Jake Odorizzi

Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi with the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 23
Starting pitcher
Born: (1990-03-27) March 27, 1990
Breese, Illinois
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 23, 2012, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Win–loss record 30–30
Earned run average 3.75
Strikeouts 516
Teams

Jacob Todd "Jake" Odorizzi (born March 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2012 with the Kansas City Royals.

Amateur career

Odorizzi attended Highland High School in Highland, Illinois, where he led the Highland Bulldogs to the Illinois state championship.[1][2]

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

Odorizzi was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. He had a 9–9 record, a 3.68 earned run average and 197 strikeouts in the Milwaukee Brewers system. He played for the Arizona Brewers (2008), Helena Brewers (2009) and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (2010).

Kansas City Royals

On December 17, 2010, the Brewers traded Odorizzi, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Lorenzo Cain to the Royals for Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt.[3] Baseball America ranked Odorizzi as the 69th best prospect in baseball prior to the 2011 season[4] and the 23rd best prospect at midseason.[5] After the 2011 season, he was named the fifth best prospect in the Double-A Texas League.[6] He was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.[7] Odorizzi split time in 2012 between the Royals Double-A affiliate Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, posting an overall record of 15-5 and a 3.03 ERA.[8] On September 16, 2012, the Royals purchased Odorizzi's contract from Class AAA Omaha.[9] He made two starts for the team before season's end.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 9, 2012, the Royals traded Odorizzi to the Tampa Bay Rays (along with Mike Montgomery, Patrick Leonard and Wil Myers) in exchange for James Shields and Wade Davis.[10] He was optioned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls on March 12. In early May, he threw a combined no-hitter for the Bulls against the Pawtucket Red Sox. He was recalled by the Rays on May 20 to start in Toronto against the Blue Jays.[11] He was sent back to the Bulls on May 29. He was recalled on August 29 for a start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and optioned back to Durham the next day. He was recalled on September 20.

During June 21 game his team won 8-0 against Houston Astros during which game he scored one hit and 10 strikeouts.[12]

Pitching style

Odorizzi throws five pitches. He leads with a four-seam fastball at 91–93 mph. He also has a cutter (mid 80s), slider (low 80s), splitter (baseball) (mid 80s), and curveball (low-mid 70s). The slider is mostly used against right-handed hitters, the changeup mostly against lefties.[13]

Scouts originally regarded his fastball as his best pitch and his changeup the least developed. With the help of Alex Cobb, Odorizzi developed "the thing": a split-change similar to Cobb's main strikeout pitch. This led to Odorizzi winning the 5th starter's job in spring training in 2014.[14][15]

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, Ken (June 7, 2008). "Odorizzi does it all for Bulldogs". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. B20. Retrieved November 16, 2011. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ Duncan, Sean (June 8, 2008). "Highland wins one for the Gifford". The Chicago Sun-Times. p. A54. Retrieved November 16, 2011. (subscription required)
  3. ↑ McCalvy, Adam (December 19, 2010). "Brewers add Greinke in deal with Royals". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Prospects: Rankings: Top 100 Prospects: 2011 Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. February 23, 2011. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Midseason Top 50 Prospects List". Baseball America. July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ Dutton, Bob (October 6, 2011). "Five Royals listed among Class AA Texas Leagues' top prospects". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  7. ↑ Jonathan Mayo (June 21, 2012). "Prospects pack rosters for Futures Game". Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  8. ↑ Kaegel, Dick (December 9, 2012). "Royals acquire Shields from Rays for prospects". MLB.com via Kansas City Royals team website. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Royals bring up RHP Jake Odorizzi from Triple-A". CNN. September 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014.
  10. ↑ Bill Chastain (December 9, 2012). "Rays deal Shields to Royals for Myers, prospects". Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  11. ↑ Silva, Drew (May 19, 2013). "Jake Odorizzi will indeed make his Rays debut on Monday". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Jake Odorizzi's self-confidence pays off with another strong June start". Fox Sports/MSN. June 21, 2014. Archived from the original on June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Jake Odorizzi". Brooks Baseball. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  14. ↑ Goldstein, Kevin (December 19, 2010). "Future Shock Blog: Scouting Jake Odorizzi". Baseball Prospectus. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Meet the Prospect: Jake Odorizzi". Roto Professor. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
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