School: Grand Canyon University; Class: Junior
Position: SS; B/T: R/R
Height: 6-3; Weight: 190
Previously Drafted: N/A
High School: Thousand Oaks High School
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 55 | 40 | 35 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Background: Jack Wilson was the type of player that often flew under the radar. He wasn’t a great hitter, per se, but he did have his moments. In 2004, at the age of 26, the former ninth round pick out of Oxnard College belted out 41 doubles, a NL-leading 12 triples, and 11 homeruns en route to winning his lone Silver Slugger Award (as well as earning his only All-Star appearance). Wilson would spend parts of 12 years at the game’s pinnacle level, leaving as a .265/.306/.366 career hitter – a well below-average mark considering the era.
But he could pick it. And pick it well. So much so, in fact, that he would retire with more than 23 wins above replacement on his resume – at least per Baseball Reference’s version.
Eleven years after Wilson hung up his proverbial spikes his son, Jacob, has positioned himself as one of the top draft prospects in 2023.
A product of Thousand Oaks High School, the younger Wilson turned in a rock solid debut collegiate season with the Grand Canyon Antelopes in 2021, batting .313/.376/.440 with 11 doubles, four triples, and a stolen base. After posting a similar slash line during his jaunt through the Northwoods League that summer (.302/.365/.417), Wilson returned to the Lopes as an impact bat during his sophomore campaign. He would mash .358/.418/.585 with 18 doubles, one triple, and 12 homeruns. Production that would earn him a trip to the vaunted Cape Cod League as well as a roster spot Team’s USA National squad, where he would face off against premium competition on a consistent basis.
And Wilson quietly held his own as he hit .278/.381/.389 with one double and a dinger in 10 games with the Orleans Firebirds. But he turned in the second best offensive performance on the National Squad: .364/.462/.455 in six games.
This season Wilson continued to raise the bar as he slugged .412/.461/.635 with 17 doubles, four triples, six homeruns, and a career-best eight stolen bases (in nine total attempts).
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
- Since 2011, there have been just eight instances in which a hitter in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) posted a .400 batting average and slug at least .600 in a season (min. 200 PA): Joey Ortiz, Tristan Peterson, Nick Gonzalez, Carlos Contreras, Tyler Davis, Joseph Redfield, Brandon Pimentel, and – of course – Jacob Wilson.
- Despite the WAC never being confused for a power conference like the ACC or SEC, there are notable players among the group. Joey Ortiz, a fourth rounder out of New Mexico State, was a Top 100 prospect heading into the season. Nick Gonzales was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Built physically like his quick-twitchy, smooth fielding father – though Jacob’s a couple inches taller – the younger Wilson doesn’t project for much power – like his old man. But he possesses an above-average hit tool, a little bit of speed, and the ability to pick it at shortstop. Line drive swing. Elite bat-to-ball skills, as evidenced by his absurd by his 31-to-61 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his college career (including a 5-to-19 mark in 2023). He’s a grinder (like his dad), but unless the hit tool creeps in plus territory, he looks like a fringy starter. Low ceiling, high floor. Seems like an ideal candidate for Tampa Bay, Toronto, or the Braves.
Ceiling: 1.5- to 2.0-win player
Risk: Low to Moderate
Grade: First / Second Round
