Wilcox has a 3.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 22 strikeouts in 15.2 innings over his last three starts for Double-A Montgomery.
He had a shaky stretch from April 28 through June 15 in which he had a 7.28 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over nine starts, but Wilcox has gotten back on track lately. The 6-foot-5 righty, who turned 24 on Friday, has built up to a career-high 66 innings after missing parts of 2021 and 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In addition to bat-missing stuff in his mid-90s fastball and hard-biting slider, Wilcox excels at generating weak contact (55 percent groundball rate).
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Rays' Cole Wilcox: Excelling at Double-A
Rotowire
Wilcox has a 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 16:3 K:BB in 12 innings through three starts for Double-A Montgomery.
The 23-year-old righty skipped over High-A completely, as he pitched in rookie ball and at Single-A after returning last season from September 2021 Tommy John surgery. Wilcox has been dominant in his first exposure to upper-level hitting, as his 28.3 K-BB% is in line with his figures from the lower levels. He will need to be added to the 40-man roster in December, and it's looking like he could be big-league ready sooner than expected.
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Rays' Cole Wilcox: Rejoins Single-A affiliate
Rotowire
Single-A Charleston reinstated Wilcox (elbow) from its 60-day injured list Tuesday.
Wilcox has been cleared to join Charleston for the first time in 2022 after recently wrapping up a three-appearance rehab assignment in the rookie-level Florida Complex League. The right-hander had been on the shelf all season while recovering from the Tommy John surgery he required last September.
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Rays' Cole Wilcox: Kicks off rehab assignment
Rotowire
Wilcox (elbow) began a rehab assignment Monday with the Rays' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate and struck out two while allowing one hit and one walk in a scoreless inning.
Wilcox faced five batters in his 2022 debut and in his first outing since undergoing Tommy John surgery last September. Given that pitchers typically require at least a 12-month recovery from the procedure, Wilcox wasn't expected to take the mound in 2022, but he evidently recovered at a faster rate than the Rays anticipated. He's still likely to require several outings in the FCL before reporting to Single-A Charleston, where he finished the 2021 campaign.
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Rays' Cole Wilcox: Undergoes Tommy John surgery
Rotowire
Wilcox underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Wilcox, who joined the Rays over the winter in the Blake Snell trade, cruised to a 2.03 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 10 starts for Low-A Charleston to begin the season, striking out 52 batters while walking just five. He hasn't pitched since late June due to an elbow strain. Tommy John surgery typically carries a recovery time of more than 12 months, so it's likely he doesn't pitch again until 2023, though some fall or winter action next season is possible if he's on the shorter end of the timeline.
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Rays' Cole Wilcox: Out with elbow strain
Rotowire
Wilcox has been sidelined since June 27 with an elbow strain, J.J. Cooper of Baseball America reports.
Given the nature of the injury, it seems highly unlikely we see Wilcox pitching in games again this year. If he can avoid surgery, he could be ready for spring training in 2022. It's a shame, because Wilcox got off to an excellent start to his pro career, logging a 2.03 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 52 strikeouts in 44.1 innings (10 starts) with Low-A Charleston. He turned 22 in July, so he will be a bit behind schedule when he does return to game action.
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Rays' Cole Wilcox: Out with undisclosed injury
Rotowire
Wilcox is on the injured list at Low-A Charleston with an undisclosed injury.
He was excellent through 10 starts, logging a 2.03 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 52 strikeouts in 44.1 innings. Wilcox was pulled after 2.1 perfect innings with five strikeouts on June 27, so he may have suffered an arm injury during that start.
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Rays' Cole Wilcox: Deal in place with Rays
Rotowire
Wilcox is set to be traded from the Padres to the Rays in exchange for left-hander Blake Snell, pending a review of medical records, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.
Wilcox signed a record $3.3 million deal with the Padres after he was selected with the 80th overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft, and he spent the entire season at the team's alternate training site. The right-hander should get his first chance to play in the minors in 2021 as part of the Rays organization, where he'll work to develop his plus slider and plus changeup after a somewhat inconsistent performance at Georgia.
