Connor Jones (baseball)

Connor Wesley Jones (born October 10, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

Connor Jones
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher
Born: (1994-10-10) October 10, 1994
Hartford, Connecticut
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Career

Jones attended Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Virginia.[1] During his high school career he went 22–3 with a 1.68 earned run average (ERA).[2][3] Jones was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 21st round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign and attended the University of Virginia to play college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers.[4]

Jones spent his freshman year at Virginia mostly pitching out of the bullpen.[5] He appeared in 25 games with one start and went 4–1 with a 3.13 ERA, 40 strikeouts and one save.[6] As a sophomore in 2015, Jones became a starter and eventually became Virginia's ace after an injury to Nathan Kirby.[7] He started the first game of the 2015 College World Series against Vanderbilt and took the loss after giving up four runs in ​6 1⁄3 innings.[8] Overall, he started 18 games, going 7–3 with a 3.19 ERA and 113 strikeouts.[9] After the season, he played for the United States collegiate national team.[10] Jones returned as Virginia's number one starter his junior year in 2016.[11] In 15 starts, he was 11-1 with a 2.34 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

Jones was selected in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft in the second round by the St. Louis Cardinals. He signed for $1.1 million, was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Cardinals, and was later promoted to the State College Spikes. He finished 2016 with a combined 3.68 ERA in 11 relief appearances between both teams. Jones began 2017 with the Palm Beach Cardinals, and after posting an 8-5 record and 3.97 ERA in 24 games (21 starts), he was promoted to the Springfield Cardinals in September. He pitched 6.2 innings of two run ball in his only start with Springfield.[12]

Jones began 2018 with Springfield. He was placed on the disabled list retroactive to April 16 and he was activated on May 6. He spent a majority of the year with Springfield, going 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 22 games (17 starts). He also started four games for the Memphis Redbirds, compiling a 6.46 ERA.[13] After the season, the Cardinals assigned Jones to the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League (AFL).[14]

References
  1. Frankenberry, Jami (April 28, 2013). "Great Bridge's Jones wows scouts". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  2. Wood, Norm (February 12, 2014). "Virginia's Connor Jones works on mental approach entering freshman season". Daily Press. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  3. Ramspacher, Andrew (March 14, 2014). "Jones as good as advertised for UVa baseball team". The Daily Progress- Cavalier Insider. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  4. Robinson, Tom (February 13, 2014). "G. Bridge grad happy choosing U.Va. over pro baseball". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  5. Ratcliffe, Jerry (April 19, 2014). "Ratcliffe: Freshman pitcher Jones thriving in first year at UVa". The Daily Progress- Cavalier Insider. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  6. Rampascher, Andrew (May 27, 2015). "University of Virginia's ace Connor Jones recovers from freshman struggles". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  7. Khurshudyan, Isabelle (June 4, 2015). "Connor Jones steps up in time to carry Virginia in NCAA baseball tournament". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  8. Herndon, Mike (June 22, 2015). "College World Series 2015: Carson Fulmer is lights-out in a 5-1 Vanderbilt win". Alabama. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  9. Wood, Norm (February 24, 2016). "U.Va.'s Jones sets aside distractions of MLB future, focuses on ace role". Daily Press. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  10. "UVA ace Connor Jones named to U.S. Collegiate National Team". Augusta Free Press. June 3, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  11. Jones takes command in Cavaliers' rotation
  12. "Connor Jones Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  13. "Connor Jones Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  14. https://kmox.radio.com/articles/st-louis-cardinals-prospect-arizona-fall-league
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.