GCU shortstop, 2023 MLB Draft No. 6 pick reaches bigs in 1 year
By: Paul Coro
With the immaculate impact Jacob Wilson put on Grand Canyon baseball, it seemed certain that his ascension to the major leagues was only a matter of time.
Time flies when you are barreling up baseballs, gobbling up grounders and motoring through the minors..
Less than a year after his professional debut, Wilson is headed for The Show. Wilson became GCU's latest MLB call-up when the Oakland Athletics promoted the hot-hitting shortstop on Wednesday. He joins the A's for a six-game homestand, beginning with a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels.
"What amazing news," Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "It was pretty clear early in his career that Jacob would be playing in big-league stadiums one day. To do it so quickly is unbelievable and a testatment to his skill, hard work and determination."
Wilson, who turned 22 in March, has blistered farm-league pitching since becoming GCU's highest draft pick ever last July, when Oakland selected him at No. 6 overall to then tie for the franchise's highest draft pick since Mark Mulder went second in 1998. He is only the sixth 2023 first-round selection to join the majors with only one other even reaching Triple-A.
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Photo: Las Vegas Aviators
After ending last summer with 23 games in High-A ball after skipping Single-A, Wilson attended big-league Spring Training and blasted through Double-A this summer with a .455 batting average and .705 slugging percentage in 22 games for Midland.
As the top-rated prospect in the A's farm system, Wilson moved to Triple-A Las Vegas on May 8 and earned the call-up despite a knee injury putting him on the injured list for a month.
Upon return to Las Vegas, Wilson went 14 for 27 in his first six games and finishes his Triple-A stay with a slash line of .398/.444/.639 and only three strikeouts in 90 plate appearance.He made the ninth-fastest ascent to the majors in franchise history.
"For me, that was the most ideal plan for sure," Wilson told NBC Sports California before Friday's game. "I didn't know if it was actually going to become a reality. But here we are today, and it's a great feeling to be here and be able to step on this field for real this time. Last year, it was just for BP and just as a signee coming out of the draft. But now that we're here for real, it's pretty phenomenal looking around being in this stadium."
That plate discipline replicated his decorated GCU career, when the consensus All-American and two-time Golden Spikes Award semifinalist was the toughest player to strike out in college baseball for his last two Lopes seasons (12 strikeouts in 492 plate appearances). He did not strike out in his final 97 at bats as a Lope.
Wilson becomes the Lopes' first MLB call-up since pitcher Jacob Wong last year, but the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder is the most anticipated Lopes promotion since Tim Salmon reached the big league in 1992. It took 72 minor-league appearances for Wilson to reach the majors.
"I'm very excited for Jacob and his family and truly believe we will get to enjoy watching him play in the big leagues for a very long time," Wallis said. "Congratulations to Jacob. We are rooting for you."
The GCU coaching staff made its earliest scholarship offer ever to Wilson, who committed to the Lopes on the first day of his sophomore year when he was a lightly recruited Thousand Oaks (California) High School player. The son of 12-year MLB infielder Jack Wilson hit .205 in his first varsity season, but Wallis was certain that his bat-to-ball skills and elite defense would translate.
Wilson started at third base as a freshman before moving to shortstop and led the Lopes to WAC championships in each of his three seasons, including two NCAA regional appearances. He left GCU as the program's Division I-era hits leader (224), appropriately coming to the plate each time at GCU Ballpark to his walk-up song, "The Show Goes On." He will be the Lopes' 16th major leaguer.
"That's not something you teach," A's manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com about Wilson's bat-to-ball skill. "He can put the barrel on any pitch, anywhere, which gives him an advantage. You look at his spray chart and it's everywhere. It's not like, 'Oh, he pulls the ball on the ground or hits it in the air.' It's everywhere. That, in itself, will be helpful for him."Â
UPDATE
Wilson, wearing No. 5 as the starting shortstop, was having a sensational A's debut Friday night with a putout on a grounder off the game's first pitch, another grounder in which he stepped on second base and threw to first for a double play and a single to center field on the second pitch that he saw at the plate. But as Wiison was later rounding third base to score, he suffered a left hamstring strain. Wilson attempted to take the field for the ensuing inning but left the game.
"That's definitely a moment that you'll remember for the rest of your life," Wilson told NBC Sports California after the game. "Being able to see the ball go over that shortstop and just be able to get to first base, you just know all the hard work you had your entire life paid off. You got the first hit. it was a great feeling to be able to look up and see my family all up there. It obviously went downhill pretty quick. But it was definitely a high moment for sure."Â
Time flies when you are barreling up baseballs, gobbling up grounders and motoring through the minors..
