Atlanta Braves: Bryse Wilson seeks to solidify a spot in 2020

Bryse Wilson had a forgettable 2019 stint in The Show with the Atlanta Braves, but the upside is there for the young right-hander to have a season in which he seeks to insert himself as a regular in the starting rotation.

It’s easy to forget that Wilson is just 22 years old, and that a short time ago he was considered by some to be a top-five prospect for the Atlanta Braves.

True, seven underwhelming major-league outings last year may have contributed to some prospect fatigue regarding Wilson.

Now, though, entering the 2020 season, the linebacker-built Durham, NC product sets out to recapture the success that followed him through his early minor league years.

How did we get here?

Bryse Wilson was a fourth-round draft pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, and it didn’t take long for the South’s native son to make an impression by earning a spot in the South Atlantic League’s All-Star Game in 2017.

He was terrific with the Rome Braves that year, as he sported a 2.50 ERA over 26 games started and quickly rose up the prospect rankings.

2018 saw more success for Wilson, as he was promoted to Mississippi just a month into the season.

It was here that Wilson really began to carve out his reputation as a pitcher.  Per Fangraphs, his eye-popping strikeout numbers exploded to greater than 10 K/9 – and even surpassed 11 K/9 once he saw his first action in AAA-Gwinnett.

The bat-missing flamethrower had Braves fans salivating upon entering the 2019 season; it was thought Wilson might’ve very well been the next “big thing” for an organization that had begun to see handfuls of prospects graduate to the majors and see immediate success.