A native of Twinsburg, Ohio, Effross is Jewish. Growing up he was a member of Congregation Shir Shalom, and he wears a Star of David necklace while pitching.[1][2][3][4][5]
In his sophomore year, in 2014, Effross was 5–3 with a 1.98 ERA (the 10th-best mark in school history, minimum 50 innings), was first in the Big Ten with a school record 32 appearances, tied for first with 31 games in relief, tied for fourth with 19 games finished, and was eighth with five saves.[13][9][10] He also played collegiate summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[14]
In 2015, as a junior, Effross was 4–4 with two saves and a 2.35 ERA (sixth in the Big Ten) in 21 games (seven starts).[10][13] Effross pitched 61+1⁄3 innings, had an 0.962 WHIP (fifth), gave up 1.3 walks per nine innings (seventh), and kept opposing batters to a .217 batting average against (7th).[15][10] At the time, his fastball averaged about 92 miles per hour (148 km/h), and he also threw a changeup and a slider.[16][17] The Jewish Sports Review named Effross to their 2015 Division I College Baseball All-America team.[18][19] He finished his college career with 81 pitching appearances (fourth all-time at Indiana University), tied for fifth with 12 saves, and was seventh with a 2.27 ERA.[10]
In 2017, Effross again pitched for Myrtle Beach.[21] Effross was 5–2 with nine saves (4th in the Carolina League) and a 3.40 ERA in 42 games (3rd), including 2 starts, covering 79.1 innings in which he gave up only one home run.[22][21] In 2018, Effross pitched for the Tennessee Smokies of the Double–A Southern League. He was 2–6 with one save and a 5.97 ERA in 44 relief appearances (4th in the league) covering 63.1 innings.[22][21]
In 2019 he played for the AZL Cubs 2 of the Arizona League, the Pelicans, and the Smokies and was 2–2 with a 4.33 ERA in 28 games (one start) covering 52 innings, and gave up only 1.7 walks per 9 innings.[21] In mid-2019, the Cubs approached Effross about changing his pitching motion to a full sidearm motion, from what had been a low three-quarters angle, and he credits rehab pitching coordinator Josh Zeid with helping him through the mid-season change.[23][24] In the fall of 2019 he then pitched for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League, and was 1–0 with a 1.80 ERA in eight relief appearances covering 10 innings.[21]
In 2021, Effross split the season between the Smokies, now in the Double-A South, and the Iowa Cubs of the Triple-A East.[21] Effross was 7–2 with two saves and a 3.41 ERA in 31 games (2 starts) covering 60.2 innings in which he gave up 44 hits and 15 walks while striking out 66 batters (9.8 strikeouts per 9 innings), with an 0.973 WHIP.[21]
Major leagues
Effross was called up to the majors for the first time on August 28, 2021.[25] He made his MLB debut on August 29, tossing 2⁄3 innings against the Chicago White Sox.[26] In 2021 for the Cubs, Effross was 2–1 with a 3.68 ERA.[21] He made 14 relief appearances covering 14+2⁄3 innings, in which he gave up one walk and had 18 strikeouts, and had an 0.955 WHIP.[21]
In 2022 for the Cubs, before he was traded mid-season Effross was 1–4 with 13 holds, one save, and a 2.66 ERA, as in 47 games (2nd in the NL at the time of his trade) with one start he pitched 44 innings, with 11 walks and 50 strikeouts.[27][28][29] He stranded 24 of 28 inherited runners (85.7%), the third-best rate in the NL.[29] He had a WHIP of 1.068, gave up 7.4 hits per 9 innings, 2.3 walks per 9 innings, and had 10.2 strikeouts per 9 innings, while holding batters to a slash line of .220/.267/.299 (.167/.231/.292 with 2 outs and runners in scoring position).[28][29] He was at the time in the top 5% of major league pitchers in keeping batters to a low barrel percentage, and inducing a high chase rate.[30][31] He had the seventh-lowest average release point of major league pitchers, at 3.67 feet above the ground, as compared to the average of 5.82 feet.[32]
New York Yankees
On August 1, 2022, the Cubs traded Effross to the New York Yankees for pitcher Hayden Wesneski.[29] With the Yankees in 2022 he was 0–0 with 3 saves, 3 holds, and a 2.14 ERA in 13 relief appearances in which he pitched 12.2 innings, with a 1.026 WHIP, in high-leverage situations.[33][28][34]
In 2022, with the Cubs and the Yankees combined, Effross was 1–4 with four saves and 16 holds.[34] He had a 2.54 ERA, as in 60 relief appearances he pitched 56.2 innings, had 62 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.059.[28] Among major league relievers with 50 or more innings pitched, he allowed the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls (19.0%) and pulled balls (28.9%), had the highest called-strike percentage (20.7%), and allowed the 2nd-lowest barrel percentage (3.5%).[35] He threw mostly an 80-mile-per-hour (130 km/h) sweeping slider (against which batters hit .149) and 90-mile-per-hour (140 km/h) biting sinker, with a less frequent 83-mile-per-hour (134 km/h) changeup and 91-mile-per-hour (146 km/h) heavy sinking 4-seam fastball.[31][36][30][37]
On October 11, 2022, it was reported that Effross would need Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL ligament in his right elbow.[33][38] He therefore missed the 2022 playoffs. He also missed the entire 2023 season, inasmuch as rehabilitation and recovery from Tommy John surgery generally takes at least 12 months, and often longer.[33][39]
On February 14, 2024, it was announced that Effross would miss multiple months as a result of a December back surgery, and he was subsequently placed on the 60–day injured list.[40]
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