The Athletics (who are currently living out of the Sacramento River Cat’s stadium) have been marred with bad press and bad luck for some time now. That is not necessarily news to anyone, but it is always nice to take a step away and look at the few bright spots. And these bright spots are not just bright by recent A’s standards (they are off to a solid start this year!), but bright by complete Major League standards.
The most intriguing of all the Athletics may be their young shortstop, Jacob Wilson. Wilson, who had a short stint in the Majors last season, has done nothing but hit for average since the start of the year. When I say nothing but, I mean nothing but. Wilson has six walks and seven strikeouts throughout 154 plate appearances entering play today. Last season, in just 103 total plate appearances, Wilson had more (10) strikeouts and more (8) walks. He has put the ball in play at an obscene level, and has a .353 batting average to show for it.
This is consistent with what the 23-year-old infielder had done in his pro career. Incredibly, Wilson managed to hit .318 or better at every minor league level. In 2024, between AA and AAA (a total of 226 plate appearances), Wilson hit an eye-popping .433.
Wilson certainly has lived up to his draft stock thus far in his short career, after being selected in 1st round (6th overall) in the 2023 MLB Draft. Even in college, Wilson was a monster, striking out in less than 3% of his plate appearances for Grand Canyon University in the Western Athletic Conference.
Even with the Athletics currently riding a three-game skid, they are still a game above .500 and right in the mix for the AL West. If they want to stay relevant deeper into the season, they will need Jacob Wilson to show that he is a top-tier MLB hitter for more than just the first month and a half of a long baseball season.
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