Barret Christopher Loux (born April 6, 1989) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. After Loux attended Stratford High School and

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

drafted Loux with the sixth overall selection in the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) 2010 draft. Arizona opted not to sign Loux, due to injury concerns with the shoulder and elbow of his pitching arm. Due to his unique situation, MLB declared Loux a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, and he signed with the Texas Rangers. The Rangers later traded Loux to the Chicago Cubs, and he last pitched professionally in 2016, in an independent baseball league.

Amateur career

Loux attended Stratford High School in Houston, Texas, where he played for the school's baseball team. While pitching for Stratford, Loux dealt with arm injuries. He discovered stretching exercises that increased his strength and flexibility. After his senior season at Stratford, he participated in a

scouting combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Fo ...

and all-star games sponsored by the Houston Area Baseball Coaches Association. Out of high school, the Detroit Tigers selected Loux in the 24th round of the

2007 MLB draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...

. While the Tigers made Loux a strong offer, he did not sign, opting to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Texas A&M Aggies baseball The Texas A&M Aggie baseball team represents Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The Aggies have competed in the Southeastern Conference since 2013. The Aggies play home games at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. The team is ...

team in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

's (NCAA) Division I. In 2008, as a true freshman, Loux had an 8–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

and led Texas A&M in strikeouts with 81. Loux was named a Second Team NCAA Division I Freshman

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n starting pitcher. As a sophomore, Loux pitched to a 3–3 record with 62 strikeouts. He was named a Second Team Academic All-Big 12 pitcher. After the season, Loux had elbow surgery. In his junior season, Loux routinely started on Friday nights, traditionally the night when a team's ace pitcher appears. He pitched to an 11–2 win–loss record with a 2.83

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), while leading the Big 12 Conference with 136 strikeouts. He was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week for the weeks ending on March 8 and May 17. He was named a First Team NCAA Division I All-American by '' Baseball America'', a Third Team All-American by the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...

, and a Big 12 Conference All-Star starting pitcher. He was also named a semifinalist for the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

, given to the top amateur baseball player in the United States.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks organization

Heading into the 2010 MLB draft, Loux was seen as a potential late-first round pick. Surprising many, the

drafted Loux with the sixth overall selection, agreeing to a pre-draft deal with Loux with a $2 million signing bonus. However, Loux failed his physical with the Diamondbacks due to a torn labrum and elbow damage that doctors felt might require ligament replacement surgery in the future. As a result, the Diamondbacks did not offer Loux a contract, as the franchise chose to take advantage of compensation rules that instead would grant them the seventh overall pick in the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

if they did not sign Loux.

Texas Rangers organization

Though unsigned draft picks typically cannot begin their professional careers until the next season, MLB declared Loux a

in an unprecedented move. After throwing for scouts, Loux signed a contract with the Texas Rangers, receiving a signing bonus of $312,000. In an attempt to prevent this situation from happening again, the new

collective bargaining agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

negotiated that winter by MLB and the MLB Players Association added clauses that included mandatory physicals for all top 200 prospects prior to the draft, and a rule that makes all future draft picks who fail a physical and do not receive an offer of at least 40 percent of the assigned value for that pick are to become free agents, with the team facing a reduction in the amount of money they can spend on their draft picks. The Rangers assigned Loux to pitch for the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

during the 2011 season. With the Pelicans, Loux had an 8–5 win–loss record with a 3.80

(ERA) in 21

games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opposing batter. If a player is li ...

. In 2012, with the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are named for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regime ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, Loux began the season with a 9–0 record and 2.20

. After finishing the season with a 14–1 record, a 3.47 ERA and 100 strikeouts, Loux was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year.

Chicago Cubs organization

At the 2012 trade deadline, the Rangers acquired

Geovany Soto Geovany Soto (born January 20, 1983) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 2005 to 2017, most prominently as a member of the Chicago Cubs where he appeared in the MLB ...

from the Chicago Cubs for Jake Brigham; however, the Cubs were concerned about Brigham's health and agreed to the trade on the condition that if Brigham was unable to play, the Cubs would send Brigham back to the Rangers and acquire Loux and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in his place. After the 2012 season, with Brigham experiencing an elbow injury, Loux was traded to the Cubs. Loux pitched for the Iowa Cubs of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast League in 2013. He suffered a shoulder injury and underwent Tommy John surgery, which forced him to miss the 2014 season. In 2015, Loux experienced an elbow injury after making three starts for Iowa, and was released on July 17.

Independent baseball

In 2016, Loux pitched in two independent baseball leagues. He pitched for the

Laredo Lemurs The Laredo Lemurs were a professional baseball team based in Laredo, Texas, that played in the independent American Association from 2012 to 2016. The team played their home games at the Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo, replacing the Laredo Broncos o ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

, and for the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Loux has not pitched professionally since 2016.

Scouting report

Loux throws four pitches, of which he considers his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

to be his best. It can reach . He also throws a curveball, a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

, and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loux, Barret 1989 births Living people Texas A&M Aggies baseball players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Frisco RoughRiders players Iowa Cubs players Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Houston Sugar Land Skeeters players Laredo Lemurs players