College pitchers couldn’t stop Kings Mountain High School graduate Will Wilson.

Each year as an infielder at North Carolina State University, he kept getting better and better.

Professional pitchers couldn’t stop the power-hitting infielder either, as, after being drafted in the first round of the MLB draft by the Angels, he made an impressive minor league debut with the Orem Owlz last summer.

Even an off-season trade to the San Francisco Giants couldn’t slow him down, as he went immediately from being a top prospect for the Angels to equally lofty status with his new organization.

But when March arrived and with it spring training at the Giants’ site in Scottsdale, Arizona, Williams hit an immovable object — the shutdown of professional baseball due to the threat posed by COVID-19.

For a short time, professional baseball considered keeping its young athletes together at training sites around the country. When that idea was abandoned, Wilson, like everyone else, headed home.

"Personally it’s been good. It’s been nice to see my (newborn) niece and spend time with her and go to see my grandparents," said Wilson, who is riding out the COVID-19 pandemic with his wife and her family in North Carolina.

"But professionally," he continued, "it’s really tough. They canceled spring training, we missed opening day. We were supposed to be amping it up right now, not back in the offseason."

The adjustment to the baseball shutdown came just a few months after Wilson had to adjust to being a Giant rather than an Angel.

"I was taking a nap on the couch when they called me (about the trade). I was the first person they let know, actually. I was very appreciative of that," said Wilson. "I think I’m with a better organization now. The Angels like to take guys out of high school and mold them to their system. Being a college guy with some years playing, I think I fit the Giants model better."

Prior to the March shutdown, Wilson got to experience some professional baseball with his new team. He played the back end of two games with the Giants early in spring training, giving him his first real taste of big league play.

"(The games) were phenomenal. Getting to go up there and see that and watch everybody do their business kind of puts into perspective what kind of routine and process it takes to get there. Seeing that was a good thing for me to experience this early," he said.

"It’s unbelievable. You get out there and you realize like at any other level it’s the same game. It’s just a little quicker and the guys are better but it’s the same game you’ve played since you were 3 years old."

Following his experience with in the major league camp, Wilson played a game in minor league camp with the Flying Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the Giants.

In that game he went 1-2 at the plate with a single and a walk.

If the shutdown has a positive side for Wilson, other than getting to spend time with his family, it is the new appreciation it has given him for baseball and how fortunate he has been.

"It really does bring into perspective how great it is to get to play this game. I’m playing this game I played as a kid for a living now," he said.

When the baseball season does eventually start, Wilson expects to join the High-A affiliate of the Giants, the San Jose Giants, as he begins his climb up the Giants’ organizational ladder.

Until that can happen, Wilson said he's doing everything he can to stay in top shape.

He's said he has retooled his off-season workouts to be more like what he would be doing during the year.

Before they were shut down, Wilson had also gone to his alma mater and to the YMCA for weight lifting and cardio.

"As of right now the Giants complex is shut down, I think some of the coaches might be there but that’s it. If that were to open up I want to get up there and take advantage of that, but until then I’m doing everything I can at home," he said.

Dustin George can be reached at 704-669-3337 or Dustin.George@ShelbyStar.com. Find him on Twitter @DustinatTheStar.