DJ LeMahieu

DJ LeMahieu
LeMahieu with the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies – No. 9
Second baseman
Born: (1988-07-13) July 13, 1988
Visalia, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 30, 2011, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Batting average .298
Hits 1,026
Home runs 49
Runs batted in 349
Stolen bases 75
Teams
Career highlights and awards

David John LeMahieu (/ləˈmeɪhjuː/; born July 13, 1988) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. He was the second round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2009 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut for the Cubs in 2011 before being traded to the Rockies. LeMahieu won a Gold Glove Award in 2014 and 2017, was named an MLB All-Star in 2015 and 2017, and won the National League batting title in 2016.

Early life and career

LeMahieu was born in Visalia, California.[1] His family moved to Michigan, where he played shortstop and pitcher for the Brother Rice High School Warriors in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. In his senior year, as a leadoff hitter he hit .574 with eight home runs, 16 doubles, seven triples, 70 runs, 32 RBI and 39 stolen bases. In 92 at-bats as a senior, LeMahieu struck out twice. His career average in high school was .459 with 201 hits. As a junior, he was an Aflac All-American. He was also a two-time Gatorade player of the year and Louisville Slugger Player of the Year for the State of Michigan.

After his senior year at Rice, he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 2007 MLB draft in the 41st round. He did not sign with the Tigers so that he could attend college.

College career

LeMahieu enrolled at Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college baseball for the LSU Tigers. He helped lead LSU to the 2009 National Championship. LeMahieu was selected to the 2009 College World Series All-Tournament team. He hit .444 in the series leading all players in the series with 12 hits. LeMahieu's biggest hit was a 2 run double with two outs in the 9th inning of the first game in the championship series against Texas. LeMahieu then walked in the 11th and scored the go-ahead run.

As a freshman at LSU, he started in 67 of 68 games. For the 2008 season, he hit .337 overall, and helped LSU reach the NCAA post-season play for the first time since 2005. In the post-season, he was selected to the All-Tournament team for the Baton Rouge regional after hitting .300 and scoring 7 runs during the regional. During his sophomore campaign, LeMahieu started 72 of the 73 games LSU played. He led the team in batting average .350 and hits with 96. He had a 25-game hitting streak spanning the last 16 games of 2008 and the first 9 games of 2009.

As a member of the LSU baseball program, LeMahieu participated in the 2008 and 2009 College World Series. LeMahieu was named a pre-season All American by Collegiate Baseball prior to the 2009 season. He was also named the No. 6 prospect in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2008 by Baseball America magazine. In 2009, he led the LSU Tigers to the NCAA National Championship and was named to the 2009 College World Series All-Tournament Team.[2]

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs selected LeMahieu in the second round, with the 79th overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He played for the Cubs affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, in 2009 for a brief stint after the Draft. In 38 games, he hit .316 with 30 RBIs. He spent the 2010 season with Chicago's High-level A affiliate, the Daytona Cubs, batting .314 with 73 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 135 games.[4]

LeMahieu began the 2011 season with the Tennessee Smokies of the Class AA Southern League. On May 30, the Cubs promoted LeMahieu to the major leagues when Jeff Baker was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain.[5] That day, LeMahieu made his major league debut pinch-hitting for the pitcher John Grabow, grounding into a double play. He did not stay in the game, a 12-7 loss to the Houston Astros. The Cubs demoted LeMahieu to the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in June. He returned to the major leagues in September.[6]

Colorado Rockies

On December 8, 2011, the Cubs traded LeMahieu and Tyler Colvin to the Colorado Rockies for Casey Weathers and Ian Stewart.[7] On May 23, 2012, he was called up to the major league to replace injured Jonathan Herrera as a utility infielder.

On August 14, 2012, he recorded a career-best four hits in a 9-6 Rockies win over the Milwaukee Brewers. In his first game against his former team, the Chicago Cubs, LeMahieu registered three hits in four at-bats.

LeMahieu had an excellent season defensively in 2014, finishing with an Ultimate Zone Rating of 11.0, which was first in the National League and third in the majors. His Defensive Runs Saved rating was 16 runs[8] and he led the majors with 99 double plays.[9] He won his first Gold Glove in 2014.[9] He was selected to the National League roster for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

In 2016, LeMahieu won the National League batting title after batting .439 in August and .363 in September.[10] His .348 season average led all of Major League Baseball.

In 2017, he won his second Gold Glove,[11] and the Fielding Bible Award for all major league second basemen.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu's consistency is his strength – The Denver Post". Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Former LSU infielder DJ LeMahieu signs with Chicago Cubs". Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Mitchell, LeMahieu Taken in First Rounds of MLB Draft". Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  4. ↑ "DJ LeMahieu Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com". Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ "DJ LeMahieu promoted to Chicago Monday - MiLB.com News - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Colvin, LeMahieu Traded to Colorado - MiLB.com News - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (February 25, 2017). "With Each Hit, Rockies' D.J. LeMahieu Shows Cubs' Epstein What He Gave Up On". Retrieved February 27, 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  8. ↑ Milnes, Jay (February 11, 2015). "State of the position: Second base is DJ LeMahieu's spot to lose in 2015". SB Nation. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Saunders, Patrick (November 4, 2014). "Rockies DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado win Gold Gloves". The Denver Post. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ "DJ LeMahieu » Splits » 2016 » Batting - FanGraphs Baseball".
  11. ↑ Saunders, Patrick (November 7, 2017). "Rockies' Nolan Arenado wins 5th Gold Glove; DJ LeMahieu snares his second". Denver Post. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ Harding, Thomas (October 30, 2017). "Arenado, LeMahieu win Fielding Bible Awards". MLB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
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