In the spirit of the MLB draft taking place this past week, I’ve decided to take a look at Paul Wilson in today’s edition of MMN’s Prospect Time Machine. Wilson was a crucial part of Generation K, as the New York Mets used their number one overall pick to select the right-hander out of Florida State University in 1994.
This was the second time the Orlando, Florida native was drafted by a major league baseball organization. The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Wilson straight out of Boone High School in the 57th draft of the 1991 draft. The pitcher made the smart decision by declining to sign and attending school. He became a college baseball All-American in 1994, and his stock rose all the way to the top of the depth chart in three years.
Wilson signed with the Mets as a 21-year-old in ’94 and reported to the Gulf Coast Mets in the Rookie League. He went 0-2 in three starts, but compiled a solid 3.06 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, earning him a promotion to Advanced-A St. Lucie. That didn’t go as well for the young right-hander. He went 0-5 with a 5.06 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. Despite walking 21 hitters in 49.1 innings pitched between the two levels (3.8BB/9IP), he did strike out 50 batters, good for a K/9IP rate of 9.1.
Prior to reporting to Double-A Binghamton in 1995, Wilson was named the number 16 prospect in the league by Baseball America. He made 26 starts that season, with his last 10 coming in Triple-A with Norfolk. It was a solid season, as he went 11-6 overall in 186.2 innings pitched, posting a 2.41 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 194 strikeouts against 44 walks.
Wilson was named the number two prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America before the 1996 season started, and he made his big league debut on April 4th, 1996. He proceeded to struggle through a tough year with the Amazins (5-12 record, 5.38 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 109 K’s, 71 BB’s in 149 IP).
Following that disappointing rookie season, Wilson found himself back in Rookie ball in 1997. However, between 1997 and 1998, the righty only appeared in 17 games due to surgery needed to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. He went 4-1 with a 4.41 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Norfolk to end the year strong, and took that momentum into ’99 spring training, opening camp with nine scoreless innings.
It was a tough pill to swallow for the former first overall pick to once again get optioned to Triple-A, but news got worse shortly thereafter. Wilson found out there was a torn ligament in his throwing elbow. The injury required reconstructive surgery, costing him all of the 1999 season.
He was working his way back to Shea Stadium in 2000 through the farm system, making stops at both St. Lucie and Norfolk. Before he could get the call to come back to Flushing, the organization decided they didn’t want to wait any longer. Wilson was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on July 28th, 2000 with Jason Tyner (another first round pick), in exchange for Bubba Trammel and Rick White. So, there you have it; a lot of expectations were put upon Wilson with being the first overall pick, and all the Mets got out of it was one, wildly unproductive season.
Wilson would go on to pitch for Tampa Bay for two and a half seasons before he was granted free agency. Once he went on the open market, he found a home with the Cincinnati Reds, where he’d enjoy the best year of his major league career in 2004. He went 11-6 with a 4.36 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 117 strikeouts in 183.2 innings pitched. He re-signed with the Reds prior to 2005, but eventually found himself rehabbing from yet another shoulder surgery before Cincy released him in March 2007.
He then spent some time in the Golden Baseball League with the Reno Silver Sox, but was released in June of 2008, and that was the end of his playing career. His big league career spanned parts of seven seasons with three organizations, and he posted a 40-58 record, 4.86 ERA, and 1.45 WHIP in 941.2 innings pitched.
This is one of the examples of a “can’t miss” prospect, that unfortunately did miss. While he did have his problems on the mound, I think his injuries derailed his development, directly hampering his career. What could have been a reason for him to become injury prone? I’m not a person that normally points to this kind of stuff, but a 137.1 inning jump from his first professional season (1994) to his second season (1995) was way too much. In today’s game, we’ve seen top pitching prospects like Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler get shut down once their innings total increased by 30 innings from the season before.
It’s a shame that Generation K didn’t end up the way the Mets and the fans wanted it to, but with the current crop of pitchers in New York’s system, there is a lot of optimism toward the future on the mound at Citi Field.