Brooks Harrison Wilson (born March 15, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

organization. Prior to playing professionally, Wilson attended the

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Hatters Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

. Wilson starred in baseball for

Lakeland Christian School Lakeland Christian School (LCS) is a private Christian school located in Lakeland, Florida. Bible classes are mandatory and they have a weekly chapel. K4-12th grade school grades. History Established in 1954, Lakeland Christian is Polk County's ...

. In college, Wilson was named an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in 2018, and won the

John Olerud Award The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award (known colloquially as the John Olerud Award) is a college baseball award given to the best two-way player of the season. The award is named after former Washington State Cougars All-American pitch ...

in 2018. The Braves selected him in the seventh round with the two-hundred and second overall selection in the 2018 MLB draft.

Amateur career

Wilson attended

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

, his freshman, junior and senior seasons. He also attended Lakeland High School as a sophomore. Wilson was named first-team All-Polk County as a designated hitter in 2014. He recorded a .493

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 27 RBIs, while also getting 6 wins, 104 strikeouts and a 1.02 ERA on the mound as a senior. Wilson then chose to enroll at

to play

for the Stetson Hatters baseball team. As a freshman at Stetson University in 2015, Wilson had a 9–5 record, a 4.39

Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and held opponents to a .289 batting average, with three home runs. He was named a freshman All-American by

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and the

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisi ...

(ASUN) All-Freshman Team and Second Team All-Conference. Following his freshman season at Stetson, Wilson played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the Waynesboro Generals of the

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an NCAA and MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was started in 1923 and sanctioned by the NCAA in 1961. It has been a wooden bat league since 199 ...

. As a sophomore in 2016, Wilson had a 5–6 record with a 2.90 ERA. He had one at bat in which he struck out. That summer, Wilson was selected by the Orleans Firebirds of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Wilson made just two starts and for the Firebirds. He had a 1.50 ERA, 4 strikeouts and 5 walks. In the 2017 season as a junior, Wilson had 127 strikeouts in 107.2 innings to lead the ASUN, while also achieving a 3.01 ERA. The Texas Rangers selected him in the 24th round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

, but he opted to return to Stetson for his senior year. Once Wilson decided to return to Stetson, he also re-signed with the Orleans Firebirds, where he pitched in 12 games total, with two starts, with a 2-1 record with a 2.13 ERA in 25.1 innings, also picked up a pair of saves. As a senior, in 2018, Wilson had 20 saves to lead the nation. Wilson had moved to the bullpen in 2018, which also allowed the Hatters to used Wilson as a designated hitter. Wilson batted .299 with a .455 SLG, 3 home runs, and 35 RBIs. He was named first team All-ASUN and he was also named the ASUN Player of the Year. Wilson won the

, which is awarded to the top collegiate two-way player in the nation. He was also named a ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' and ''

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

'' All-American.

Professional career

The

selected him in the seventh round, with the 202nd overall selection, of the 2018 MLB draft. Wilson began his professional career with the

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

of the

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

. He made 17 appearances split between Danville and the Single-A

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

in his debut campaign, posting a 3-2 record and 1.30 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work. In 2019, Wilson spent the year with the High-A

Florida Fire Frogs The Florida Fire Frogs were a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League from 2017 to 2020. They were located in North Port, Florida, and served as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Founded in 2017, the Fire Frog ...

, working to a 4-3 record and 2.47 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 87.1 innings pitched. Wilson did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. For the 2021 season, Wilson split time between the Double-A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

and the Triple-A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, pitching to a 3-1 record and 2.34 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 50.0 innings of work. On November 18, 2021 the Braves placed Wilson on the 40-man roster. On April 11, 2022, it was announced that Wilson had undergone

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

and would miss the 2022 season as a result. He was outrighted off the roster after the 2022 season then invited to spring training.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Brooks Living people 1996 births All-American college baseball players Baseball first basemen Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Florida Danville Braves players Orleans Firebirds players Stetson Hatters baseball players People from Lakeland, Florida Rome Braves players Florida Fire Frogs players