Cole Wilcox
Mitchell Cole Wilcox (born July 14, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Amateur career. Wilcox attended Heritage High School in Ringgold, Georgia, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Georgia as a freshman. In 2018, his senior year, he went 9–2 with a 1.59 ERA, striking out 95 batters over innings. He was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 37th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and instead chose to fulfill his college commitment . In 2019, Wilcox's freshman year at Georgia, he appeared in 19 games (six starts) in which he went 3–2 with a 4.07 ERA, striking out 64 over innings. He specifically excelled during SEC play, compiling a 2.29 ERA and a .184 batting average against over innings pitched during conference play. He was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team. That summer, he played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, and also played briefly for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Wilcox compiled a 3–0 record and a 1.57 ERA over four starts in 2020 before  the college baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Professional career. San Diego Padres organization. Wilcox was considered a top prospect for the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. He was selected by the San Diego Padres in the third round with the 80th overall selection. He signed with the Padres on June 30 for a $3.3 million signing bonus, a record among players drafted in the third round. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic. Tampa Bay Rays organization. On  December 29, 2020, Wilcox, along with Luis Patiño, Blake Hunt, and Francisco Mejía, were traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for pitcher Blake Snell. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Charleston RiverDogs of the Low-A East. He was placed on the 10-day injured list with an elbow strain on July 19, and transferred to the 60-day injured list on August 9, effectively ending his season. Over ten starts prior to the injury, Wilcox was 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA, striking out 52 batters over innings. He underwent Tommy John surgery  in early September.