Minor League Spotlight: Jacob Wilson

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 Jacob Wilson


Bio:

Age:     22

Height: 6'2"                                  

Weight: 190 lbs.                    

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Draft Profile: 1st round, 6th pick of the 2023 draft by Oakland Athletics

Drafted Out of: Grand Canyon University


Career Stat Line:    .401 AVG    .445 OBP    8 HR    47 RBI    6 SB    0.958 Fielding %

Normally our lineup of  Spotlights are set and locked at the beginning of the year, but we just had to find room for a kid who's lighting up the minor leagues, Oakland's top prospect: Jacob Wilson. 

If you've followed baseball since the turn of the century, then the name Jack Wilson is surely a familiar one. The former MLB All-Star is the father to Jacob, raising his son around the game they both loved. Jack spent majority of his career in Pittsburgh, where his boy once got to toss the opening pitch at PNC Park at the young age of 5. A core memory, without question.

Dave Arrigo/ Pittsburgh Pirates

The father-son duo would find themselves a decade later at Thousand Oaks High School, named for the city where it resided. The difference was, now, Jacob was the one out in the infield. Jack had retired in 2012, turning focus to his family. He wanted to watch his son achieve his own baseball dream and felt the best way he could contribute was in the form of coaching.

Thousand Oaks hired Jack to be their head baseball coach in 2016, Jacob's first year in high school. The freshman played very sparingly on the varsity team that first season, really securing his starting role as a sophomore after committing to Grand Canyon University. But his performance at the plate was underwhelming, managing a meager .205 average in 98 plate appearances. 

But as any ball player will tell you, a down year does not a career make-- and Jacob was back to it as a junior, raising his batting average to .282 while playing stellar defense at short. He'd carry that momentum over to 2020, which unfortunately was abbreviated due to the COVID pandemic. Wilson prospered in his 8 games as a senior however, going 14-24 at the plate while matching his 2019 total of 9 RBI in just eight games-- all Lancer wins. 

Jacob was able to work his way into the starting lineup early on at Grand Canyon, spending majority of his time on the hot corner in 2021. But whatever clicked for him at the plate during his final year at Thousand Oaks translated up, as the freshman slashed .313/.376/.440 in his first collegiate stint-- numbers that would only swell in subsequent seasons. 

After a strong summer ball showing for the Mankato MoonDogs, Wilson was back to it for the Antelopes. The newly anointed shortstop dominated WAC pitchers, producing a .358/12/65 line in 59 games. Perhaps most impressive was his 25 walks compared to just 7 strikeouts. The kid had a golden eye, as well as the attention of the collective MLB eye.

The best was yet to come, as the junior put up video game numbers against all levels of competition. .412/.461/.635 slashes, an OPS of 1.096, 61 RBI in 49 games, plus he struck out only five times in 217 plate appearances. In the process, he set school records for hits and RBI, doing so in just three seasons at GCU.

His phenomenal performance put Jacob squarely on the map to go in the first round of a loaded MLB Draft class. Come July 9th, it was just a matter of finding out who was going to on the other end of the phone. 

The 21-year old didn't have to wait long, as the Oakland Athletics came calling with pick #6. They'd seen enough of the hot hitting shortstop to confidently take him that early, keeping him on the west coast. The two sides agreed to an under slot signing bonus of $5.5 million, officially making Wilson a professional ballplayer. 

Oakland put their top pick right to work, assigning Wilson to the Arizona Complex within two weeks of the draft. He'd only last three games there, collecting 5 hits in 11 at-bats before a promotion to A+ Lansing, completely skipping over Single-A ball. His production wouldn't fall off much, producing a .318/1/8 line in 88 at-bats for the Lugnuts as he ascended to the #1 prospect in the organization.

This season has been nothing short of meteoric. In 46 games, Jacob's gone 81-185 (.438) at the plate, with 7 home runs and 34 RBI. His has 12 walks and 13 strikeouts are each crazy low totals, suggesting two things: that he swings a lot and makes contact most of the time. 


Some of the most eye-popping statistics you'll come across in any level of play. The A's had no choice but to concede that Wilson had nothing left to prove in the minors, calling Wilson up to the major leagues yesterday afternoon. He'll be making his debut tonight, at home versus the Los Angeles Angels at 9:40 EST. Sounds like a nice way to cap off a Friday to me, can't wait to see the kid show out in the Big Show.


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@Choppinglines

*I own no rights to any images found in this blog

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