Elephant Rumblings: Wilson on leaderboard next to visiting titan Judge

MLB news roundup

Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!

The Yankees are in Sacramento to face off with the Athletics in a three-game series this weekend. John Shea at the San Francisco Standard recalled yesterday that A’s owner John Fisher said “some of the greatest players in baseball” will “launch home runs out of the most intimate ballpark in all of Major League Baseball,” suggesting that said intimacy is a silver lining to the A’s playing in a minor league ballpark.

There is no doubt that the Yankees’ Aaron Judge is among baseball’s greatest, and he is rolling into Sutter Health Park with a slash line of .400/.491/.750. Yep, the reigning AL single season home run record holder has the best batting average in baseball. Judge is certainly primed to launch home runs out of any ballpark, but for my own part I’d sooner not see that happen against the A’s.

The second best batting average in baseball is currently held by A’s rookie phenom shortstop Jacob Wilson, currently at .357. Obviously, these two are far apart in terms of slugging—Judge’s slugging percentage is nearly .300 above Wilson’s mark of .476. But young Jacob’s phenomenal start to 2025 is definitely getting notice.

Nick Deeds at MLB Trade Rumors polled readers on expectations for Wilson, asking whether the A’s rising star will ultimately be All-Star caliber as he appears now, settle down to be a solid regular, or fail to stick as an everyday player. I ticked the “All-Star caliber” circle—because I truly believe there will be more than one Midsummer Classic in Jacob Wilson’s future.

Coming off a tough series loss to the Mariners, this weekend series against the Bronx Bombers figures to be a stiff test of the young Athletics’ resilience. Soon we will be writing the history of these eagerly anticipated contests right here on AN.

A’s Coverage:

• Poll: Jacob Wilson’s Hot Start
• Aaron Judge arrives in Sacramento, just as A’s owner John Fisher dreamed ($)
• A’s Projected to Swerve in 2025 MLB Draft
• A’s Have a Decision to Make with Former Kansas City Royals Pitcher

MLB News & Interest:

• Pirates Fire Manager Derek Shelton
• 2025 MLB Mock Draft 1.0: Ethan Holliday goes to Washington … for now ($)
• Rafael Devers Unwilling To Play First Base
• The Royals’ Rotation Looks Stronger Than Ever
• The 10 biggest disappointments of the young MLB season: Teams, players, decisions to watch ($)
• Pirates fan remains hospitalized, has ‘a lot of back pain’ 1 week after fall ($)
• Cubs To Promote Cade Horton
• Chet Lemon Passes Away
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Those are hardware-winning numbers.

Jump is a leap ahead of the pack.

RIP Chet Lemon...a great player on and off the field—and a great name.