Brock James Stassi ( ; born August 7, 1989) is an American

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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who is a free agent. Selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 33rd round of the

2011 Major League Baseball 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 firs ...

out of

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

, Stassi made his

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) debut for the club on April 3, 2017.

Early life

From Northern California, Stassi attended Barry Elementary School, after which he attended Yuba City High School, for which his father was the baseball coach.

Career

Amateur

In 2009, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Stassi was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2010, but decided to stay at school. Stassi was a two-way player in his final three years at

. In 2010, Stassi was named the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

Pitcher of the Year and also earned second-team All-WAC utility honors. He hit 360 with 19 doubles, driving in 34 runs and scoring 29 times in 55 games for the

Nevada Wolf Pack The Nevada Wolf Pack are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno. They are part of NCAA's Division I's Mountain West Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1896 with football as the Sagebrushers in Reno, Nevada. Hi ...

, earning First Team All-WAC honors as a first baseman during his senior season.Brock Stassi biography, news and statistics
''MiLB.com.'' Retrieved on October 30, 2015.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies selected Stassi in the 33rd round of 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 ...

out of

. Stassi debuted with the Low-A

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were ...

in 2011, slashing .200/.291/.233 in 50 games. He split the next season between Williamsport, the Single-A

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

, and the High-A Clearwater Threshers, posting a .243/.329/.358 slash line with 3 home runs and 33 RBI. He returned to Clearwater for the 2013 season, slashing .295/.347/.399 with 3 home runs and 32 RBI in 89 games. In 2014, Stassi played for the Double-A

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

, hitting .232/.302/.327 with 8 home runs and 44 RBI. His breakout season came with Reading in 2015, when he posted a .300/.394/.470

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

with career-highs in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (15) and RBI (90) in 133 games, helping lead Reading to first place in the Eastern League Division standings while earning an All-Star berth. Additionally, Stassi led the league in RBI and doubles (32), ending second in

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

(225) and walks (77), third in on OBP and runs scored (76), fifth in hits (140), and sixth in home runs. In addition to his offensive contributions, Stassi led Eastern League first baseman with a .995 fielding percentage, making five errors in 112 games. At the end of the season, he was selected as the winner of the 2015 Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award. In 2016, playing for the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

in the International League, he hit .267/.369/.437 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI. Stassi made the Phillies' Opening Day roster in 2017. He made his major league debut on Opening Day. In 51 games for Philadelphia, he batted .167/.278/.295 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI. Stassi was designated for assignment on August 31, 2017, to make room for newly-acquired

Juan Nicasio Juan Ramón Nicasio (born August 31, 1986) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, P ...

on the 40-man roster. Stassi elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Minnesota Twins

On December 8, 2017, Stassi signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. He was assigned to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings to begin the 2018 season. After hitting .315/.412/.452 with 2 home runs and 10 RBI, Stassi was released from the organization on May 25, 2018.

New Britain Bees

On June 21, 2018, Stassi signed with the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Stassi played in 40 games for New Britain, posting a .361/.458/.592 slash line with 5 home runs and 36 RBI.

San Francisco Giants

On August 10, 2018, Stassi's contract was purchased by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

. He finished the season with the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

, hitting .391/.536/.547 with 11 RBI. He elected free agency after the season, but re-signed with the team on November 9. In 2019 with Sacramento, Stassi went 3-for-13 in 3 games. On Mother's Day, Stassi tore a tendon in his wrist and missed the remainder of the season. On November 4, 2019, he elected free agency.

Oakland Athletics

On February 23, 2020, Stassi signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics organization. Stassi was released by the A’s in March prior to the beginning of the season.

Long Island Ducks

On April 10, 2020, Stassi signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He did not play a game for the team because of the cancellation of the ALPB season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and became a free agent after the year. On May 17, 2021, Stassi re-signed with the Ducks for the 2021 season. In 14 games for the Ducks, Stassi slashed .191/.309/.298 with 7 RBI.

Philadelphia Phillies (second stint)

On June 14, 2021, Stassi had his contract purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies organization and was assigned to the Double-A

. He elected free agency on November 7, 2021.

Personal life

Stassi's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather played as catchers in the minor leagues. His younger brother, Max Stassi, is a catcher who debuted with the Houston Astros in 2013 and currently plays with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. Brock and Max hold an annual charity event that began in 2009 in their hometown of

Yuba City, California Yuba City (Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 70,117 at the 2020 census. Yuba City is the principal city of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistic ...

; the money collected goes to 12 food banks within a 50-mile radius of Yuba City and Hands of Hope, a charity that offers support to homeless children and their families. The event consists of a home run derby between the brothers at the Yuba City High School field. In 2014, the event was expanded to include a home run derby with one player from each of eight local high schools, taking donations based on the number of homers hit, as well as accepting flat-rate donations.Stassi brothers host Homers for the Hungry
''MLB.com''. Retrieved on October 30, 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stassi, Brock 1989 births Living people Baseball players from Sacramento, California Major League Baseball first basemen Philadelphia Phillies players Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Lakewood BlueClaws players Williamsport Crosscutters players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Fightin Phils players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Indios de Mayagüez players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Long Island Ducks players Charros de Jalisco players Tiburones de La Guaira players New Britain Bees players Sacramento River Cats players Yaquis de Obregón players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Richmond Flying Squirrels players