He’s never played a big league game, but Weston Wilson is turning heads with the Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies’ first home run of the spring didn’t come from Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, Darick Hall, or Edmundo Sosa. It came from Weston Wilson, a 28-year-old journeyman who has yet to play a big league game and is in the midst of his first big league camp. Playing in a split-squad game against the Yankees on Feb. 25, Wilson crushed a ball 367 feet into the left-field stands at BayCare Ballpark. He went 2-for-2 with four RBIs and a walk.

That performance piqued some curiosity, and since then, Wilson has piqued it even more. He is batting .462/.563/1.077 through nine spring training games. He’s played all over the place — two games at third base, three games at second base, three games at shortstop, and one in right field. There might not be room for him on the 26-man roster, but he certainly is making a case to contribute at some point this season.

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His journey to this point has not been direct. He was drafted by Milwaukee in the 17th round in 2016, and steadily climbed up the ranks of the Brewers’ minor league system until 2021. Wilson was in the midst of a career year at triple-A Nashville, in which he hit .267/.354/.548 with 16 home runs through 70 games, when, in early August, he took batting practice and noticed his arm was swelling.

He played that night, on Aug. 3, and saw it swelling again. He tried to play through his next game but could tell that something was wrong. A venogram revealed that he had a five-inch blood clot in his right shoulder area. His season — the season that could have sent him to the big leagues — was over.

His doctors told him that the blood clot could have been fatal. Wilson underwent thoracic outlet surgery as a preventative measure. He rehabbed and went straight to the Arizona Fall League, playing in four games. But he wasn’t putting up the same kind of production he did in 2021, and that carried into his 2022 season. He hit .228/.297/.358 through 118 games at triple A. He found himself overthinking at the plate, mainly because his hitting coaches were encouraging him to get on top of the ball, which didn’t help him mentally.

“At first, I was underneath baseballs because I was late, and I think there was a little bit of over-correcting there,” Wilson said. “I remember after that I was messed up mentally, trying to figure out what I was doing. Everybody is different — and that advice could help a lot of people. But for me and my swing, now I know it’s something that doesn’t work for me.”

Part of the reason Wilson was overthinking was because he was trying to replicate what he’d done in 2021. He’d gotten so close to the bigs and wanted to build off that momentum. But instead, he found he was putting extra pressure on himself — and suffering for it.

When the Phillies signed him as a minor-league free agent in January, he felt a sense of freedom. After six years with the Brewers, he had a new opportunity. He spent the offseason working on his lower body’s role in hitting and a slightly more open stance. The adjustments he’s made are carrying into games. He feels like he’s gotten back to his 2021 self, without trying to get there.

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But he’s also felt something else. On the morning of Feb. 27, just a few hours before his second Grapefruit League game as a Phillie, Wilson’s grandmother, Marva, passed away. He was close to her. The team offered to let him go home, but he decided to make the trip to Bradenton, Fla., anyway for the game against the Pirates.

In the top of the sixth inning, Wilson stepped up to the plate against Pirates pitcher Wil Crowe. He saw four pitches and smoked the fifth one, a high fastball, to left-center field. Outfielder Cal Mitchell lost it in the sun, hit the wall, and the ball tumbled out of his glove. He circled the bases for an inside-the-park homer.

When Wilson reached the dugout, Brandon Marsh was waiting for him. The center fielder gave him a big hug.

“I’m here for you,” he said.

A few innings later, while Wilson was waiting for his next at-bat, manager Rob Thomson gave him a nudge.

“When was the last time you hit an inside-the-park home run?” he asked with a smile.

Wilson smiled back as he relived that moment, two weeks later.

“This feels like a home to me,” he said.