Charlotte Pitchers AJ Wilson And Ryan Degges Drafted Into MLB
AJ Wilson and Ryan Degges were both selected by the Philadelphia Phillies on day three of the 2024 MLB Draft on Tuesday afternoon (July 16).
Wilson was taken in the 12th round with the 372nd overall pick while Degges was selected five rounds later in the 17th round with the 522nd pick. It’s the first time since 2017 that two Niners have been selected by the same team in one draft and the seventh total time it has happened in program history.
The two relievers make it four years in a row that the Charlotte 49ers baseball program has had a selection in the MLB Draft and brings the program record up to 68 total draft picks. Wilson and Degges also represent the first Niners ever to be drafted by Philadelphia and join last year’s free-agent signing Paxton Thompson and three-time All-CUSA selection Joey Hammond as the only Niners to be in the Phillies’ organization.
With the Phillies off the board, CLT has had a player selected in the MLB Draft by every current MLB organization except for the Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics.
AJ Wilson • LHP • Rd. 12, Pick 372 • Philadelphia Phillies
Wilson is coming off of one of the most dominant performances by a relief pitcher in program history after setting the program record with a 13.04 K/9 ratio this season after a team-high 86 strikeouts in 59.1 innings of action while leading the team with 27 appearances. He ranked fifth in the American Athletic Conference for total strikeouts and was second in the league in K/9 while ranking 17th in the country. He also had a 1.20 WHIP to rank fifth in the AAC in that category as well. Wilson was named to the Honor Roll on March 18 this season after fanning 14 batters in 6.2 innings over three games that week without allowing a run and only giving up one hit and one walk. He was also featured twice on D1Baseball’s Top 50 Relievers list this season, peaking at No. 15 in the Week Six Rankings.
Ryan Degges • RHP • Rd. 17, Pick 522 • Philadelphia Phillies
Degges was in his first season in the Queen City in 2024 and made an impact immediately – finishing third on the team with 24 appearances this year. He was one of just four CLT arms to cross the 50-strikeout threshold with 51 Ks in 42.2 innings of work. Three times he fanned at least five batters in an outing, including a career day against Rice with nine strikeouts to get the win in relief. He pitched 5.2 innings against the Owls for the win and gave up one unearned run on two hits with three walks while getting his nine strikeouts. His performance against Rice garnered him a spot on D1Baseball’s Top 100 Pitchers of the Week for Week 12.