T. J. Zeuch

Timothy James Zeuch (/zɔɪk/ ZOYK;[1] born August 1, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Pittsburgh Panthers, and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He is ranked 27th on MLB's 2021 Top 30 Blue Jays prospects list.[2]

T. J. Zeuch
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 35
Pitcher
Born: (1995-08-01) August 1, 1995
Mason, Ohio
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 3, 2019, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through September 21, 2020)
Win–loss record2–2
Earned run average3.71
Strikeouts23
Teams

High school and college

Zeuch attended Mason High School in Mason, Ohio. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 31st round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and attended the University of Pittsburgh to play college baseball for the Panthers.[3][4]

As a freshman at Pittsburgh in 2014, Zeuch appeared in 15 games and made nine starts. He pitched to a 2–6 win–loss record with a 2.75 earned run average (ERA) and 41 strikeouts. As a sophomore, he started 14 games, going 5–6 with a 3.87 ERA and 90 strikeouts. After the 2015 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5] Zeuch missed the first month of his junior year due to a strained groin.[6][7] He finished the year with a 6–1 record, 3.10 ERA, and 74 strikeouts in 69​2⁄3 innings.[8]

Professional career

Minor leagues

Zeuch was considered a top prospect heading into the 2016 draft, and was selected 21st overall by the Toronto Blue Jays.[9] He signed with the Blue Jays on June 17 for $2.175 million,[10][11] and was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. Zeuch made his professional debut on July 9, striking out two and not allowing a baserunner in three innings, before being promoted to the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League on July 13.[12][13] On August 29, Zeuch was promoted to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts.[14] He finished the season with a combined 0–2 record, 4.50 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched.[12] Zeuch was assigned to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays for the 2017 season. He battled injuries that limited him to just 65​2⁄3 innings, and finished the season with a 3–6 record, 3.56 ERA, and 51 strikeouts.[12]

Zeuch started the 2018 season in Dunedin, where he went 3–3 with a 3.47 ERA before being promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats.[12] On June 4 he pitched the first shutout.[15]

In 2019 Zeuch went to spring training with the Major League Blue Jays, but in February he suffered a strained lat muscle and did not pitch for about 3 months.[16] After several appearances with Dunedin in June, on June 22 he was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and was immediately inserted into the starting rotation.[17] On August 19, Zeuch threw a no-hitter against the Rochester Red Wings,[18] and in doing so became the first Bison to throw a no-hitter since Bartolo Colón in 1997.[19]

2019

The Blue Jays selected Zeuch's contract and promoted him to the major leagues on September 3, 2019.[20] He made his debut that night in relief in the second inning of the Blue Jays' game against the Atlanta Braves. The first batter he faced was Tyler Flowers, who grounded out; later that inning he struck out Mike Foltynewicz for his first career strikeout. In all, Zeuch pitched four innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts.[21] Zeuch earned his first major league win on September 15, pitching 5​1⁄3 innings in relief, striking out five and allowing two earned runs in a 6–4 Blue Jays win over the New York Yankees.[22]

Zeuch's rookie season ended with a 1–2 record and a 4.76 ERA in five games pitched.[23]

2020

During spring training 2020, Zeuch was optioned to AAA in Buffalo. Once the 2020 Major League regular season got underway in late July (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Zeuch was assigned to the alternate training site in Rochester, N.Y.

On September 17, Zeuch was called up to the majors. In his first relief appearance the next day, he pitched 3 innings, giving up 1 run against the New York Yankees.[24]

Three days later, again vs. the Yankees, Zeuch pitched 3.1 innings of 1-run, 1-hit, 1-walk relief to record his second career win.[25]

He was the starting pitcher in the Blue Jays' next-to-last game of the regular season and he pitched 5 scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles. He did not get a decision in the Blue Jays' 5-2 win.[26]

Zeuch finished the regular season with a 1-0 record and an ERA of 1.59 in 11.1 innings pitched, allowing 9 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts.[27]

Personal life

T.J. Zeuch is the son of Tim and Lisa Zeuch.[28] His father played in the Kansas City Royals organization, pitching in two games in 1980.[29][30]

On November 17, 2018. Zeuch married Lindsay Wilson in Pittsburgh.[31]

References
  1. Nicholson-Smith, Ben. "Blue Jays select RHP T.J. Zeuch with first-round draft pick," Sportsnet.ca, Thursday, June 9, 2016.
  2. "MLB 2021 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  3. "Mason's Zeuch gets the Royals treatment".
  4. "Mason pitcher headed to Pittsburgh".
  5. "Timothy Zeuch". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  6. DiPaola, Jerry. "Pitt ace Zeuch projected to be Pirates' top pick in MLB Draft".
  7. Brink, Bill (May 27, 2016). "As draft approaches, hometown considerations inherent for Pirates, others". post-gazette.com. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  8. "T.J. Zeuch Bio". pittsburghpanthers.com. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  9. Nicholson-Smith, Ben (June 9, 2016). "Blue Jays select RHP T.J. Zeuch with first round draft pick". Sportsnet. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  10. "Toronto Blue Jays 2016 Draft Results". MLB.com. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  11. Nicholson-Smith, Ben (June 17, 2016). "Blue Jays to sign first-round draft pick T.J. Zeuch". Sportsnet. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  12. "TJ Zeuch Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  13. "John Lott on Twitter". Twitter. July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  14. Goldberg-Strassler, Jesse (August 29, 2016). "Lugnuts welcome 2016 first-rounder Zeuch". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  15. Wilson, Mike (June 4, 2018). "T.J. Zeuch throws first career shutout with Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate". cardiachill.com. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  16. RotoWire Staff (February 14, 2019). "Blue Jays' T.J. Zeuch: Sidelined with lat injury". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  17. RotoWire Staff (June 24, 2019). "Blue Jays' T.J. Zeuch: Back with Triple-A club". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  18. "Bisons vs. Red Wings Box Score 08/19/19". MiLB.com. August 19, 2019. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  19. "Blue Jays prospect T.J. Zeuch throws no-hitter for triple-A Buffalo". August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  20. Scott Springer (September 3, 2019). "Mason's T.J. Zeuch makes MLB debut for Toronto Blue Jays against Atlanta Braves". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  21. Rob Longley (September 3, 2019). "Blue Jays first-rounder T.J. Zeuch solid in defeat in big-league debut". Toronto Sun. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  22. Davidi, Shi (September 15, 2019). "Pushed behind an opener, Zeuch shows growth in Blue Jays win over Yankees". Sportsnet. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  23. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/z/zeuchtj01.shtml
  24. https://www.espn.com/mlb/player/_/id/40941/t.j.-zeuch
  25. https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/blue-jays-t-j-zeuch-picks-up-win-in-long-relief/
  26. https://www.mlb.com/news/t-j-zeuch-five-shutout-innings-vs-orioles
  27. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/z/zeuchtj01.shtml
  28. "T.J. Zeuch Bio". pittsburghpanthers.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  29. Davidi, Shi (June 12, 2016). "Blue Jays minimize risk with emphasis on college draft picks". Sportsnet. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  30. "Timothy Zeuch Register Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRYZK5PZjRY
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