Jake Fishman

Fishman was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Hutch Fishman and Cindy Layton, and is Jewish.[2][3][4]

Fishman attended Sharon High School in Massachusetts, where he was an outfielder and pitcher.[5] He was captain of his high school baseball team during both his junior and senior years.[3] The now-6'-3" pitcher said he was only 5' 7" until he had a 7-inch growth spurt in his junior year.[6] In his senior year he was named to the Hockomock League All-Star First Team, was runner-up to be the Hockomock League MVP, and was named to the Massachusetts All-Star Team.[3][7] He graduated in 2013.[8]

Undrafted out of high school, Fishman didn't receive an NCAA Division I offer.[9] Fishman then attended NCAA Division III Union College for three years.[3]

In his freshman season, he pitched to a 7–0 win–loss record with a 2.29 earned run average (ERA) and 49 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched. Fishman was named Division III Upstate Baseball Pitcher of the Week after pitching a no-hitter in his second college start on March 29, 2014.[10] Fishman also played first base and designated hitter and batted for Union, hitting .400 with 24 runs batted in (RBI) and 12 stolen bases.[3][11] In the off-season, he played for the Brockton Rox of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.[5] In 2015, Fishman went 4–2 with a 1.48 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 42​²⁄₃ innings. At the plate, he hit .477 with 23 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.[3] He was named to the NCAA 2015 Academic All-District 3 Baseball Team as a designated hitter, with a 3.32 GPA and a major in Managerial Economics.[12] He was also named a 2015 Jewish Sports Review College Baseball All-American with, among others, first baseman Simon Rosenbaum and first baseman/outfielder Jeremy Wolf.[13]

In his junior, and final, season with the Dutchmen, in 2016 Fishman led all of college baseball with a 0.41 ERA, and had a 7–0 record with 85 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.[3] He threw a fastball in the low-90s.[14] He also batted .361 with 14 RBIs. At the end of the season he was named the Liberty League's Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, and All-Liberty League First Team both as a pitcher and as a utility player.[15][16] Fishman was also selected to the 2016 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, the only NCAA Division III baseball player named to the list.[17] He was the first Union player to receive D3baseball.com All-American honors at pitcher, and was chosen as an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Second-Team All-American at utility.[18] In his three years pitching for Union, he went 18-2 with a 1.36 ERA, and as a hitter he batted .410.[4][19]

After the college season, he pitched during the summer for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League.[18] Fishman planned to continue attending classes for his Union College degree in the fall of 2016, and to finish his degree requirements.[20][14]

Fishman was selected in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.[21][1] In being selected, he became the first Union College player to be taken in an MLB draft.[22] He signed with the Blue Jays on June 17, for a signing bonus of $50,000 and payment of his senior year tuition, approximately $65,000.[15][23][14]

Fishman was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. In seven appearances, including one start, he posted a 0–1 record, 4.80 ERA, and 13 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched.[21] He was promoted to the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Rookie Appalachian League on August 20, but did not appear for the team before the end of the season.[24][21]

In 2017, Fishman pitched one scoreless inning for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, pitched in 14 relief appearances for the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A- Northwest League for whom he was 1-0 with 1 save and a 1.17 ERA and 4 walks and 23 strikeouts in 23 innings, and pitched four times in relief for the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League, for whom he was 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA and zero walks and 15 strikeouts in 6.2 innings.[25]

Fishman began the 2018 season pitching for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, for whom he was 2-3 with 8 saves (10th in the league) and a 2.68 ERA, as in 44 games (tied for 2nd in the league) he pitched 57 innings, walked 11, and struck out 56 batters, as he had the best WHIP on the team.[26][27] He pitched in one game for the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League, pitching 1.1 perfect innings with one strikeout.[28] Blue Jays pitching coordinator Jeff Ware described Fishman as "the kind of pitcher that gives lefties nightmares at the dish."[29]

In 2019, Fishman pitched for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Class AA Eastern League.[30] He was 1-1 with 4 saves and a 3.45 ERA in 42 relief appearances (tops on the team), as he pitched 62.2 innings with 74 strikeouts (averaging 10.6 strikeouts per 9 innings), and induced ground balls 50.9% of the time.[30][31]

Fishman was on the roster to play for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in South Korea.[32] Team Israel coach Jerry Weinstein had been Fishman's coach when he played for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League in 2016.[4]

In November 2019, he obtained Israeli citizenship so that he could play for Team Israel in baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[33]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Jake Fishman on Twitter
• "Jake Fishman Interview w/ Brian Cady," Sporty 1240 AM, April 21, 2016