Andy Wilson (minors01)

Andy Wayne Wilson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 6", Weight 170 lb.
• School Cal State Northridge
• High School Thousand Oaks High School
• Born August 12, 1975 in Westlake Village, CA USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

The older brother of Jack Wilson, Andy Wilson was undrafted out of college. He had hit .340/?/.492 in 1997, stole 14 and scored 62 runs in the school's 62 games. He signed with the Bayou Bullfrogs for '98 and hit .345/~.419/.412 for them, swiping 30 bases. He was third in the Texas-Louisiana League in stolen bases but the OF-2B did not make the league All-Star team. It was a high offense league, so his average was not in the top 10.

The San Diego Padres signed Andy in '99 and he played with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, batting .293/~.378/.382 and stealing 26 in 40 tries as a regular outfielder. Returning to the independent league ranks in 2000, Wilson had a .286/.352/.389 line for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and was just 22 for 38 in steal attempts. In '01, he slipped to .251/.337/.318 but improved on the basepaths (26-34) and he was third in the Northern League in steals.

In 2002, the 26-year-old batted .298/.376/.402 with the Sioux City Explorers and stole 21 out of 32. After a .176/.208/.189 start, Sioux City let Wilson go in '03. He moved on to the San Angelo Colts and produced at a .294/.350/.385 rate as their regular second baseman while stealing 13 in 18 tries. The Arizona Diamondbacks bought his contract and assigned him to the Lancaster JetHawks, where he went 3 for 8 with a steal, two doubles, three runs and 2 RBI.

The veteran returned to the indies again in 2004 and batted .314/.383/.408 with 13 steals in 24 tries for the Pensacola Pelicans, returning to the outfield. His 73 runs scored led the club. After his brother signed a big contract with the Pirates, Andy was picked up by that system as well. He split the year between the Lynchburg Hillcats (hitting .297/.378/.402 in 58 games) and the Altoona Curve (.235/.350/.235 in 7 games in his only taste of AA ball).

Returning to the independent leagues once more, Wilson batted .270/.329/.382 for the Coastal Bend Aviators and .272/.331/.360 with the Yuma Scorpions. His final season was 2007.

Sources: 1998-2006 Baseball Almanacs, Wilbur Miller's 2005 Pirates minor leaguer scouting report, Thebaseballcube.com