Chris Stratton
Stratton pitching for the San Francisco Giants
Kansas City Royals
Pitcher
Born: (1990-08-22) August 22, 1990 (age 33)
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 30, 2016, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record37–24
Earned run average4.43
Strikeouts504
Saves12
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Christopher Lee Stratton (born August 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Rangers.

Early life

Christopher Lee Stratton was born on August 22, 1990, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Stratton graduated from Tupelo High School, in Tupelo, Mississippi.

College career

He then attended Mississippi State University from 2010 to 2012. In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1] As a senior, he was a consensus All-American after going 11–2 with a 2.38 earned run average (ERA) and 127 strikeouts.[2] He was also the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year.[3] He also won the C Spire Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi's top collegiate baseball player.[4]

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The San Francisco Giants selected Stratton in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[5] In August of that year, he was hospitalized after a line drive struck him in the head.[6]

Before the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Stratton as the Giants' third best prospect.[7] The Giants added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season.[8]

San Francisco Giants (2016–2018)

Stratton was called up from the Sacramento River Cats (AAA) to the majors on May 28, 2016, to replace the injured Matt Cain.[9] Despite being primarily a starter in the minors, the Giants added Stratton to their bullpen and he made his major league debut against the Atlanta Braves on May 30, pitching a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning and recording two strikeouts while retiring all three batters he faced.[10] On June 11, he was credited with his first major league win as he pitched the top of the 10th inning in the Giants victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[11] On June 13 he was sent down again when Cain returned from the DL,[12] but was recalled from the minors the following day when Cain was put back on the DL with a re-injured hamstring.[13] Stratton pitched in seven games for the Giants with a 1–0 record and a 3.60 ERA. He compiled a 12–6 record and a 3.87 ERA during the year for the Sacramento River Cats.

In 2018, Stratton was bounced back and forth twice between the Giants and the River Cats. On September 14, 2018, Stratton threw his first MLB complete game against the Colorado Rockies, winning by a score of 2–0. It was his 10th win of the season, making him the Giants’ first pitcher to reach double-digit victories since 2016. It was also the first complete game of the season for the Giants, and the first shutout for the team in over a year.[14] Stratton finished the 2018 season with 10 wins, leading the Giants in wins.

Los Angeles Angels (2019)

On March 26, 2019, Stratton was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Williams Jerez.[15] He was designated for assignment on May 7, 2019.[16]

Pittsburgh Pirates (2019–2022)

On May 11, 2019, the Angels traded Stratton to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations.[17] In 46+2⁄3 innings with the Pirates, Stratton pitched a 3.66 ERA with a 9.1 K/9 rate and 1.39 WHIP.[18] In 2020, Stratton recorded a 3.90 ERA with 39 strikeouts and a career-high 11.9 K/9 rate in 30 innings of work.[19] In 2021, Stratton led the Pirates with seven wins and recorded a 3.63 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 79+1⁄3 innings.

St. Louis Cardinals (2022–2023)

On August 1, 2022, the Pirates traded Stratton and José Quintana to the St. Louis Cardinals for Malcom Núñez and Johan Oviedo.[20] Stratton recorded 60 strikeouts with an 8.5 K/9 and a 4.26 ERA in his 2022 season, and went 5–0 with the Cardinals after recording a 5–4 record with the Pirates.[21]

Texas Rangers (2023)

On July 30, 2023, the Cardinals traded Stratton and Jordan Montgomery to the Texas Rangers in exchange for John King, Tekoah Roby, and Thomas Saggese.[22]

Kansas City Royals

On December 15, 2023, Stratton signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals.[23]

References

  1. ^ "#10 Chris Stratton". Pointstreak. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "Chris Stratton: MSU's First Consensus All-American Since 1985". Hail State. June 29, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  3. ^ Herndon, Mike (May 29, 2012). "Mississippi State's Chris Stratton named SEC pitcher of the year". Gulf Live. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  4. ^ "C Spire Ferriss Trophy…through the years". MS Fame. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  5. ^ "Giants pick up versatile pitcher in Draft". Mlb.mlb.com. May 24, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  6. ^ "2012 first-rounder Chris Stratton hospitalized after being hit by liner". Hardballtalk.nbcsports.com. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  7. ^ Baggarly, Andy (January 30, 2013). "Baseball America Giants top 2013 prospects". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  8. ^ Haft, Chris (November 20, 2015). "Giants add eight pitchers to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  9. ^ "Giants place right-hander Matt Cain, who had been placed on the 15-day disabled list". ESPN.com. May 28, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Schulman, Henry (May 30, 2016). "Giants' Chris Stratton impresses with scoreless inning in debut". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  11. ^ Chiarelli, Mark. "Stratton hangs tough after HR, earns 1st win". MLB.com. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  12. ^ Schulman, Henry. "Giants add an infielder for depth, Cain's return, Braun rumors and lineup". sfgate.com. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  13. ^ "Giants put Matt Cain back on DL with same hamstring suffered another hamstring strain". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  14. ^ Kroner, Steve (September 14, 2018). "Chris Stratton's complete game beats Rockies; Giants end losing streak". San Francisco Chronicle.
  15. ^ Pavlovic, Alex (March 26, 2019). "Chris Stratton traded by Giants to Angels for reliever Williams Jerez". NBC Sports Bay Area. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  16. ^ RotoWire Staff (May 7, 2019). "Angels' Chris Stratton: Removed from roster". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  17. ^ "Pirates Acquire Right-Handed Pitcher Chris Stratton From Angels". CBS Pittsburgh. May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  18. ^ ago, Stephen Strosko 7 months (September 21, 2020). "Pittsburgh Pirates: Chris Stratton's Place in the Future of the Bullpen".((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Amid bullpen turnover, Pirates' Chris Stratton attempts to expand on last season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  20. ^ Denton, John. "Cards add SP depth with deal for Quintana". MLB.com.
  21. ^ "Chris Stratton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  22. ^ Passan, Jeff (July 30, 2023). "Rangers trade for Cardinals' Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  23. ^ https://www.mlb.com/news/chris-stratton-signs-one-year-deal-with-royals

External links

C Spire Ferriss Trophy
2012 College Baseball All-America Team consensus selections
2012 Major League Baseball draft first round selections
San Francisco Giants first-round draft picks
Texas Rangers 2023 World Series champions
Kansas City Royals current roster
Categories