Andy Wilkins Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Andrew Robert Wilkins
Born 09/13/1988 in Tulsa, OK
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School Arkansas
Debut 08/31/2014
Drafted in the 5th round (158th overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2010 (signed for $195,000).

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First baseman Andy Wilkins offers lefthanded power and has hit 42 homers in three seasons at Arkansas. A lot of scouts question how well the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder's pop will play with wood bats, however. He hit just .232 with two homers in 24 games while using wood with Team USA last summer, and was batting just .274 with metal entering NCAA regional play. He has a deep load in his swing that makes it hard for him to turn on quality pitching. He's a well-below-average runner, but he has improved defensively and does a decent job at first base. A team that really believes in his power could go get him in the third round, but the consensus would place him somewhere between the seventh and 10th.

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Wilkins slammed 30 homers to lead the Triple-A International League last year and earned his first big league promotion, striking out in nearly half of his plate appearances with the White Sox. He has strength and a swing geared for loft power. He's short to the ball but lacks the bat speed to consistently keep up with premium velocity. Playing winter ball in Venezuela in 2013 helped him identify breaking stuff better, and he can punish mistakes to all parts of the park. He has some feel for hitting, but his defense and arm strength are below-average, and his speed is near the bottom of the scale. Wilkins should return to Triple-A Charlotte for 2015 as insurance, but he may need a new organization to get a big league opportunity.
Scouts have mixed opinions on Wilkins, as some see him as a rising prospect and others think he's just a good organization player. Big and strong, he has slugged 40 homers in his two full pro seasons, but his batting average plunged to .239 last season in Double-A. Birmingham is a tough place to hit for power, and at times he seemed to overswing and become pull-conscious. Wilkins has a bat wrap that alarms scouts, though he has the bat speed to still drive balls out of the park. He has been more productive against righthanders (.785 OPS in 2012) than against lefties (.687 OPS), so he might not be more than a platoon player. He has worked hard to do a better job of staying on the ball against southpaws, and he did hit them well in the Arizona Fall League. Wilkins is adequate at first base but looked awkward when the White Sox tried him at third in 2010. He had enough arm strength for the hot corner but not much range. He's a below-average runner who's aggressive on the bases. Wilkins moves to Triple-A and a hitter's park in 2013, with Paul Konerko in the last year of his contract. If Konerko retires, as he has hinted he might, Wilkins appears first in line to replace him.
Wilkins is about as subtle as a jackhammer. He's a throwback masher who can hit the ball a country mile, and his power makes him a guy to watch in a system that hasn't developed a 30-homer player since Joe Crede. Wilkins skipped a level in 2011, spending his first full pro season in high Class A and ranking second in the Carolina League with 23 homers. Scouts don't like the way he wraps the bat behind his head, but he still generates enough bat speed to drive high fastballs to the opposite field. He crushes pitches that are down and in. He isn't as dangerous against lefties (.692 OPS last year) but crushed righthanders (.911 OPS). He draws a fair amount of walks and doesn't strike out much for a slugger. Chicago tried Wilkins at third base in his pro debut but moved him across the diamond to first base in 2011. He lacks range and agility at either corner, but he has solid arm strength and can make the routine play at first base. He has below-average speed but is aggressive on the bases. Wilkins will move up to Double-A and if he continues to develop, he ultimately could allow the rebuilding White Sox to entertain offers for Paul Konerko.
A middle-of-the-lineup bat for the Arkansas team that also featured 2010 draft picks Zack Cox (first round, Cardinals) and Brett Eibner (second round, Royals), Wilkins was overshadowed at times in college but hit 42 home runs in three seasons. After the White Sox drafted him in the fifth round and signed him for $195,000, he immediately became one of the best power prospects in the White Sox system. He hit so well at Great Falls that one scout compared his arrival to that of Giants first-base prospect Brandon Belt, who has performed much better as a pro than he did in college at Texas. Wilkins shows the ability to hit the ball to all fields and handle lefthanded pitching, with an advanced approach that produced more walks than strikeouts in his pro debut. His six homers allayed worries that his power wouldn't play with wood bats, which arose after he hit just two homers in the summer of 2009 with Team USA. The deep load in his swing does raise concerns about his ability to handle quality pitching, however. After playing mostly first base at Arkansas in deference to Cox, Wilkins moved to the hot corner in pro ball. He's a below-average runner--though he isn't afraid to steal a base--and will have to work to become an average defender. His makeup and work ethic remind some club officials of Jim Thome. The White Sox believe Wilkins could be a special hitter, and his advanced bat might allow him to skip to high Class A to open his first full season.