his hand back, is unseen until it leaves his hand, and is on top of the hitters. Uses shoulder drop to insure proper arm angle for Ks and high accuracy. That's why he's so accurate with his pitches. He should maintain his high K/BB ratio. Comes from a 10 o'clock angle. Has height and build of a pitcher. Only quirk is over-use of shoulder muscles -- a potential trouble area.

OUTLOOK
CoC chances 99%, Stay a bit 90%, Regular 60%, Be a Star 20% As a #1 pick, he'll have red-carpet treatment, tho he needs it not. Wasn't the pundits' first-round pick, nor does he have the stuff that scouts look for in a #1 pick. NYY must have seen him more than most as the more he's seen, more is seen to like. Has poise and confidence, a sneaky FB, a highly effective CU and the amazing ability to throw Ks. Jumped over SAL, he landed on his feet, running roughshod over FSL lineups. With his control, he should stay clear of trouble in AA, but to insure AAA success, he must have command of another pitch. The CB may be restructured or junked for a SL. Has a good feel for pitching, knows what to throw in each situation. The main reason the NYY opted for him. Felt he was close to making the Bigs. With most of the pitching prospects falling either under the surgeon's knife or by the wayside, it's a major criterion of selecting a top draft pick. With their aging ML staff, NYY needs pitchers. Walling projects as a #3 starter. He should rise to AA by mid-season and make the ML as early as '01. Should he master the CB or SL, he'll stay; if not, BP.

Talking to David is refreshing. Pro athletes usually puff themselves up, blinding themselves to, or covering up, their faults. Thus it's nice to hear an athlete call his CB "pitiful". Or say he didn't play football or basketball after Junior High as "I wasn't much of an athlete. Thank God I can throw a baseball". Or turn down a 6-figure offer out of high school as a NYM 13th round pick -- "I felt I wasn't mature enough to play pro baseball".

Some of it may be self-effacement: His father played in college, two uncles played for the Cubs -- athleticism is in his genes. It was his choice of school over turning pro; both his parents are college educated. His father was a teacher turned real estate developer in San Diego, his mother's an attorney. They'd prefer a backup in case baseball doesn't work out.

Besides, college was not included in the 6 figures. At today's rates it would cover 4 years of college; the money wasn't overwhelming. Plus college wasn't just a means to a baseball end. He was academically oriented, a good student with a 3.0 GPA and 1040 on his SAT. The latter was impressive as baseball obligations forced him to leave early, foregoing study time. He left, sure he would qualify for the college of his choice.

Almost every baseball powerhouse like Miami, California, and PAC-10 wanted him. He signed an early letter of intent to UC-Santa Barbara due to their PC. When the PC left prior to his freshman year, Walling withdrew and rather than waste a year to get another 4-year school, he went to a JC.
After a year there, he had his choice of colleges. As a friend went to U of Arkansas, he visited it, liked the PC and the campus, and that sealed it for him.

He'd switched schools before: from Rancho Bernardo to El Capitan HS after his sophomore year. Many other aspiring baseball players made that shift to perennial-baseball-power El Capitan. Only Walling didn't do it for baseball. For family health, they'd moved near SD, El Capitan's district.
Not downplaying, the former HS 3B/1B (when he wasn't pitching) proclaims he was a good hitter. He proudly notes he hit .486 his senior year and he misses it. Too bad he's on an AL team as DHs afford little chance for a pitcher to hit.

Don't mistake his humility for lack of confidence. David is very confident in his abilities. When he read this draft which chided NYY for taking him #1 when Baseball America ranked him a 2nd-round pick, he took offense. We, like BA and other publications, went with what's seen. NYY dug deeper and found a MLer. While most organizations cross their fingers that a $million-first-round investment pays off, Walling, who asked only for last year's #1 bonus, will soon be on a ML mound. He'll prove it's not FB heat, or an off-the-chart breaking pitch that makes the MLer, but subtler skills. NYY fans are thankful that they have astute scouts who recognized those subtleties.

Scouting report courtesy Conway's Sports Research

5/31/00