Jake Wong

American baseball player (born 1996)
Baseball player
Jake Wong
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher
Born: (1996-09-03) September 3, 1996 (age 27)
Chandler, Arizona, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 26, 2023, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record0–0
Earned run average9.00
Strikeouts0
Teams
  • Cincinnati Reds (2023)

Jacob Ryne Wong (born September 3, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Wong attended Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona.[1] In 2015, his senior year, he pitched to a 2.86 earned run average (ERA).[2] Undrafted in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Grand Canyon University where he played college baseball.

In 2016, Wong's freshman season at Grand Canyon, he appeared in 18 games (making six starts) in which he went 2–3 with a 4.28 ERA.[3] That summer, he played in the West Coast League for the Corvallis Knights.[4] As a sophomore in 2017, he moved into the starting rotation and was GCU's Friday night starter, going 5–3 with a 4.00 ERA over 14 starts. After the 2017 season, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Orleans Firebirds, pitching to a 2.58 ERA over 24+1⁄3 innings.[5][6] In 2018, Wong's junior year, he started 15 games and pitched to a 9–3 record and a 2.81 ERA, striking out 88 batters over 89+2⁄3 innings.[7][8] After the season, he was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[9][10][11]

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Wong signed with the Giants and made his professional debut with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, compiling a 2.30 ERA over 11 starts. In 2019, he began the year with the Augusta GreenJackets with whom he went 2–1 with a 1.99 ERA over eight starts being promoted to the San Jose Giants in May.[12][13][14][15] Over 15 starts with San Jose, he pitched to a 3–2 record with a 4.98 ERA, striking out 67 over 72+1⁄3 innings.[16]

Wong did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] He missed the whole 2021 season after undergoing surgery.[18] He was assigned to the Eugene Emeralds of the High-A Northwest League for the 2022 season.[19] Over 25 games (17 starts), he went 6–5 with one save (his first in the minors) and a 4.52 ERA and 108 strikeouts over 97+2⁄3 innings.[20]

Cincinnati Reds

On December 13, 2022, the Giants traded Wong to the Cincinnati Reds to complete a trade made in the Rule 5 draft a few days prior.[21] To open the 2023 season, he was assigned to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Double-A Southern League.[22] After 6 appearances, Wong was promoted to the Triple–A Louisville Bats, where he struggled to a 10.13 ERA across 11 appearances. On June 26, 2023, Wong was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[23] Wong made his major league debut that same day, pitching three innings and allowing three runs on six hits and three walks in a 10–3 loss against the Baltimore Orioles.[24] He was designated for assignment by Cincinnati the next day following the promotion of Alec Mills.[25] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Louisville on July 1.[26]

References

  1. ^ Killian, Tyler. "Baseball playoff preview: Hamilton eyes another championship". The Arizona Republic.
  2. ^ "Jake Wong – Baseball". Grand Canyon University Athletics.
  3. ^ "GCU baseball's Jake Wong having best season yet as a Lope". May 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Gazette-Times, JESSE SOWA Corvallis. "Kwan, Atwood help Knights win series". Albany Democrat Herald.
  5. ^ "#6 Jake Wong - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Jake Wong develops into MLB Draft prospect at GCU". The 3rd Man In. May 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Kroner, Steve. "Jake Wong Impresses San Francisco Giants With Mound Demeanor". www.baseballamerica.com.
  8. ^ "College talent is crux of Giants' Draft haul". MLB.com.
  9. ^ "Giants dig deep to draft pitching talent". MLB.com.
  10. ^ McClune, Mark. "A Good Giant: GCU's Wong is school's highest draft pick in 29 years". AZFamily.
  11. ^ "Arizona high school and college players taken in 2018 MLB draft". The Arizona Republic.
  12. ^ "How Giants' 2018 MLB draft class is faring one year later". NBCS Bay Area. June 5, 2019.
  13. ^ "Giants prospect models game after MadBum, Scherzer". NBCS Bay Area. July 4, 2019.
  14. ^ Lockard, Melissa. "Giants minor-league notebook: Sean Hjelle and Jake Wong among recent promotions to San Jose". The Athletic.
  15. ^ "As San Francisco Giants ponder the future, rotation concerns come into focus". June 11, 2019.
  16. ^ "SF Giants Top 50 Prospects: 41–50". November 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Canceled".
  18. ^ "SF Giants Pitching Prospect Undergoing Surgery". Around the Foghorn. October 22, 2020.
  19. ^ @EugeneEmeralds (April 6, 2022). "Check out our 2022 affiliate rosters!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "Jake Wong Stats, Fantasy & News".
  21. ^ "Reds acquire pitcher Jake Wong in trade with the Giants". December 14, 2022.
  22. ^ "Lookouts Announce Opening Day Roster".
  23. ^ "Reds' Jake Wong: Nabs first big-league call-up". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  24. ^ Brown, Mark (27 June 2023). "Jordan Westburg shows a little of everything in MLB debut; Orioles beat Reds 10-3". Camden Chat. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Reds call up Alec Mills, designate Jake Wong for assignment". redlegnation.com. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  26. ^ "Transactions". MLB.com. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)