Will Wagner

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William James Wagner

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Biographical Information[edit]

Infielder Will Wagner is the son of long-time major league reliever Billy Wagner and looks very much as his father did at his age. Born in Houston, TX, he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 18th round of the 2021 amateur draft, out of Liberty University. His being drafted was considered a bit of a legacy pick, but he was still coming off a pair of solid season in college, hitting .305 in 62 games in 2019, and .333 in 53 games in 2021 (the COVID-19 pandemic had stopped his 2020 season after just 4 games).

He quickly put up some good offensive numbers in the minor leagues too, batting .299/.388/.431 in 31 games for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in 2021. In 2022, he hit a combined .261/.374/.394 with 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 117 games between the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League and the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Texas League. However, he was set back temporarily in 2023, when an injury limited him to just 65 games, including a rehabilitation assignment with the FCL Astros. He still hit .309 at Corpus Christi and .577 in his first 6 games at the AAA level, with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

He started the 2024 season at Sugar Land and was hitting .307 after 70 games when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 29th, his 26th birthday, alongside P Jake Bloss and OF Joey Loperfido in return for P Yusei Kikuchi. He was moved to the Buffalo Bisons after the trade and immediately set the International League on fire, going 7 for 11 with 2 doubles and a homer in his first three games there. It did not take him long to get the call to Toronto, as that came on August 12th, and in his debut, he had three hits in four at-bats in a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels, on his way to collecting 8 hits in his first 15 big league at-bats. He cooled down after that, but hit his first career homer on August 27th off Brennan Bernardino of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park as part of a 3-for-4 day that also included a pair of double, so that after 13 games, he was hitting .326 and slugging .512. A day earlier, he had been part of a strange game when the same two teams completed a suspended game begun on June 26th; he was one of five substitutes inserted by necessity onto the Jays' line-up when play resumed, but his record for that day was back-dated two months, to the day the game started, and creating a permanent uncertainty about his major league debut. He finished the game with a flourish, going 5-for-6 with his second career homer in a 15-0 demolition of the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on August 31st. He was the first rookie in Blue Jays history to have a five-hit game. However, his season ended on September 13th with a knee injury. In 24 games with the Jays, he hit .305 with 2 homers and 11 RBIs.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Craig Forde: "Wagner extends stellar introduction with 1st career HR -- at Fenway", mlb.com, August 27, 2024. [1]
  • Kyle Glaser: "Wagner, son of All-Star closer, debuts with 3-for-4 night", mlb.com, August 13, 2024. [2]
  • Brian McTaggart: "It all comes full circle for this Astros legend and his son", mlb.com, July 25, 2024. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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