Jacob Wild pitching for the University of the Pacific. Credit: University of the Pacific

Paul over at Paul's Random Baseball Stuff brings us up to date on the latest Bears signing, right-handed pitcher Jacob Wild who hails from Kingsburg, California. Prior to signing with the Bears, Wild had spent his entire career in the lower levels of the Seattle Mariners farm system after he was drafted by the organization in the 26th round of the 2007 Draft. Soon after signing in 2007, the pitcher made an immediate impact with the Rookie League Mariners in Peoria by posting an ERA of 1.88 in 48 innings pitched. His strong rookie performance earned him the honor of being named the 2007 Peoria Most Valuable Pitcher. In 2008, Wild advanced to the Mariners' Class A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (try saying that three times fast!) where he made 9 starts and pitched to an ERA of 3.67.

As a result of solid numbers at the higher level Wild was promoted again mid-season; this time to the Class A+ High Desert Mavericks of the California League for the second half of the season. It is there where things began to unravel. In 26.1 innings, the 6'5" pitcher allowed 23 runs, which resulted in a ballooned ERA of 7.18. Wild remained with the Mavericks and had a much better time on the mound going (6-8), primarily as a starter, with a 4.09 ERA in 132 innings pitched.

Last year, Wild logged 117 innings between Seattle's Class A+ and Class AA affiliates while still struggling to be effective before his departure from the ball club.

I have no idea how his numbers will translate over in the Can-Am League, which some say is similar to the level of play in the affiliated Class AA league (i.e. Trenton Thunder and Binghamton Mets). If that's the case, it's really an unknown because Wild has only pitched in 4.2 innings to date, all of which came last season.

While his stats sheet isn't all that flashy, with the exception of his rookie season of course, I do feel that Wild has a shot to play an important role with this year's Bears ball club. Like teammate, Burt Reynolds, who I profiled earlier in the week, Wild is still relatively young at 26 years of age so the developmental process is still ongoing.

Throughout his career Wild has worked as both a starter and a reliever so he could really slot into either role with Newark. To me, it appears that Wild has had more success pitching out of the bullpen so perhaps he could be the late inning swing-man / spot-start option for the Bears, similar to the role that D.J. Carrasco was supposed to fill this year in Queens when he signed a two-year deal with the Mets.

I suppose we'll get a better idea of Wild's role with the team once Spring Training begins in just a few short weeks. In the meantime, check out Jacob Wild's career stats courtesy of Baseball Reference: