GRAND CHUTE — On July 9, Wake Forest third baseman Brock Wilken was waiting to hear his name called in the 2023 MLB draft.
He didn’t wait long as the Brewers took him No. 18 overall and less than one month later, he’s with the Timber Rattlers at the High-A level trying to make his way to the major leagues.
“It’s a different game. It’s a transition,” Wilken said. “A lot of the guys have to go through this. It’s a part of the game and going through the transition has been fun. Mingling with the guys and being a part of the team has been fun so far.”
Going into the draft, the Brewers were a team low on his radar. Wilken didn’t envision he would be going to Milwaukee as some other teams showed more interest in him.
“I’m really glad it happened this way,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason. I’m really proud to put on this jersey everyday and call myself a Brewer.”
The Brewers haven’t given Wilken a timeline on when they expect him to move throughout their farm system and he’s A-Okay with that.
“That’s kind of how I want it anyways,” the Wake Forest product said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself and have expectations of, ‘I need to be here at this time’ and I feel like that puts too much pressure on myself and everything else goes poorly. There’s no timeline and I think it’s better that way.”
A guy who started with the Timber Rattlers last year and is now in the major is Sal Frelick. Wilken would like to follow that timeline.
“He was a college pick and he was a pretty high pick – b eing able to move through the ranks in a couple years is what I’m trying to do,” said Wilken. “It’s a guy I look up to and kind of model him and so being able to be one of those guys, it’s very refreshing.”
As for coming to Appleton, Wilken says it reminds him of the area around Wake Forest in North Carolina and coach Ayrault reminds him of Demon Deacons head coach Tom Walter.
“He’s the man,” the first round pick said.”I love Joe. Being able to play for such a players’ guy is really important to me. I love going out there to play and if he puts me in the lineup everyday, I’m super grateful to go out there and play everyday.”
Now, Wilken is ready to put in the work and bring his high energy to the Timber Rattlers.
“I come out there with energy,” he said. “A lot of different energy, especially coming from that college level. There’s a lot more energy at the college level than there is here. Being able to come out here and play with energy and come out and play hard every single day, that’s the biggest thing I want to bring to the table for myself.”
