Will Wilson Ecstatic to be Reunited With Former State Teammates
As the first round of the Major League Baseball draft progressed last Wednesday, Will Wilson’s wife Tori got a text from Patrick Bailey’s fiance Leigha.
“Patrick to the Giants,” it said.
San Francisco was still several picks away from being on the clock at the time, so while Wilson tried not to get too excited about the prospect of being reunited on the same team with his friend and old NC State teammate.
“I was like, I can’t get my hopes up,” the former Wolfpack shortstop said.
Wilson’s caution seemed well-founded. Although Bailey was rated as the top catcher in this year’s coronavirus-shortened draft, the Giants didn’t figure to be in the market for someone at that position in the first round.
They already have one of the best catchers in the game in Buster Posey and drafted his presumed heir apparent Joey Bart with the second overall pick just two years ago, giving him a record $7.025 million signing bonus.
But with general manager Fahan Zaidi reasoning that “you can never have too much catching,” the Giants took Bailey at No. 13, anyway.
“When he got picked, I was like ‘this is insane,’” said Wilson, who was drafted in the first round by the Los Angeles Angels in 2019 and traded to the Giants in December. “I was shocked as the same time, because they had never asked me anything about him.
"Usually teams will ask if you know a guy and they never really asked me about Patrick. And then they picked him. I texted Patrick right away and was like ‘you better answer my call.’ It was pretty sick to see him come to us."
Wilson and Bailey have remained close, even though they spent last summer on opposite coasts -- with one playing rookie ball in Orem, Utah and the other training in Cary with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Since March, when the coronavirus pandemic shut down sports across the country, they've gotten a chance to hang out more.
Wilson recently bought a house in Durham and togther with Bailey and a few others, done his best to stay sharp by working in the batting cage with hitting coach and fellow Wolfpack alumnus Kyle Wilson of the Triple-A Durham Bulls.
"We've been really good friends since NC State and have continued that relationship," Bailey said shortly after being taken by the Giants. "So we were pumped when we found out we were going to be able to play together at certain levels and for a long time."
The excitement only grew the following day when the Giants continued stocking up on Wolfpack talent by taking left-handed pitcher Nick Swiney in the second round with the pick they got as compensation for losing ace Madison Bumgarner to free agency.
Swiney's selection was even more of a surprise to Wilson than Bailey's.
"I knew they Giants loved him and we needed left-handed pitching after losing Madison, but seeing him come to us was a shock," Wilson said. "Not to comp him to anybody, especially Madison, but Nick has an offspeed that could be in the big league's right now.
"I kept getting texts from front office people saying 'We love the Wolfpack, We love the Wolfpack!' It's cool to see both of them get to come."
Although Wilson has had a head start to his professional career, having hit .275 with five homers in Pioneer League 46 games last season, he's hoping that eventually he'll be able to move through the Giants' system on the same teams as Bailey and Swiney.
"I was telling Patrick that just because I'm a year ahead of them, I don't want to be playing a step ahead," Wilson said. "I'm like, can they come up? Could I go down? I like playing with those guys. It's fun to play with guys you know. I think it helps you compete a little bit better. Hopefully we get the opportunity to do it for awhile."
Wilson is ticketed to take the next step in his development with either the Augusta Green Jackets of the South Atlantic League or the higher Class A level with the San Jose Giants.
At this point, he's itching to play anywhere, no matter who's on his team.
The wait to see when or if the 2020 season will begin is especially frustrating, because of the brief time he got to spend in the Giants' major league spring training camp in Arizona before the shutdown.
Wilson got to play in two exhibition games as a late-inning replacement, batting three times against the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians. Even though he didn't get a hit, it was an experience
"It's awesome to go up there and see what they do. Honestly, they want you to see what it's like and get your feet week so you'll want to get there faster. But it's frustrating because things were starting to ramp up and I was starting to get my groove back and then all of a sudden, bam, we're home."
Like everyone else, Wilson has no idea how long he and the others will stay there.
"I don't think anybody knows much on the minor league side because we're just waiting to see what happens with the big leagues," he said. "It's kind of weird because you're spending time with people you love. I got to come home and see my sister's new baby and it was really fun for about a week.
"After that, you wish you were playing. It's been almost three months and who knows when we'll get to be back."