Bryse Wilson has become the first Orange Panther to be called up to the Major Leagues.
On Sunday night, Wilson was called by the Atlanta Braves to join the parent club. He will start on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, completing a meteoric rise up the baseball chain that started with the Florida Fire Frogs of the Florida State League on April 10th.
Wilson’s callup came the day before a homecoming at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. He was supposed to start the 2nd game of a doubleheader for the Gwinnett Stripers against the Bulls in front of hundreds of friends and family from across the area on Tuesday night. Instead, Wilson got word from Braves’ management he was being called up on Sunday night after only three starts with the Stripers.
Wilson, who graduated from Orange in June 2016, will step right in the midst of a pennant chase. The Braves lead the Philadelphia Phillies by a half-game for first place in the National League East. Oddly enough, the Pirates will start another North Carolina product to oppose Wilson. Clayton’s Chris Archer will start for the Bucs, who are five games behind St. Louis for the final wildcard spot in the National League.
On Monday afternoon, Wilson was named the International League Pitcher of the Week. In a 4-3 victory over Louisville on Wednesday, Wilson set the Gwinnett franchise record with 13 strikeouts over eight shutout innings, yielding only one hit. The previous Gwinnett record was set in 2009 by Charlie Horton.
Wilson was a sensation from the first day he set foot on the hill for Dean Dease’s Orange Panthers. He went 11-0 with a 1.05 ERA in his freshman season. During his Orange career, he was 33-4 with a 0.90 ERA in 38 career starts. He had 335 strikeouts with 43 walks.
Wilson committed to play at UNC, but opted to start his minor league career immediately after being drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft by the Braves. After starting five games with Florida, Wilson was promoted to the Mississippi Braves of the AA Southern League on May 5th. In Mississippi, Wilson made 15 starts and finished 3-5 with a 3.97 ERA. He struck out 89 batters while walking 26.
Braves will make his Major League debut after just 18 days with the Stripers. He won all three of his starts with Gwinnett. His first game in the International League came on August 4th against the Norfolk Tides, when he threw five-and-a-third innings, giving up six runs off seven hits. He struck out eight as the Stripers won 10-6. On August 9th, the Stripers defeated Buffalo 9-5. Wilson earned the victory after throwing six-and-two-thirds innings, giving up seven hits, four runs off seven hits. He struck out three and issued no walks.
Wilson was also a linebacker, running back, wide receiver and backup quarterback for the Orange football team for four varsity seasons. In 2015, Wilson rushed for 1,024 yards and eight touchdowns as the Panthers went 11-2, with both losses coming against Southern Durham. Wilson had several scholarship offers from FCS schools to play football.