Daulton Jefferies

Daulton Compton Jefferies (born August 2, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He played college baseball for the California Golden Bears. He was drafted by the Miami Marlins out of high school in the 39th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft but did not sign, instead deciding to attend school at the University of California, Berkeley. After his junior year he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 37th overall pick of the 2016 MLB Draft.

Daulton Jefferies
Oakland Athletics – No. 66
Pitcher
Born: (1995-08-02) August 2, 1995
Merced, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 12, 2020, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Win–loss record0-1
Earned run average22.50
Strikeouts1
Teams

Career

Jefferies attended Buhach Colony High School in Atwater, California where he both pitched and played shortstop. As a junior in high school, Jefferies was named Central California Conference MVP after going 8–0 with a 1.26 earned run average (ERA) and putting up a .366/.480/.505 slash line. Daulton's senior season was equally as impressive as he went 10-2 with a 0.92 ERA and a school record 142 strikeouts, again taking home the Central California Conference MVP.[1] Jefferies had initially verbally committed to play baseball for Stanford University during the summer of his junior year of high school, but the offer fell through and Jefferies was forced to find another school, eventually deciding on the University of California, Berkeley.[2]

As a freshman for the California Golden Bears in 2014, Jefferies started 15 games, finishing the year 2–8 with a 3.45 ERA and 58 strikeouts in a team-high ​92 2⁄3 innings. Jefferies' sophomore season saw both his record and earned run average improve, as he appeared in 14 games, starting 13, and went 6–5 with a 2.92 ERA, enough to warrant a First Team All-Pac-12 selection.[3] The summer after his sophomore season, Jefferies was a member of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team,[4] and played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5]

Jefferies was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 37th overall pick of the 2016 MLB Draft.[6] He spent his first professional season with the AZL Athletics where he posted a 2.38 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched.[7] He pitched in only two games for the Stockton Ports in 2017 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, thus ending his season.[8] He appeared in one game in the AZL in 2018 as he continued to rehab his way back to full health. Jefferies split the 2019 season between Stockton and the Midland RockHounds, going a combined 2–2 with a 3.41 ERA over 79 innings.[9]

Jefferies was added to the Athletics 40–man roster following the 2019 season.[10] Jefferies was called up as the extra man for a doubleheader on September 12, 2020 against the Texas Rangers. It was his major league debut but it did not go well as Jefferies only lasted two innings, giving up five runs on two home runs and taking the loss.

Pitching style

Jefferies has a four pitch repertoire. His fastball has a bit of sink and sits in the low-to-mid 90s, but can top out around 96 mph. His primary off-speed pitch is his changeup which he throws in the mid-80s with good sink and fade. He also has a decent slider and a good three-quarters curveball.[11]

Personal life

Jefferies is the nephew of former MLB pitcher Blas Minor, and his older brother Jake pitched in the minor leagues for both the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays organizations.[12]

References
  1. "Daulton Jefferies MLB Draft Prospect". MLB Top Prospects. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  2. Zielinski III, Dan (February 15, 2016). "Daulton Jefferies looks to build on last season". The 3rd Man In. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  3. "Bio - Daulton Jefferies". calbears.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  4. Jordan Stepp (June 30, 2015). "Daulton Jefferies Makes USA Collegiate National Team Roster". calbears.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  5. "Daulton Jefferies - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  6. "Daulton Jefferies joins A's Cal pipeline". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  7. "Daulton Jefferies Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  8. Melissa Lockard (April 20, 2017). "Daulton Jefferies to have Tommy John surgery". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  9. Melissa Lockard (August 26, 2019). "A's minor-league notebook: Daulton Jefferies hits his goal, James Kaprielian gets loose". The Athletic. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  10. RotoWire Staff (November 20, 2019). "Athletics' Daulton Jefferies: Contract selected by Oakland". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  11. Burkhart, Jesse (February 22, 2016). "Cal's Daulton Jefferies Shows First-Round Potential in Opener". FanGraphs.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  12. "Baseball Player of the Year: Jefferies continued family's legacy at Buhach Colony". Orlando Sentinel. June 23, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
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