Andy Wilkins

Andrew Robert Wilkins

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 220 lb.
• School University of Arkansas
• High School Broken Arrow High School
• Debut August 31, 2014
• Final Game August 16, 2016
• Born September 13, 1988 in Tulsa, OK USA

BR page

Biographical Information

First baseman Andy Wilkins made his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2014.

Amateur Career

Wilkins hit .366 as a high school sophomore, .496/.519/1.109 with 60 RBI and a school-record 17 homers as a junior (winning All-State) and .538/.635/1.017 with 52 runs and 53 RBI as a senior to again win All-State honors. He was originally taken by the Texas Rangers in the 25th round of the 2007 amateur draft out of high school, but did not sign a contract. He hit .331/.391/.558 as a college freshman despite missing time with a rib cage injury. He batted .271/.356/.450 as the regular first baseman for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League.

As a sophomore for the University of Arkansas, he produced at a .319/.445/.638 clip with 19 homers, 48 walks and 58 RBI in 65 games. He tied for 8th in the Southeastern Conference in home runs and was 6th in walks. He started at 1B for Team USA's college edition that summer; they played in no major tournaments. He hit .232/.365/.406; only Kolten Wong and Yasmani Grandal had lower averages among the team's regulars. His junior year, he batted .281/.405/.540 with 15 home runs and 69 RBI in 63 games. He was 4th in the SEC in walks and tied Josh Rutledge for sixth in RBI. After being selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 5th round of the 2010 draft, he did sign. The scout was Clay Overcash.

Minors

In his rookie professional season, he hit .307/.396/.463 with 6 home runs and 40 RBI in 53 games for the Great Falls Voyagers, earning a spot on the Pioneer League Postseason All-Star team as the top third baseman.

In 2011, he hit .278/.349/.485 with 23 home runs and 89 RBI in 134 games for the Winston-Salem Dash, fielding .992, and was named a Carolina League Mid- and Post-Season All-Star (as a utility infielder; Joey Terdoslavich was picked ahead of him as the top 1B). He was 10th in the league in average, fourth in slugging (behind Ian Gac, Terdoslavich and Tyler Saladino), second in homers (though a distant 10 behind Gac), third in doubles (33, trailing Terdoslavich and Andrelton Simmons), second in RBI (7 shy of Gac), third in total bases (after Gac and Terdoslavich) and 4th in OPS (between Saladino and Destin Hood). Among White Sox farmhands, he tied Drew Garcia for the fifth-most doubles, was 4th in home runs (after Gac, Stefan Gartrell and Trayce Thompson), ranked 4th in RBI (behind Dan Black, Gac and Gartrell) and was third in total bases (after Gac and Black).

He hit .239/.335/.425 with 17 home runs and 69 RBI in 116 games for the Birmingham Barons in 2012, finishing on the Southern League leaderboard in circuit clouts (tied for 7th with Justin Bour), RBI (8th, between J.T. Wise and Joe Leonard), doubles (28, tied for 8th with Matt Davidson, Josh Prince and Jae-hoon Ha) and walks (63, 9th). He tied Brady Shoemaker, Black and Dallas McPherson for 4th in the White Sox chain in homers, was 7th in walks, was 8th in RBI (between Michael Earley and Jared Mitchell).

In 2013, he hit .277/.353/.452 with 17 home runs and 79 RBI split between the Barons (.288/.386/.477, 49 RBI in 67 G) and Charlotte Knights (.265/.312/.423 in 58 G). In the Chicago farm system, he was 4th in RBI (between Black and Jeremy Farrell) and tied Black and Cody Puckett for 4th in home runs. He was picked for the Southern League All-Star Game, but did not make an appearance. That winter, he hit a solid .314/.395/.476 with 21 RBI in 31 games for the Tiburones de La Guaira, their most-used first baseman ahead of Salvador Perez and C.J. Retherford. He was third among the regulars in OPS behind Alex Cabrera and Retherford (who was the main 3B when not playing 1B).

Major Leagues

He began 2014 with the Knights. On August 31st, he was brought up to Chicago when the White Sox traded Adam Dunn to the Oakland Athletics. He made his debut that day, starting at first base in a game against the Detroit Tigers and went 0 for 4, striking out three times.

Sources

• 2014 White Sox Media Guide
• Cape Cod League
• UA bio
• Team USA
• The Baseball Cube
• Pura Pelota

Related Sites

• Andy Wilkins at mlb.com
• BR Minors page