OAKLAND — Sitting in his usual spot in the third-base dugout for his pregame availability, manager Mark Kotsay found himself waxing poetic about Jacob Wilson’s prowess at the plate.
The bat-to-ball skills. The high contact rate. The miniscule strikeout rate. The diverse spray chart. To Kotsay, the 22-year-old rookie, called up to make his debut, had all the tools of a pure hitter. But as he wrapped up his answer, he brought up something worth monitoring.
Health.
“The question mark now becomes the durability and the demand of playing every day in the big leagues,” Kotsay said.
Wilson, the team’s top prospect, was removed from his major-league debut on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum as the A’s thumped the Angels, 13-3, coming up hobbling as he scored in the bottom of the third inning shortly after recording his first career hit. Now, the next question mark becomes simple: How long will Wilson be out?
“It was pretty horrible,” Wilson said. “This is the day you’ve been working for for your entire life. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time now. I had three innings there, got the base hit, which was the high moment of my life right there. Then, rounding third, obviously felt something. It’s better safe than sorry trying not to make it worse. Hopefully, it’s not too serious.”
Wilson’s night had been going well prior to his early removal. Wilson recorded the game’s first out, cleanly fielding Anthony Rendon’s routine grounder and firing to an awaiting Seth Brown, showing off an ear-to-ear smile as he returned to his position. In the third, Wilson turned a slick double play in the top of the third, fielding Nolan Schanuel’s grounder, sprinting to second base, tagging the bag, then firing to first on the run for two.
The rookie received a standing ovation as he strolled to the right-handed batter’s box ahead of his first career at-bat. Wilson then gave the lively Friday night crowd even more to cheer about when he muscled a broken bat line drive barely over the outstretched glove of Angels’ shortstop Zach Neto. The good vibes soon dissipated.
After Wilson rounded third base on Lawrence Butler’s double, he began hobbling halfway down the third base line, appearing noticeably distraught as he walked back to the dugout. Wilson, who dealt with a knee injury earlier this season, jogged out for defense the following half-inning, but was removed from the game.
“That’s definitely a moment you’ll remember for the rest of your life, being able to see the ball go over the shortstop and get to first base and know all the hard work that you had your entire life paid off,” Wilson said. “It was a great feeling to be able to look up and see my family all up there. Obviously, it went downhill pretty quick, but it was definitely a high moment for sure.”
Added Kotsay: “Once I watched him take the field, that was an easy decision for me to pull him out of the game. He had a limp to the gait. There’s no reason for us to push that kid when there’s a lower-half injury that could get worse by having him make a play for us — or, by not being able to make a play and hurting the team. From that standpoint, I admire the kid’s passion and desire to be out on the field, but it’s my job to make that decision for him.”
A's take the lead on Lawrence Butler's RBI double, but Jacob Wilson sustained an apparent left hamstring injury while scoring.
The top prospect was forced to leave his MLB debut pic.twitter.com/fXSE4EGZgt
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 20, 2024
Max Schuemann, Oakland’s starting shortstop before Wilson’s arrival, moved from third base to shortstop following Wilson’s departure. Schuemann, a 27-year-old rookie, ended up putting together one of the best games of his major-league career, hitting his sixth homer of the season, totaling three hits and amassing a career-high 4 RBIs. Should Wilson require a trip to the injured list, Schuemann stands to re-assume his role as the infield’s captain.
“Max has been a great teammate since he’s been here, and that showed today with the focus that he went out to play third base,” Kotsay said. “The determination to have impact in this game shows the type of person he is.”
Wilson’s injury aside, the A’s gave Friday night’s crowd plenty more reasons to cheer. Schuemann, JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers homered, a fine encore to the team’s seven-homer flexing against the Phillies to close the first half. JP Sears allowed two earned runs across 5 2/3 innings. Lawrence Butler and Miguel Andujar had two hits apiece. To save his bullpen, Angels manager Ron Washington had position player Luis Guillorme pitch the eighth inning (Guillorme allowed a hit and walk but no runs).
The game, then, served as a fine distraction from Wilson’s injury. But with the game now complete, Oakland’s collective attention shifts to Wilson’s prognosis. At this juncture, all the A’s can do is hope that their shortstop of the future can be present in the lineup sometime soon.
“He’s obviously going to be a really good player, so it sucks to see him go down in his debut,” Sears said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him back on the field soon, and hopefully everything’s okay.”
