Weston Wilson

Weston Graham Wilson
(Wes)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 215 lb.
• School Clemson University
• High School Wesleyan Christian Academy
• Debut August 9, 2023

• Born September 11, 1994 in High Point, NC USA

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Biographical Information

It took outfielder Weston Wilson a long time to make his major league debut after being selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17th round of the 2016 amateur draft out of Clemson University. However, the wait, totaling eight years and over 2,500 minor league at bats, was worth it as his debut was memorable.

He had not been a great hitter in college, where he was an infielder, with his batting average of .279 and his 7 homers as a junior in 2016 being his personal highs, but the Brewers were patient with him after he made his professional debut that year with the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League. He had a solid season in 2019 when he belted 19 homers and drove in 58 runs in 127 games for the Biloxi Shuckers of the AA Southern League, but he then lost the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning in 2021, he played a first season in AAA with the Nashville Sounds, batting .267/.354/.548 in 70 games, but was not called up to the Show. He fell back with the same team in 2022, to .228 with 11 homers and 54 RBIs in 118 games and following the season became a free agent. He signed a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies in January of 2023 and was assigned to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the AAA International League. In 100 games there, he hit .260 with 25 homers and 69 RBIs to earn a call-up to the majors at age 28. He made his debut as the Phillies' starting left fielder against the Washington Nationals on August 9th and in his first at-bat in the 2nd inning, he homered off MacKenzie Gore. He reached base on a walk in his other two at-bats and crossed the plate both times for an outstanding debut, but he had to share the headlines with his pitcher that day, as Michael Lorenzen pitched a no-hitter in defeating the Nats, 7-0, in what was his first home start for the Phils after having been acquired at the trading deadline. The last Phillies player to homer in his first career plate appearance had been Marlon Anderson, back in 1998, and he was the sixth-oldest player in major league history to accomplish the feat, and the oldest since Cuno Barragan in 1961. In 8 games for the Phils that season, he hit .313 with 1 homer and 2 RBIs.

In 2024, he began the season in the minors, was called up to appear in a couple of games in June, went back down and came back to stay in mid-July when the Phils released Whit Merrifield. He hit his second career homer on July 19th as part of a three-hit game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it was his next one that put him in the history books. On August 15th, he hit that long ball as part of what was only the 10th cycle ever by a Phillies player (J.T. Realmuto had been the last one to accomplish the feat, the previous season). He hit a double in the 8th inning of a 13-3 win over the Washington Nationals to get the final hit he needed off fellow rookie Orlando Ribalta. The homer came off Tanner Rainey in the 7th after he had gathered both the triple and the single in a five-run 4th inning.

Further Reading

• Todd Zolecki: "28-year-old Weston Wilson homers in long-awaited MLB debut: Rookie adds another milestone to historic night for Phillies", mlb.com, August 10, 2023. [1]
• Todd Zolecki: "Rookie's 'testament to perseverance': Wilson hits for 10th cycle in Phillies history", mlb.com, August 16, 2024. [2]

Related Sites

• Weston Wilson on mlb.com
• Clemson University bio