Wes Timmons

From BR Bullpen

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Wesley Ryan Timmons

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Wes Timmons was a minor league infielder and is a college coach.

Timmons began his collegiate career at Appalachian State University. He was the All-Southern Conference shortstop in 2000, after hitting .338 with 15 steals. In 2001, he improved to .374 with 21 doubles. He was 6th in the conference in average and was again All-Conference at short. Transferring to Bethune-Cookman College, he hit .425/.551/.678 for Bethune-Cookman with 40 steals in 48 tries, 79 runs and 64 RBI in 61 games as a senior in 2002. He led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in average, runs, hits (91) and doubles (22). He was named MEAC Player of the Year. He was also 13th in NCAA Division I in batting average and tied for 10th in Division I in swipes. Timmons was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 12th round of the 2002 amateur draft. The scout was Robert Lucas. He spent his first nine seasons in the Braves organization.

He made his pro debut with the GCL Braves in 2002, going 2 for 4 with 3 walks and a double before a quick promotion to the Macon Braves. He hit .283/.423/.358 in 40 games for Macon. In 124 games for the Rome Braves in 2003, he hit .282/.376/.396 with 7 home runs, fielding .960 at third base. He led South Atlantic League third basemen in both fielding percentage and putouts (88). He batted .277/.388/.375 for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans the following summer. He led Carolina League third basemen in fielding percentage. He reached AAA with the Richmond Braves in 2005 and played at that level in the Atlanta chain through 2010.

He split 2005 between the Mississippi Braves (.272/.388/.403, 31 2B, 62 BB, 73 R) and Richmond (4 for 18, 2B, 2 BB). He ranked second in the Atlanta chain in doubles, 3 behind Jarrod Saltalamacchia, tied Andy Marte for third in walks (64) and led in hit-by-pitch (21, more than double runner-up Esix Snead). He tied for 7th in the Southern League in doubles, equal with Joel Guzman, Casey McGehee and James Loney. He led the SL in times plunked, 7 ahead of Dan Uggla and Todd Donovan.

Timmons started 2006 quickly with Richmond, among the International League leaders in average and OBP, but broke the hamate bone in his left thumb on May 16. He had rehab stints with the GCL Braves (.308/.438/.385 in 8 G) and Myrtle Beach Pelicans (1 for 5, 3 BB) before returning to Richmond. His numbers fell after his return but he finished with a solid .280/.384/.412 line in 71 games for the club that year. Atlanta had Chipper Jones starting at third base in the majors and a couple backups younger than Timmons, who was now 27. Baseball America rated him as having the best strike-zone discipline in the Atlanta minors.

In 2007, Timmons fell to .256/.333/.349 for Richmond, fielding .972 as their main third baseman. He hit .300 in the postseason. It was his only time through 2011 with an OBP under .350 as a pro. He set a Richmond record with 19 times hit by pitch, leading the 2007 International League by one over Luis Matos. With Richmond in '08, Wes hit .251/.394/.351 and tied Jeff Bailey for 4th in the IL with 12 times hit by pitch. He also stole 12 bases in 12 tries.

The Gwinnett Braves replaced Richmond as Atlanta's AAA affiliate in 2009. He produced at a .283/.416/.366 rate with 62 walks and 62 runs. Now a utility man, he backed up Bárbaro Cañizares at 1B, Brooks Conrad at 2B and Van Pope at 3B. Among players with 300+ plate appearances, he was third in the 2009 International League in OBP behind Jorge Padilla and Brian Myrow. He led the league in times hit by pitch (15) and was 5th in walks despite not being a starter.

Back with Gwinnett in 2010, he was starting at 3B again and fielding .966 there. He posted a .293/.400/.404 line with 67 runs, 19 steals in 27 tries and 60 walks to 33 strikeouts. He had the lowest K rate in the 2010 International League, was third in OBP (behind Cañizares and Dan Johnson) and tied Chris Richard for 4th in walks. He also led third basemen in fielding percentage (.966) and assists (156).

Following the 2010 season, Timmons was signed by the Oakland Athletics. He began 2011 with the Sacramento River Cats and hit .321/.432/.442 with only 10 K in 191 at-bats in a utility role. He was then sent to AA, his first time there in six years, and considered retirement. He decided to play out the year and batted .365/.402/.500 in 39 games. He led A's minor leaguers in average and was second to Jermaine Mitchell in OBP. In the postseason, he was 9 for 30 with 6 walks, 6 RBI and 7 runs in 8 games back with Sacramento.

After 998 games in the minors, a .391 OBP and over 1,500 times on base, he was sent with Oakland on their season-opening trip to Japan in 2012. He did not play in the two games in Japan then was sent back to Sacramento to begin the 2012 campaign, denying him a chance at the big leagues again.

He retired from professional baseball after the 2012 season.

After baseball, he became an assistant coach at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In August 2015, he was name head baseball coach at Shorter University.

Related Sites[edit]

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