Get to Know the Snappers - First Up, LHP Jason Wheeler
April 23, 2012 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Beloit Sky Carp News Release
For Beloit Snappers starting pitcher, Jason Wheeler, sports have always been "all in the family." The Minnesota Twins 8th round pick in 2011, comes from a family of athletes. His older brother, Ryan Wheeler, plays with the Reno Aces, Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks as an infielder. Both Jason and Ryan played college ball together at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Jason's mother, Heather, played basketball at UCLA, while his father, Gerald played at San Bernadino Valley.
A native of Torrance, CA, Wheeler was a two-sport athlete in high school. He was the Torrance High School Athlete of the Year as a senior, and on top of all his baseball accolades, he was named Most Outstanding Player in the Pioneer League as a senior in basketball.
"The best advice my parents gave me growing up was to not give up, I played basketball and baseball, and there came a time when I thought basketball might be my sport, but my parents encouraged me to stick it out with baseball, and I'm glad they did."
When Wheeler was drafted in 2011, he described it as, "awesome, it is something you think and dream about your whole life, it is the ultimate dream for any athlete."
Wheeler was drafted out of Loyola Marymount as a junior, however, he only has three classes left to graduate with a degree in Business Law, which he plans to complete in the fall.
So, what would you be doing if you weren't playing baseball?
I would love to be a sports agent.
What do you like to do in your free time?
"I enjoy golfing and reading, I did a lot of reading down at spring training and got really into Malcolm Gladwell books. One book I read, Outlier, was a book about how people pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from, their culture, their family, opportunities, and upbringing. Jason added, "I plan to make the most out of the opportunity the Twins have given me."
If you could play baseball with any player (dead or alive) who would it be?
I was a huge Angels fan growing up, so I would have loved to play with Mike Scioscia. Everything I've heard about Sciscia was that he was a great catcher to pitch to. Scisosia is currently the longest tenured manager in Major League Baseball.
If you could give any advice to kids trying to "make it," what would it be?
I would tell them to work hard every day. When you take a day off, there is someone out there still working, getting better. Also, you never know who is watching you.
Wheeler is in the starting pitching rotation for the Snappers, and picked up his first professional win last Friday night against the South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks Single-A Team) when the team won 13-3.
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