Future looks promising for A's top prospect
This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
OAKLAND -- With 10 Major League games under his belt -- a month-long stint on the injured list (left hamstring strain) between his big league debut and second game -- Jacob Wilson (A's No. 1 prospect, No. 25 overall) is starting to get his feet under him.
For the most part, Wilson has managed to blend in with the rest of his teammates on the field. That’s a good sign for manager Mark Kotsay, who has quickly taken note of the 22-year-old shortstop’s ability to slow the game down.
“[It] doesn’t look like the game is too fast for him,” Kotsay said. “Sometimes you get young players up here and the game speeds up. I think his clock is pretty good right now in terms of game speed. The at-bats have been good. ... He’s made some nice plays at short.”
Though Wilson is only hitting .233 (7-for-30), after batting .433 (90-for-208) across three levels in the Minors, the tools that make him a top 25 prospect in the Majors have been evident. In Friday’s 7-6 walk-off victory over the Tigers, Wilson collected two hits, including an RBI triple off American League Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal.
“These big leaguers, they’re always kind of more electric than the guys you face in the Minor Leagues,” Wilson said. “I’m just trying to make as many adjustments as I can to be successful out there. I try to change stuff up. I lowered my stance and [I am] trying to load a little bit earlier just to go up there and battle against these [pitchers], because they’re all electric. I’m just trying to have competitive at-bats, put the ball in play and help this team win.
“My job hitting [lower] in the lineup is to try to find a way to get on base for guys like Lawrence [Butler], [Brent] Rooker and [JJ] Bleday early in that lineup.”
Defensively, Wilson has been sure-handed at shortstop, quickly forming a good rapport with second baseman Zack Gelof up the middle on double-play opportunities.
The sixth overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft by the A’s, Wilson became the ninth-fastest player (376 days) in franchise history to reach the big leagues in terms of days from the date he was drafted. The excitement level is high within the organization as to what type of player he could soon develop into. He will get a steady dose of playing time over the final three weeks to work on achieving that potential.
“I just want to go out there every day and do whatever I can to help the team win,” Wilson said. “Whether it’s making a play on defense or [going] out there and [drawing] a walk to get on base. Winning is the main part of this game. For me, going into this last month, do whatever I can to help this team win and have a good first step heading into next year.”