Former Tigers Imports: Aaron Wilkerson

Name (Japanese): アーロン・ウィルカーソン

Date of Birth: May 24, 1989

Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

High School: Midway High School (Waco, TX)

University: Cumberland U (Tennessee)

Family Status: Married, four children

Height: 191 cm (6’3″)

Weight: 95 kg (209 lbs)

Threw/Batted: Right/Right

Position: Pitcher

Wore #: 52

Originally signed by: Undrafted (Boston Red Sox bought contract in 2014)

MLB Experience with: Milwaukee Brewers (2017-19)

Signed with Hanshin on: December 5, 2021

Made Tigers Debut on: April 16, 2022 vs. Giants (6 IP 3 H 3 BB 5 K 1 R / W)

Left Tigers on: October 28, 2022

Social Media: Instagram

Career Awards/Achievements: CL Pitcher of the Month (May 2022)

Career Stats:

Brief Biography

Aaron Wilkerson went undrafted by major league teams despite a highly successful college career for Cumberland University (14-1 record with 11 CGs and a 2.13 ERA in 2010). This is because he had frayed his UCL that season, underwent Tommy John in 2011, and did not play in his senior year. He left baseball for a few years, working in the frozen food industry. He picked up his career again in 2013 with the Forth Worth Cats of United League Baseball, and ultimately drew attention from the Boston Red Sox, who signed him in August 2014. Ultimately, Wilkerson was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016 without reaching the big leagues for the Sox. In fact, in 2015, he represented the USA in the world softball championships held in Japan and Taiwan.

WIlkerson made his long-awaited MLB debut on September 15, 2017 in a 10-2 win against the Miami Marlins. He threw the final frame, a shutout, fanning two batters and inducing a pop fly to Justin Bour (who ended up playing for the Tigers 2 years before Wilkerson). He would also make two starts before season’s end, earning his first MLB win on October 1, throwing seven innings of two-hit, one-run ball against the St. Louis Cardinals. Though he spent much of 2018 in Triple-A, he received a call-up in July, starting one game and appearing in relief in two others. His 10 runs in nine innings of work resulted in a demotion at the all-star break. It was not until mid-April of 2019 that Wilkerson got more playing time in the big leagues. In fact, in his first game, he threw four innings of relief and in his lone plate appearance, went yard against Michael Wacha of the Cardinals. His next two outings did not go well, and he was demoted once again. He got two more call-ups but those did not go very well, either. He was released at season’s end, and then spent 2020 away from baseball as the Covid-19 pandemic forced MiLB to cancel its season.

Despite signing with the Rakuten Monkeys that offseason, he never made it out to Taiwan in 2021. It was allegedly because of a family health issue. Instead, he played in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minor league system. It was then that the Hanshin Tigers approached him and signed him to a deal for the 2022 season.

Due to visa issues related to the pandemic, Wilkerson arrived in Japan later than expected and did not make the Opening Day roster. Positive tests from two starting pitchers plus an injury to Takumi Akiyama gave Wilkerson his break. In his debut against the Yomiuri Giants at Koshien on April 16, he threw six innings of one-run ball, getting himself the win. He became the fourth Tigers import pitcher to win in his first career NPB start while facing the Giants – and the first to accomplish the feat at Koshien Stadium. Then in May, Wilkerson had a month to remember. In four starts, he picked up three wins and sported a flashy 1.04 ERA, earning himself the CL Pitcher of the Month Award. However, he was never the same after that, often giving up a lot of runs early (e.g., 7 runs in 3 innings against the Fighters on June 3, 4 runs in 4 innings against the Giants on July 12). He was demoted to the farm on August 4 and never made it back to the top squad.

Wilkerson’s release was officially announced by the team on October 28.

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