Gregor: Sox prospect Wilkins looking to bounce back
Andy Wilkins is back on his feet this spring, and the White Sox' prospect is ready to take another run at playing in the major leagues.
Last year was a tale of two very different seasons for the 26-year-old first baseman.
Wilkins batted .293 at Class AAA Charlotte and led the International League with 30 home runs while tying for the lead with 85 RBI.
When Adam Dunn was traded to the Oakland A's on Aug. 31, Wilkins joined the Sox and got his first shot at playing in the big leagues.
Simply put, it was a miserable month of September. Wilkins played in 17 games with the White Sox and batted .140 with no home runs and 2 RBI. The left-hander also struck out 22 times in 43 at-bats.
"I was really happy getting called up," said Wilkins, a fifth-round draft pick out of Arkansas in 2010. "I had a great year in Charlotte, but it's such a delicate balance. Such a good year at Triple-A and then such a rough month in September. It's kind of hard to balance it out but ultimately, being in the big leagues is where I want to be so that's got to get better.
"I think there's a little bit of an adjustment period and maybe I expected a little too much out of myself."
In training camp with the Sox last spring, Wilkins felt some pain in his right foot but didn't think it was anything serious.
"I thought it was turf toe," he said.
Wilkins played the whole season with a bad foot and when he had it checked out by a doctor at the end of September, he was surprised by the diagnosis.
"I had a fractured bone in my right foot," Wilkins said. "I guess I should have had it looked at earlier. And since I was kind of compensating for it, I developed some plantar fasciitis in my left foot."
Wilkins is not blaming his foot injuries on his poor showing with the White Sox.
"No excuses at all," he said. "I played with it all year and did well at Triple-A, so that wasn't a determining factor."
Wilkins, who had surgery to repair the fracture, said the jump to the major leagues was an eye-opening experience.
"Guys here are just good," Wilkins said. "I learned you have to be able to hit the fastball. You've got to be ready for the fastball and you've got to hit it. These guys are going to challenge you here. I was pressing a little bit and trying to make a good impression, and that's not conducive to my kind of game. I need to be even-keeled and chilled out."
Wilkins replaced Dunn in the cleanup spot over the final month of last season, and it was an audition of sorts for 2015.
The numbers clearly showed Wilkins wasn't ready to fill the job, and the Sox went out and signed free-agent Adam LaRoche to a two-year, $25 million contract in September.
Wilkins is likely headed back to Charlotte this season, and he vows to be ready if the White Sox come calling again.
"It was definitely a learning experience for me and it's something I'll carry with me the rest of my life," Wilkins said. "Being in the big leagues is still my goal, so I just have to work on getting better and being ready to go."
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