Wilson's debut 'high moment of my life' despite injury

OAKLAND -- Jacob Wilson experienced the ultimate range of emotions over a span of about five minutes in his Major League debut during Friday’s 13-3 A’s victory over the Angels.

Facing Halos starter Griffin Canning in his first Major League at-bat, Wilson -- Oakland’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 50 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline -- wasted no time getting his first hit out of the way by smacking an 0-1 slider into left-center field for a single. He fist-bumped A’s first base coach Bobby Crosby and smiled from ear to ear as he soaked in the adoration of a standing ovation from the Coliseum crowd.

"That’s definitely a moment you’ll remember for the rest of your life,” Wilson said. "Seeing the ball go over the shortstop and get to first base, you just know all that hard work your entire life paid off. It was a great feeling. … Obviously, it went downhill pretty quick."

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First came joy. Then came devastation.

Standing on second base two batters later, Wilson raced for home after Lawrence Butler lined a triple into the right-field corner. As he rounded third base, Wilson grimaced and was in noticeable pain while hobbling down the line to score ahead of Max Schuemann.

Immediately getting checked on by the A’s training staff upon returning to the dugout, Wilson attempted to go back onto the field to assume his position at shortstop to begin the top of the fourth inning. A few seconds later, though, Wilson felt more discomfort in what was later announced as a left hamstring strain and was replaced on defense by Brett Harris, who took over at third base while Schuemann shifted to shortstop.

"It was pretty horrible," Wilson said of having to exit the game early. "This is a day you work for your entire life and look forward to for a long time. I had three innings and got the base hit, which was the high moment of my life. Rounding third, I felt something. … Hopefully, it’s not too serious."

After the game, manager Mark Kotsay said the A’s will “take a good look” at the 22-year-old shortstop’s hamstring before making a decision on whether he will have to go on the injured list.

"He didn’t want to come out of the game,” Kotsay said. "I admire the kid’s passion and desire to be on the field. But at that point, it’s my job to make that decision for him."

One of the more anticipated debuts in quite some time for the A’s started out excitingly for Wilson, who in addition to his first hit made a couple of slick plays on defense, including an impressive solo 6-3 double-play turn in the third.

"It was a great start for Jacob,” Kotsay said. “Hopefully, it’s a minor strain and something he could deal with and get back."

The sixth overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft by the A’s, Wilson became the ninth-fastest player in franchise history to reach the big leagues in terms of days from the date he was drafted, at 376 days. His arrival likely would have come sooner had it not been for a knee injury in May that caused him to miss a month.

The list:

Mike Morgan: 5 (6/6/78 - 6/11/78)
Tim Conroy: 17 (6/6/78 - 6/23/78)
Ariel Prieto: 31 (6/1/95 - 7/2/95)
Rich Bordi: 43 (6/3/80 - 7/16/80)
Scott Meyer: 96 (6/6/78 - 9/10/78)
Huston Street: 303 (6/7/04 - 4/6/05)
Kirk Dressendorfer: 313 (6/4/90 - 4/13/91)
Reggie Jackson: 367 (6/7/66 - 6/9/67)
Jacob Wilson: 376 (7/9/23 - 7/19/24)

"That’s a quick ascent to get to the big leagues," Kotsay said. "The success he’s had throughout the Minor Leagues has been exceptional. This is the reward. You go out and perform, you’re going to get that opportunity. He’s done that."

Wilson’s injury did not hold back the A’s offense, which carried over a hot stretch to end the first half into the second half. Schuemann, JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers each homered on Friday, marking the first time Oakland has hit 11 homers in a two-game span since June 27-28, 1996.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the A’s also became the first team to score 13 or more runs in their last game before the All-Star break and 13 or more runs in their first game after the All-Star break. The most prior to this instance was 12-plus runs in each game by the Brewers in 1990.

"We have some power in this lineup,” Kotsay said. "When these guys get locked in, the ball jumps off their bats and goes over the fence, as we saw tonight. … When they put at-bats together like they’re capable of and feed off each other, the runs come."