Austin Wilson
Outfielder
Born: (1992-02-07) February 7, 1992
Los Angeles, California
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Austin H. Wilson (born February 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He attended Stanford University, where he played college baseball for the Stanford Cardinal team. He was projected to be a first round pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft but was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the 2nd round.

Career

As a youth, Wilson played baseball in a local league in Southern California. His parents brought him to Reggie Smith's baseball clinic to receive further instruction. Wilson then attended Harvard-Westlake High School, where he was twice named a prep school All-American.[1] Playing in a Southern California showcase before his junior year, Wilson earned attention from Major League Baseball teams. He then proceeded to compile a .543 batting average, seven home runs and 29 runs batted in in 23 games during his junior year.[2] As a senior, Wilson batted .485 with a .802 slugging percentage.[1]

Considered a five-tool prospect,[1] Baseball America ranked Wilson the 27th best prospect available in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft,[3] and he was widely projected to be a first-round draft pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.[2][4][5] Wilson committed to attend Stanford University to play college baseball for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team. Signability concerns led Wilson to fall to the 12th round of the draft, where the St. Louis Cardinals selected Wilson.[6] Despite the Cardinals' efforts to convince Wilson to sign a professional contract,[7] including making an offer equivalent to that given to first round picks, Wilson opted to enroll at Stanford.[8]

As a freshman in 2011, Wilson earned an All-Pacific-10 Conference honorable mention after batting .313 with a team-leading four home runs during the regular season.[9] During the summer of 2011, Wilson played summer collegiate baseball for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod Baseball League, winning the league's championship, though he batted only. 204.[10][11] Wilson returned to the Cape Cod League in 2012, improving his batting average.[12][13] In 2013, Wilson was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America. He missed significant time during the 2013 season with an elbow injury.[14] Returning from injury in April,[15]

Wilson was considered by some a potential first round pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft but was not selected in the first round.[16] He was eventually picked with the 49th overall selection of the second round. Wilson signed with the Mariners, and played for the Everett AquaSox of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League[17] in 2013, batting .241 with six home runs and 27 RBIs. In 2014, Wilson played for the Clinton LumberKings of the Class A Midwest League[18] where he greatly improved, batting .291 with 12 home runs, 54 RBIs, and a .893 OPS. He spent 2015 with the Bakersfield Blaze of the Class A-Advanced California League where he posted a .239 average with ten home runs and 48 RBIs. He returned to Bakersfield in 2016 where he batted .226 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs.

At the 2016 Winter Meetings, the St. Louis Cardinals selected Wilson from the Mariners in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.[19] The Cardinals assigned him to the Palm Beach Cardinals, and after batting .168 in 199 at bats, he was released in July.[20]

Personal life

Wilson's parents both have Master of Business Administration degrees from Harvard University.[1][2] Austin completed his degree at Stanford.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Stanford baseball's Austin Wilson's big potential". SFGate. February 22, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Canner-O'Mealy, Ryan (February 12, 2010). "Whether on the field or in the classroom, Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) outfielder Austin Wilson is at the top of his game". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  3. ↑ "FOX Sports Midwest home page". Foxsportsmidwest.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (January 1, 2010). "Westlake and Oaks Christian will tango. Will Gary McKnight fox trot? - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Harvard Westlake's Wilson Facing a Tough Decision". Foxsportswest.com. June 2, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Cards balance risk, reward in picking Wilson | cardinals.com: News". Stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. June 8, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Scout.com: Cardinals Try to Impress Prep Star Wilson". Mets.scout.com. July 21, 2010. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ Jeff Gordon (August 17, 2010). "Cards open vault, secure excellent draft class : Sports". Stltoday.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ Bennett, Miles (June 2, 2011). "BRIEF: Piscotty, Ragira lead seven Cardinal baseball players on All-Pac-10 teams". Stanford Daily. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Piscotty, Appel draw attention in Cape Cod". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  11. ↑ "#24 Austin Wilson". pointstreak.com. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  12. ↑ "#24 Austin Wilson". pointstreak.com. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Baseball: Locals among leaders in Cape Cod League - latimes.com". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. July 5, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Blog | Baseball America College Blog | Stanford's Austin Wilson To Miss Another 2-4 Weeks". Baseball America. February 26, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ Crawford, Christopher (April 8, 2013). "The return of Austin Wilson - MLB Draft Blog Blog - ESPN". Insider.espn.go.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  16. ↑ Churchill, Jason A. (May 9, 2013). "Draft could produce run on bats - MLB Draft Blog Blog - ESPN". Insider.espn.go.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  17. ↑ Stone, Larry (June 21, 2013). "Mariners notes: Austin Wilson signs, Stephen Pryor progresses, lineups, and more | Mariners blog | Seattle Times". Blogs.seattletimes.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  18. 1 2 Cahill, Teddy. "Days after graduation, Seattle Mariners prospect Austin Wilson hits home run | MLB.com". M.mariners.mlb.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  19. ↑ "2016 Rule 5 Draft results". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Austin Wilson Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved December 15, 2017.
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