Jake McGee

Jacob Daniel McGee (born August 6, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2010 through 2015, and was traded to Colorado before the 2016 season.

Jake McGee
McGee with the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies – No. 51
Pitcher
Born: (1986-08-06) August 6, 1986
San Jose, California
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 14, 2010, for the Tampa Bay Rays
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Win–loss record25–22
Earned run average3.64
Strikeouts497
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
World Baseball Classic
2017 Los AngelesTeam

Early life

McGee was born in San Jose, California. He grew up in Sparks, Nevada, where he attended Edward C. Reed High School.[1] McGee was selected by Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the fifth round (135th overall) of the 2004 MLB draft.[2]

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays
McGee with the Rays in 2012

McGee made his minor league debut in 2004, and spent 2004 and 2005 with the Princeton Devil Rays and the Hudson Valley Renegades. In 2006, McGee spent the year with the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. He played with both the Vero Beach Devil Rays and the Montgomery Biscuits in 2007. he spent the entire 2008 with the Montgomery Biscuits, going 6–4 with 3.94 ERA. McGee was rated by Baseball America as the third-best organizational prospect for Tampa Bay Rays and 15th overall MLB prospect in 2008. In 2007, he was ranked 5th in the Rays' organization and 37th overall in all of baseball.[3]

McGee is nicknamed "Clockhands".[4] He earned the nickname due to his unconventional windup.[5]

McGee had Tommy John surgery on July 8, 2008.[6]

McGee was promoted to the MLB for the first time on September 14, 2010.[7] He made his MLB debut that night against the New York Yankees, walking three batters and striking out Derek Jeter for his first MLB strikeout.[8] McGee made the Rays MLB roster after spring training in 2011, but he was sent down to the team's Class AAA minor league affiliate after 11 appearances.[9]

In the last few months of the 2014 season, McGee became the Rays' closer. He finished the season with 19 saves. After undergoing elbow surgery to remove "loose bodies" in December 2014, McGee spent the early portion of the 2015 season with the Class AAA Durham Bulls.[10] He underwent knee surgery for a torn meniscus in late August, ending his season.[11]

Colorado Rockies

On January 28, 2016, McGee and Germán Márquez were traded to the Colorado Rockies for Corey Dickerson and Kevin Padlo.[12] McGee had a 4.73 ERA in the 2016 season. McGee and the Rockies avoided salary arbitration on December 3, 2016, by agreeing to a $5.9 million contract for the 2017 season.[13] In 2017, McGee had an 0-2 win-loss record, a 3.61 ERA, and three saves in 62 games.[14] The following season, McGee posted the worst season of his career, setting a career worst 6.49 ERA in 61 games. McGee bounced back in 2019, posting an ERA of 4.35 in 45 games.

On December 15, 2017, McGee signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Rockies.[14]

Personal life

Jake and Morgan McGee have been married since December 2009. As of late 2015, they live in Tampa, Florida. For the last several years, the couple has purchased Christmas presents for foster children in Reno and Tampa.[15]

References
  1. "Top Prospects: Player Profile". Web.minorleaguebaseball.com. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  2. "Jake McGee Pitching Statistics". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  3. Ballew, Bill (November 12, 2008). "Prospects: Rankings: Organization Top 10 Prospects: Tampa Bay Rays: Top 10 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  4. Kaufman, King; Tan, Cecilia, eds. (2012). Baseball Prospectus 2012. John Wiley & Sons. p. 464. ISBN 1118197690. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  5. Montgomery, William (July 17, 2011). "Rays recall former Renegade McGee from Triple-A". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  6. "Rays' Percival fumes over catwalk-aided double – St. Petersburg Times". Tampabay.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  7. Associated, The (September 14, 2010). "The Canadian Press: Rays call up lefty Jake McGee, send right-hander Mike Ekstrom to minors". Google.com. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  8. "McGee's first MLB strikeout". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  9. Little, Josh (May 2, 2011). "Jake McGee sent down to Triple-A". KOLO-TV. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  10. Chastain, Bill (May 6, 2015). "McGee could return to 'pen during homestand". MLB.com. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  11. Gleeman, Aaron (August 20, 2015). "Rays reliever Jake McGee undergoes season-ending knee surgery". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  12. Harding, Thomas (January 28, 2016). "Rockies to receive reliever McGee in four-player swap". MLB.com. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  13. Adams, Steve; Todd, Jeff (December 3, 2016). "Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  14. Harding, Thomas (December 15, 2017). "Shaw in, McGee back as part of Rox 'pen plan". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  15. Mooney, Roger (December 24, 2015). "Rays' McGee, wife celebrate anniversary by spreading Christmas spirit". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.