Athletics calls for elite athletes Jacob Wilson, reports Martín Gallegos of MLB.com (X link). Last year's sixth-rounder posted good numbers in his first full professional season. Oakland has two spots on the 40-man roster and a selection Armando Alvarez yesterday to create an active list space. No parallel motion is required.
Wilson is the fifth player since the first round of 2023 to reach the major leagues. The Angels pushed Nolan Schanuel there is last summer, when Wyatt Langford, Paul Skenes again Hurston Waldrep they started playing this season. Wilson only needed 72 minor league games to convince the A's that he was ready to look at the MLB arms.
The A's selected the right-hitter Wilson – the son of a former All-Star Jack Wilson – after graduating from college at Grand Canyon University. Wilson hit .412 with 19 walks and a ridiculous total of five strikeouts over 49 games during his junior season. Although he certainly didn't face the ability to throw players like Langford once Dylan Crews saw in the SEC, scouts never doubted that his communication skills would translate.
That Wilson will do enough hard contact to be a hitter was non-negotiable. How well that profile will translate against MLB pitching remains to be seen, but he had no trouble hitting for power in the minors. Wilson tore through the depths of Double-A, connecting on 13 doubles and a trio of homers in 22 games. He hit .455/.473/.705 over 93 plate appearances to earn the bump to Triple-A Las Vegas in May. The injury list has held him back for a while, but he has continued to lead since returning in June.
Over 19 Triple-A contests, Wilson hit .398/.444/.639 with seven walks and just three strikeouts. He blasted four more homers and eight doubles. Between two minor league highs and a brief rehab stint in rookie ball, he's carrying an eye-popping .438/.475/.687 line in 200 plate appearances this season.
OA only used Wilson for a short time. There's little reason for a rebuilding Oakland team not to give him a shot to stick around. OA was running with a 27-year-old rookie Max Schuemann instead of the last two weeks. Schuemann has a league average of .245/.339/.347 slash line. That's decent production, but the former 20th-round pick won't stand in Wilson's way. The A's could kick Schuemann to third place at some point Abraham Toro he is on the injured list, he decides on playing time Brett Harris in the system.
Wilson's big numbers landed him as high as #19 in Baseball America's latest ranking of the sport's top 100 prospects. He opened the season at #76. MLB Pipe ranked him #68 before Opening Day and has moved him up to #50 right now. Wilson meets the criteria to potentially earn a full year of service if he can finish in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting, but that will be a tall order when he has to play less than half a season. The A's would love to not get a bonus if Wilson were to win Rookie of the Year since they didn't call him up early enough to accumulate a full year of service in the usual way — spending 172 days on the MLB roster.
Despite finishing as the top Rookie of the Year, Wilson will be under team control for six more seasons than this one. He will not be eligible for compensation until the 2027-28 offseason. A future stint back in the minor leagues could slow that trajectory.
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