In an era of increased three true outcomes -- strikeouts, walks, and home runs -- Jacob Wilson stands out as an anomaly.
The 23-year-old rookie shortstop and second-generation big leaguer is off to a scalding-hot start for the A¡¯s, hitting .377/.377/.547 with a hit in each of his first 14 games. Following a serviceable 29-game sample in his debut season last year, Wilson has started flashing the tools and production that made the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 Draft such a fascinating prospect.
Wilson has started well in an unconventional fashion in the current environment, eschewing strikeouts and walks and putting a remarkable number of balls in play. Here¡¯s a deeper look at this young player who hits like an old-school throwback.
The following numbers are entering Friday's games
Steadfast determination to put every ball in play
Until his two-strikeout performance against the Rockies on April 6, Wilson hadn¡¯t struck out a single time this season.
His 33 straight plate appearances without a strikeout to begin the season didn¡¯t just start in 2025, however. Wilson reeled off 22 straight strikeout-less plate appearances to end the ¡®24 season, putting his streak at 55 consecutive trips to the plate without a strikeout dating back to Sept. 22, 2024. According to the MLB Network research team, that was the longest active streak in the Majors until it was snapped.
Wilson only swung and missed on two of his first 50 swings of the season and has missed just seven times on 82 swings, good for an elite 8.5 percent whiff rate.
Wilson isn¡¯t just simply avoiding the strikeout. He also hasn¡¯t walked this season after walking eight times in 103 plate appearances in 2024, which was good for a 7.8% walk rate that was only a bit below league average. But that hasn¡¯t stopped him from producing during his excellent start to the season.
When Wilson struck out twice in Colorado, he ended a 10-game streak where he recorded at least one hit while not recording a strikeout or walk. That was the fifth-longest hitting streak that featured no strikeouts or walks in the Wild Card era (since 1995).
Longest hitting streaks w/ no strikeouts or walks, since 1995
- Ichiro Suzuki, 12 games (2012)
- Miguel Tejada, 11 games (2009)
- Cristian Guzm¨¢n, 11 games (2008)
- Tony Gwynn, 11 games (1999)
- Jacob Wilson, 10 games (2024-25)
Finding yourself on this kind of list with Ichiro and Gwynn -- two of the best bat-to-ball specialists in baseball history -- speaks volumes about Wilson¡¯s unique skillset. It¡¯s also not surprising, considering he was drafted as an elite contact-producer and came into this season with MLB Pipeline¡¯s best hit-tool grade (70 out of 80 on the scouting scale).
Wilson learned from his dad, Jack, who was a 12-year big-leaguer thanks to his ability to put the ball in play and play excellent shortstop defense.
¡°It was him really teaching me how to put the ball in play, put the ball in play with two strikes, choke up, stay short to the ball,¡± Wilson told Jonathan Mayo last year on the MLB Pipeline podcast. ¡°He always hated strikeouts when he was playing and that just adapted to me when I really started getting to the age where I got serious about baseball.¡±
Wilson¡¯s all-swing, all-contact approach might mean there isn¡¯t much wiggle room if his batting average dips. If Wilson maintains this improved contact while also getting his walk rate back to his 2024 level, though, the whole profile looks even more fascinating.
The Arraez-Kwan connection
Naturally, Wilson¡¯s connection to Ichiro and Gwynn also sparks conversation about his similarity to Luis Arraez and Steven Kwan, the undisputed contact kings of this generation.
Wilson is very aware of those comparisons to Arraez, who owns a career 6.7 percent strikeout rate, which is almost hard to believe in today¡¯s environment.
¡°It¡¯s definitely a compliment,¡± Wilson told A¡¯s beat writer Mart¨ªn Gallegos during Spring Training about the Arraez comps. ¡°That guy puts the bat on the ball pretty much every single at-bat. That¡¯s awesome to hear. But we¡¯re still our own players. I¡¯ve got to put together my own at-bats and show everybody I can be at that same level of contact ability.¡±
When you put Wilson side-by-side with Arraez and Kwan, you can see the similarities in terms of their entire profiles.
Arraez, Kwan and Wilson¡¯s career numbers
Obviously, we¡¯re talking about a grand total of 41 career games for Wilson, compared to 699 games for Arraez and 439 for Kwan. But plate discipline numbers such as strikeout rate and walk rate tend to stabilize much quicker than most stats. That means it¡¯s much easier to buy Wilson¡¯s strikeout and walk rates in a small sample, which is helped by the fact that he¡¯s made boatloads of contact at every professional stop.
Improved quality of contact
Wilson isn¡¯t simply one of the new contact kings in baseball -- he¡¯s also improved his quality of contact this year.
After slugging .315 with no home runs or barrels in 29 games last year, Wilson is slugging .583 with two home runs and two barrels this season. Across the board, Wilson has shown improvements in his ability to do damage (outside of his average exit velocity).
2024 (84 batted balls): .266 xBA // .310 xSLG // 0.0% barrel rate // 19.0% hard-hit rate // 26.2% sweet-spot rate
2025 (46 batted balls): .367 xBA // .470 xSLG // 4.3% barrel rate // 28.3% hard-hit rate // 37.0% sweet-spot rate
None of this is by accident. With concerns about Wilson¡¯s body holding up, the A¡¯s had him emphasize strength and flexibility training last offseason, partially to reduce the lower-body injuries he dealt with early in professional baseball (he strained his left hamstring minutes after recording his first MLB hit).
According to Gallegos, Wilson worked over the offseason with strength and conditioning coach Josh Cuffe to gain muscle mass and improve his fast-twitch movements, as well as implementing a new diet to gain weight. The changes paid off: Wilson reported to Spring Training 15 pounds heavier at 200 pounds.
¡°I¡¯m feeling a lot stronger,¡± Wilson told Gallegos this spring. ¡°I¡¯m really starting to feel the difference from last year to this year. Everything is feeling good right now. I just have to keep continuing the program and get stronger.¡±
Nobody will ever mistake Wilson for a 20-plus home run guy but these are meaningful improvements for someone who already had a high-floor skillset due to excellent contact ability and strong defense at shortstop.
Even if Wilson settles in as a double-digit-homer guy who can maybe slug around .400 in a given year, you¡¯re talking about a potential star, given the rest of his package.
The A¡¯s already had plenty of positive developments on their roster last season (hello, Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler). With the way Wilson has progressed this year, not to mention the emergence of power-hitting first baseman Tyler Soderstrom, the A¡¯s are boasting an exciting group of position players that could help push the organization toward its first winning record since 2021.