Caden Bradley Grice (born June 15, 2002) is an American 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 ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
and
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 ...
in the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...
organization.
Amateur career
Grice grew up in
Greer, South Carolina
Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 35,308, making ...
and attended
Riverside High School. He was named the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior.
Grice played both designated hitter and first base for Clemson University throughout his freshman season and began pitching as well towards the end of the season. He was named second team All-
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
(ACC) after batting .317 with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs. After the season, Grice played
summer collegiate baseball for the
Chatham Anglers
The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in ...
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 ...
. He batted .244 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs as a sophomore. Grice returned to the Chatham Anglers in the summer of 2022 and was named a league All-Star. As a junior he awarded the
John Olerud Award as the nation's best two-way player after batting .307 with 18 home runs as a batter and going 8-1 with a 3.35 ERA in 16 starts as a pitcher.
Professional career
Grice was selected by the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...
in the second round, with the 64th overall selection, of the
2023 Major League Baseball draft
The 2023 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 9–11, 2023, in Seattle. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. For the first time, a draft lottery was used to set a portion of the draft order. The first six selections ...
. On July 18, 2023, Grice signed with the Diamondbacks. He made his professional debut with the rookie-level
Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks, hitting .273/.429/.545 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base.
Grice spent the 2024 season with the Single-A
Visalia Rawhide
The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...
, working primarily as a pitcher; in 12 appearances (11 starts), he compiled a 3-3 record and 3.75 ERA with 68 strikeouts across innings pitched. On June 28, 2024, it was announced that Grice would undergo
Tommy john surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...
, ending his season.
References
External links
Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grice, Caden
2002 births
Living people
Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players
Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Greenville County, South Carolina
Baseball players from Spartanburg County, South Carolina
Chatham Anglers players
Clemson Tigers baseball players
Minor league baseball players
Visalia Rawhide players
21st-century American sportsmen