Aaron Wilkerson

[Michael Trzinski]

It is rare that a player would require Tommy John surgery after college, go undrafted by all major league teams, and play in an Independent league before signing with a big-league club. And in the meantime, the player worked the graveyard shift stocking freezers at a large Texas grocery store chain prior to getting the call.

Aaron Daniel Wilkerson was born in Fort Worth, Texas and was an NAIA All-American pitcher at Tennessee’s Cumberland University, finishing with a record of 26-1 while pitching a record 54 consecutive scoreless innings. He discovered that he pitched his final year with a frayed UCL in his right elbow, requiring TJ surgery in 2011.

After being out of baseball for two years, Wilkerson spent time with three independent teams in 2013 before getting signed by the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in July 2014. The righty performed well for two years at all five minor league levels (A, A-, A+, AA, AAA) for Boston before getting traded to the Brewers just before the All-Star break in 2016.

Wilkerson struggled in the second half of 2016 with an ERA of 6.42 at Triple-A Colorado Springs and was bumped down to Double-A Biloxi to start the 2017 campaign. After leading the team in wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts, Wilkerson was called up to Milwaukee in September. In his major league debut on September 15 in Milwaukee against the Miami Marlins, Wilkerson pitched one inning and struck out a pair. A start on September 20 was less than stellar, but in the final regular season game, Wilkerson pitched seven innings and allowed two hits and a run while striking out five, earning his first (and to this date only) major league victory.

The following year, Wilkerson was optioned to Colorado Springs after posting an 8.22 ERA in the spring. His second time in Colorado was much better as he notched an ERA of 2.49 in 15 appearances, including 12 starts. He was called up to the Brewers in July and made only three appearances and although he rode the Milwaukee-Colorado Springs shuttle several times, did not pitch in the bigs after July 14.

Wilkerson split 2019 between Triple-A San Antonio (8-2, 3.42 ERA in 17 starts) and Milwaukee. In April, Wilkerson got his first and only MLB hit, which just happened to be a home run, off Michael Wacha of the St. Louis Cardinals. Hitting prowess be damned, Wilkerson was released by the Brewers in September.

Since 2021, Wilkerson has pitched in three big league organizations (Dodgers, A’s, Reds) but hasn’t made it back to the bigs. He played three years in Japan and South Korea before being signed by the Reds in early 2025 and is currently playing at Triple-A Louisville.

In three major league seasons, Wilkerson appeared in 14 games (three starts) with a 65 ERA+ and a FIP of 6.10.

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