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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 ...

. Selected by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

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 fi ...

out of

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

, Stassi made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) debut for the club on April 3, 2017.

Early life

From

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, Stassi attended Barry Elementary School, after which he attended

Yuba City High School Yuba City High School is a public secondary school in Yuba City, California. It had roughly 3,000 students before River Valley High School opened in 2005. The school colors are brown and gold. Its mascot is the "Honker", a nickname for Canada g ...

, for which his father was the baseball coach.

Playing career

Amateur

In 2009, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. 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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

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. H ...

, 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 fi ...

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 Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they w ...

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 The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

, 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 R ...

, 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 This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

with career-highs in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

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 hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

(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 In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

, 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 they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, he hit .267/.369/.437 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI. Stassi made the Phillies'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

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

Minnesota Twins

On December 8, 2017, Stassi signed a minor league contract with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

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 The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. 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. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. 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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, 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.

Long Island Ducks

On February 23, 2020, Stassi signed a minor league contract with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

organization. He was released by the A’s in March prior to the beginning of the season. On April 10, Stassi signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

of the

. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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

organization and was assigned to the Double-A

. He appeared in 25 games for Reading, limping to a .169/.348/.254 slash with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. He elected free agency on November 7, 2021.

Coaching career

Philadelphia Phillies

On January 31, 2023, Stassi was hired by the

organization to serve as the hitting coach for their High-A affiliate, the

Jersey Shore 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 locati ...

. He was named hitting coach for the Double–A Reading Fightin' Phils for the 2024 season.

Seattle Mariners

On January 16, 2025, the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

hired Stassi to serve as the hitting coach for their Low-A affiliate, the

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. They ...

Personal life

Stassi's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather played as catchers in the minor leagues. His younger brother,

Max Stassi Max Robert Stassi (born March 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher in the San Francisco Giants organization. The Oakland Athletics drafted him in the fourth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, 2009 MLB draft. In 2013, ...

, is a catcher who debuted with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in 2013 and currently plays with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. 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 Sutter County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

; 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 The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. In the context ...

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 American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Sacramento, California Charros de Jalisco players Clearwater Threshers players Florida Complex League Phillies players Indios de Mayagüez players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Leones del Caracas players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball first basemen Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players New Britain Bees players Orleans Firebirds players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Fightin Phils players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players Tiburones de La Guaira players Williamsport Crosscutters players Yaquis de Obregón players