Atlanta Braves select RHP Brooks Wilson

The second day of the 2018 MLB rule four draft continues. After adding an outfielder the Atlanta Braves added another a college closer.

Round seven saw the Atlanta Braves turn to another college closer, this time from Stetson.

Atlanta Braves Select, Brooks Wilson Stetson University, RH Closer 6-foot-2 and 200 lbs.

An unranked closer, Brooks Wilson pitched for four years at Stetson.  He worked as both a starter and reliever until his senior year when he took over as their closer.

According to his Stetson Alumni page Wilson set records in his four years there.

"Wilson led the ASUN in 2017 with 127 strikeouts, finishing among the top five pitchers in the nation. He entered the 2018 season just 121 strikeouts away from the school record and 126 away from the ASUN career record."

The Baseball Cube shows he finished the year with a  2.13 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 68 strikeouts and 16 walks in 55 IP. That works out to 11.13 K/9 and 3.11 BB/9.  Wilson missed both records because he closed, but those numbers also show he throws strikes

Scouting

Scouting information on Wilson is scarce. After watching three videos I found his motion reminiscent of Kevin Brown with a similar release point, although he also dropped down sidearm on a couple of pitches.

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I saw a fastball that looked like about 90 mph four-seam. Without a gun I couldn’t be sure but  Ben Chase later confirmed that he sits around 90.

Wilson flashed what I thought was a change at first but later I became convinced it was a curve.   He backed up two 12-6 hooks later; the second one had batter ducking for cover. If he can do that consistently he;ll be hard to handle.

Wilson appeared to throw a couple of sliders and Ben later confirmed that he does throw a sweeping slider.

That’s a Wrap

Wilson’s stuff means he’s likely a sixth or seventh inning guy though he will have to get sharper with his out pitch and not hang the curve.

Pitching full-time he could gain a couple of mph on his fastball and make his slider better.

There are two other pitchers with the same name floating around – one on the Rangers. If you look for more information, be sue you have the correct pitcher.

Next: Andy could be handy

Adding Wilson and Riley puts the Braves in contention for most pitchers with long hair. Whether that’s a good thing or if it lasts only time will tell.