OAKLAND -- It was only a few years ago that Jacob Wilson took in a game between the A’s and Angels at the Coliseum during a road trip to the Bay Area.
A few years later, Wilson found himself back at the Coliseum. This time, however, he was on the field taking part in pregame grounders and batting practice on Monday afternoon shortly after signing a contract with the A’s, who selected him sixth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft.
“It’s surreal,” Wilson said prior to Monday night’s game against the Red Sox. “Being here today is a dream come true. Hanging out with the guys and taking ground balls and batting practice with my family on the field, it’s pretty awesome to be part of this.”
The entourage joining Wilson for his special day included his father, Jack, a former All-Star shortstop who played 12 Major League seasons with the Pirates, Mariners and Braves.
From the time Jacob could hold a bat, Jack would routinely bring his son onto the field during his playing career for pregame warmups. Those sessions often featured a special batting practice session in which Jacob would set himself up in the outfield just before the warning track to receive pitches from his father, allowing him a chance to experience the thrill of hitting a ball over the outfield fence of a Major League stadium.
On Monday, Jacob was hitting homers in front of Jack, only without requiring the extra accommodations.
“I think it overtakes everything that I ever did,” Jack said of Jacob getting drafted. “As a father, we always want our kids to have a better life than we had. For me, he was never a big national name until last year when he made the national team. He was just a baseball player that hadn’t grown into his body yet. To get to this point, I would never dream in a million years that we would be at this point. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Wilson signed for $5,500,000, a source told MLB.com’s Jim Callis, which is well below the slot value of $6,634,000 for the No. 6 pick. The extra $1.1 million in bonus pool money gave the A’s the ability to go way above slot value to sign their third-round pick in Millburn (N.J.) High School right-hander Steven Echavarria away from his commitment to the University of Florida, inking the prep pitcher for a reported $3 million.
Touted as having the best bat-to-ball skills of any player in the 2023 Draft, Wilson was ranked as the best infielder of this year’s class by MLB Pipeline. In three seasons at Grand Canyon University, he hit .361 with a .977 OPS in 155 games. The contact rate really stood out, as Wilson struck out just 12 times in 492 plate appearances over the past two seasons.
Wilson was also a stellar performer on defense, earning WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season.
“We absolutely see him as a shortstop,” said A’s general manager David Forst. “I saw him play a little bit in high school and I’m not sure there was any [player] we saw more this spring. I was at his first and last college game and saw him in between. He can really play the position.”
If there is one knock on Wilson’s superb college career, it’s the lack of power he showed, which is not a surprise given his listed 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame. Prohibited from lifting weights by his father until getting to college, Wilson has some room to fill out his body, something he plans on addressing during workouts this offseason by adding muscle mass.
“Growing into the frame a little bit more is definitely something in the future for me,” Wilson said. “I want to work with a professional strength coach. That’s the main thing I’m going to be focused on going into this offseason. Bulk up and grow into this body a little bit.”
Wilson’s journey into pro ball will begin later this week when he returns to Phoenix to take part in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League alongside several other A’s 2023 draftees, including infielder Myles Naylor, whom the team selected 39th overall and also signed on Monday.