Daulton Jefferies

Daulton Compton Jefferies (born August 2, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization. He played college baseball for the California Golden Bears. He was selected by the Athletics with the 37th overall pick of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft and he made his major league debut in 2020.

Daulton Jefferies
Oakland Athletics
Pitcher
Born: (1995-08-02) August 2, 1995
Merced, California, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 12, 2020, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Win–loss record2–8
Earned run average5.75
Strikeouts37
Teams

Amateur 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 the Most Valuable Player award in the Central California Conference after pitching to a 8–0 win–loss record with a 1.26 earned run average and putting up a .366/.480/.505 slash line. In Jefferies's senior season, he went 10-2 with a 0.92 earned run average and a school-record 142 strikeouts, again taking home the conference's Most Valuable Player award.[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 earned run average 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 earned run average, 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]

Professional career

Jefferies was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 37th overall pick of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[6] He spent his first professional season with the AZL Athletics where he posted a 2.38 earned run average 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 earned run average 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.

On May 20, 2022, Jefferies was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, and was sidelined indefinitely.[11] On September 11, Jefferies underwent Tommy John surgery to repair UCL damage in his right elbow. The surgery prematurely ended his 2022 season, and wiped out his 2023 season as well.[12] He was outrighted off the roster on November 14, 2022.

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.[13]

Personal life

Jefferies is the nephew of former major league pitcher Blas Minor, and his older brother Jake was a catcher in the minor leagues for both the Miami Marlins' and Tampa Bay Rays' organizations.[14]

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. 12 June 2016. 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. "A's starter Daulton Jefferies diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome". sfchronicle.com. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  12. "Athletics' Daulton Jefferies: Gets Tommy John surgery". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  13. Burkhart, Jesse (February 22, 2016). "Cal's Daulton Jefferies Shows First-Round Potential in Opener". FanGraphs.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  14. "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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