Alex Wilson

Note: This page is for 2010s pitcher Alex Wilson; for others with the same name, click here.

William Alexander Wilson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 215 lb.
• School Texas A&M University, Winthrop University
• High School Hurricane High School
• Debut April 11, 2013
• Final Game April 27, 2019
• Born November 3, 1986 in Dhahran Saudi Arabia

BR page

Biographical Information

Alex Wilson is a pitcher who made his big league debut with the Boston Red Sox.

Amateur Career

Born in Saudi Arabia, he was named the West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year in 2005. He was 13-3 with a 3.78 ERA as a college freshman, winning National Freshman Pitcher of the Year from Collegiate Baseball. He led the Big South Conference with 138 innings and tied Heath Rollins for the most wins and strikeouts (143). He and Rollins tied for 9th in NCAA Division I in whiffs and tied Andrew Miller, Dallas Buck, Barry Enright and others for third in the country in wins, one behind co-leaders Jake Arrieta and Lauren Gagnier. He joined Rollins and Brandon Hynick as the All-Conference hurlers; Rollins was Pitcher of the Year. Wilson had a 6-4, 2.51 record as a sophomore in 2007 and made All-Big South Conference, one of three pitchers chosen. He led the Conference in ERA but Bobby Gagg beat him out for Pitcher of the Year. That summer, he was atrocious for the Falmouth Commodores, going 0-1 with 9 hits, 5 walks and 7 runs in only 4 innings. He transferred to Texas A&M and was redshirted in 2008. The Chicago Cubs selected him with a 10th round choice in the 2008 amateur draft but he did not sign. Back with Falmouth for another summer, he improved to 0-1, 4.60 with 36 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings. He went 6-6 with a 4.22 ERA for Texas A&M in 2009, striking out 120 in 89 2/3 innings for the Aggies. He was All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention. He was 11 strikeouts behind Big 12 leader Kyle Gibson and was 14th in Division I in K, between Alex White and Deck McGuire. In 2009, Wilson was a second-round pick by the Boston Red Sox. He was the first pitcher they took that year, having gone with Reymond Fuentes in round one.

Professional Career

Wilson was signed by scout Jim Robinson and began his pro career with the Lowell Spinners in 2009. His record was 0-1 in 13 starts, but what really counted was an 0.50 ERA in 36 innings - the strict pitch counts under which he was working prevented him from recording any decisions. Baseball America rated him as the 9th-best prospect in the New York-Penn League (between Arquimedes Caminero and Kyle Lobstein) and as having the best slider in the entire Boston farm chain. He was put on the fast track to the majors in 2010, starting the year with the Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League and being promoted to the AA Portland Sea Dogs after only 11 starts. He was 2-1, 3.40 in 55 2/3 innings for Salem, then 4-5, 6.66 for Portland. He had a couple stints on the disabled list that year. Baseball America again said he had the best slider of any Red Sox minor leaguer.

He did a lot better when he repeated the AA level in 2011, as his record for the Sea Dogs was an excellent 9-4, 3.05 in 21 starts. In 112 innings, he struck out 99 batters and walked only 37. He was promoted to the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox at the end of the year, making 4 starts with a record of 1-0, 3.43. Between the two stops, he struck out 123 in 133 innings, giving indications that he would likely be pitching in Boston before the end of 2012. He spent the 2012 season in Pawtucket, where he was mainly a relief pitcher, pitching 40 games and making only 3 starts, with a record of 5-3, 3.72 in 72 2/3 innings, with 78 strikeouts and 33 walks. The Red Sox were struggling in last place while he was doing well in AAA, but he did not get the call to pitch in "The Show" that year.

Wilson got the long-awaited call to the big leagues on April 10, 2013 when the Red Sox placed John Lackey on the disabled list with a strained right biceps. He made his major league debut the next day, pitching a scoreless inning of relief in a 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Replacing Junichi Tazawa in the 9th inning, he walked Manny Machado but got Nick Markakis to hit into a double play then got Adam Jones swinging. He pitched 26 times for the Sox that year, all in relief, with a record of 1-1, 4.88. With Pawtucket, he was 3-1, 3.71 in 14 appearances. However, he did not make the postseason roster, losing out to Brandon Workman, a late addition to the team, while the Red Sox went on to win the 2013 World Series. In 2014, he pitched another 18 times in the majors, all in relief again, with a record of 1-0, 1.91. In Pawtucket, he was 6-1, 4.35, with 5 saves. His solid performance went a bit unnoticed as the Red Sox fell to last place and dismantled much of their championship team of a year earlier. It seemed as though the young Wilson would have been a part of the rebuilding, given his success in the majors, but on December 11th, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers, along with Yoenis Cespedes and prospect Gabe Speier, in return for SP Rick Porcello. He was joining a team that needed some bullpen arms and where he had a chance to be more than the role player he had been in Boston.

Wilson went 3-3, 2.19 in 59 games in 2015, also saving two games and also making the only start of his career. He continued as a key member of the Tigers' relief corps in 2016, when he went 4-0, 2.96 in 62 games. After logging 70 innings in his first year with Detroit, he pitched 73 innings his second year. His strikeout rate was relatively low, but he compensated by issuing very few walks. Both years, however, the Tigers were out of contention. In 2017, he had a tougher year, as his ERA rose to 4.50 in 66 games, with a record of 2-5. He had 2 saves, but his season ended a week early as he suffered a broken right fibula on September 23rd when hit in the leg by a line drive off the bat of Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. In 2018, he pitched 59 times and went 2-4, 3.36. He was the subject of various trade rumors during the second half of the season, but nothing materialized.

Wilson became a free agent following the 2018 season and signed with the Cleveland Indians in February, 2019. However, he failed to make the team out of spring training and was released at his request on March 22nd. Two days later, though, he found another team, signing on with the Milwaukee Brewers for one year at $750,000.

Notable Achievements

• Won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 (he did not play in the World Series)

Related Sites

• Alex Wilson on mlb.com