Jacob Wilson: Up-And-Coming Dynasty Player

It is somewhat amazing the number of former major league players who have sons who not only reach the majors themselves but also seem to excel on the field.

Jake Wilson is the latest former player to have a son playing the majors. I’m not saying that Jacob Wilson is going to excel during his entire career as he has played in only 41 major league games entering Friday. But Wilson, who played for his dad at Thousand Oaks High School in California, is certainly a player who may play at a high level for years to come.

So let’s take a look at Wilson.

Career Statistics

A Little Background

After playing for his dad in high school, Jacob Wilson attended Grand Canyon University where he became one of the best hitters in the NCAA. During his three-year career at Grand Canyon, Wilson had a slash line of .361/.419/.558. As a junior, he finished the year slashing .412/.461/.635 with six homers and 61 RBI in 49 games.

The Athletics drafted him in the first round of the 2023 draft with the sixth overall pick. It took Wilson only 79 games in the minors before he reached the majors last season with the A’s after hitting a combined .401/.446/.606 on four different levels. In 2024, he slashed .433/.474/.668 with seven homers and 39 RBI in 53 games on the farm. I don’t care if that is the minors or not, that is some impressive hitting.

The Tools

• Hitting

It is Wilson’s ability to make contact that makes him an up-and-coming dynasty player. Wilson is outstanding at putting the ball in the play thanks to a simple swing once he is set as he starts with an open stance, as seen here, here, and here. While at Grand Canyon, he had an amazing 4.4% strikeout rate, striking out only 31 times in 697 plate appearances. His strikeout rate in the minors wasn’t as amazing as it was in college, but it was still only 7.7%. During his brief career with the Athletics, his strikeout rate stands at 7.9%

Just look at his StatCast numbers above for this season. Entering Friday he ranks in the 99th percentile in squared-up percentage, strikeout percentage, and whiff percentage.

While Wilson has amazing bat control, he is not overly patient at the plate. He is basically a see-ball, hit-ball player. In college, he had an 8.7% walk rate. That dropped to 5.9% in the minors and so far in the majors it is at 5.3%. This season his walk rate is ZERO percent. That’s right. In 48 plate appearances, he has yet to draw a walk. It is a part of his game that the Athletics will likely want him to improve.

• Power

As good as Jacob Wilson is at putting the ball into play, he does not drive the ball. You can see in the above chart where he ranks in average EV, Barrel %, Hard-Hit %, and bat speed. Even if he hit the ball extremely hard, it wouldn’t lead to a lot of homers as his career ground ball percentage so far is 53%.

But Wilson has shown the ability to drive the ball in the air. As a sophomore in college, he hit 12 homers in 59 games, and he showed the power without selling out at the plate as he struck out only seven times (compared to 25 walks) in 275 plate appearances. The A’s feel that as Wilson gets stronger he should start to drive the ball more. Will that mean he will become a 20-homer player? No. But there is the chance he can become a 10, maybe even a 15, home run hitter.

• Speed

While Wilson gets on base a lot, he is an average baserunner and he does not steal bases. He has yet to even attempt a steal with the Athletics and only tried to steal a base eight times in the minors and 11 times in college.

The Verdict

Jacob Wilson simply has an amazing ability to make contact and hit it well enough to rack up the hits. If he can just start to throw in some more walks to go with his hits, he would have an outstanding OBP. And while he is never going to be a home run hitter, he can become a more prolific doubles hitter if he increases his line drive percentage by just a few points. Those doubles will add up to give him an above average slugging percentage.

As I have said a million times, while it would be nice to have a roster full of players who excel in the slash line, homers, and stolen bases, that is pretty impossible to do. But if you have a few superstars and mix in players who excel at one thing, then you are going to have a pretty great offense. Wilson is one of those players who excels at one thing and that makes him a player to go after.

Thanks for reading and come back again next week.