Daulton Compton Jefferies (born August 2, 1995) 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, ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

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) for 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 ...

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 ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Jefferies played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

and was selected by the Athletics with the 37th overall pick of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2020 and pitched for the Athletics through the 2022 season.

Amateur career

Jefferies attended

Buhach Colony High School Buhach Colony High School is a public high school in Atwater, California, United States. Opened in 2001, the school is part of the Merced Union High School District. The school colors are black and gold, and the mascot is Thor. The name refe ...

Atwater, California Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010. Geography Atwater is in north ...

, where he played as a

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. As a junior in high school, Jefferies was named the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

award in the

Central California Conference The Central California Conference is a high school sports league in Central California. It comprises six schools in the Stanislaus and Merced County area. The league is administered by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Sac-Joaqu ...

after pitching to a 8–0

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 1.26

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 ...

and hitting to a .366/.480/.505

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 ...

. In Jefferies's senior season, he went 10–2 with a 0.92 earned run average and a school-record 142 strikeouts, again taking home the conference's Most Valuable Player award. Jefferies had initially verbally committed to play baseball for

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

during the summer of his junior year of high school, but the offer fell through and Jefferies committed to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. As a freshman for the

in 2014, Jefferies started 15 games, finishing the year 2–8 with a 3.45 earned run average and 58 strikeouts in a team-high innings. Jefferies' sophomore season saw both his record and earned run average improve, as he appeared in 14 games, starting 13, and went 6–5 with a 2.92 earned run average, enough to warrant a First Team All-Pac-12 selection. The summer after his sophomore season, Jefferies was a member of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, and 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

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

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 ...

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

Jefferies was drafted by the

with the 37th overall pick of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. He spent his first professional season with the

AZL Athletics The Arizona Complex League Athletics are a Minor League Baseball team based in Mesa, Arizona, which plays as a Rookie-level team in the Arizona Complex League and has served as a farm team for the Athletics organization since 1988. They play thei ...

where he posted a 2.38 earned run average with 17 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. He pitched in only two games for the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Banner I ...

in 2017 before undergoing

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, ...

, thus ending his season. He appeared in one game in the AZL in 2018 as he continued to rehab his way back to full health. Jefferies split the 2019 season between Stockton and the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, which ope ...

, going a combined 2–2 with a 3.41 earned run average over 79 innings. On November 20, 2019, the Athletics added Jefferies to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Jefferies was called up as the extra man for a doubleheader on September 12, 2020, against the Texas Rangers. It was his major league debut but it did not go well as Jefferies only lasted two innings, giving up five runs on two home runs and taking the loss. On May 20, 2022, Jefferies was diagnosed with

thoracic outlet syndrome Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition in which there is compression of the nerves, arteries, or veins in the superior thoracic aperture, the passageway from the lower neck to the armpit, also known as the thoracic outlet. There are t ...

, and was sidelined indefinitely. On September 11, Jefferies underwent

to repair UCL damage in his right elbow. The surgery prematurely ended his 2022 season, and wiped out his 2023 season as well. He was outrighted off the roster on November 14, 2022. Jefferies elected free agency on November 6, 2023.

San Francisco Giants

On December 8, 2023, Jefferies signed a minor league contract with the

. On March 31, 2024, Jeffries had his contract selected to the active roster. In two appearances for San Francisco, he allowed 13 runs (9 earned) on 14 hits with four strikeouts across innings. Jeffries was designated for assignment by the Giants following the promotion of Mason Black on May 6.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On May 10, 2024, Jefferies was traded to the

in exchange for Rodolfo Nolasco. In four appearances for Pittsburgh, he logged a 6.30 ERA with 8 strikeouts across 10 innings. Jefferies was placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation on July 6, and was transferred to the 60–day injured list on July 30. On November 4, he was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the minors. On November 6, he elected free agency.

Pitching style

Jefferies has a four pitch repertoire. His fastball has a bit of sink and sits in the low-to-mid 90s, but can top out around 96 mph. His primary off-speed pitch is his changeup which he throws in the mid-80s with good sink and fade. He also has a decent slider and a good three-quarters curveball.

Personal life

Jefferies is the nephew of former major league pitcher

Blas Minor Blas Minor Jr. (born March 20, 1966), is a former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1992 to 1997. He would play for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1992–1994), New York Mets (1995–1996), Seattle Mariners (1996), and Houston Astros (1997) ...

, and his older brother Jake was a catcher in the minor leagues for both the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

' and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

' organizations. His fiancee is Natalie Kienhofer.

References

External links

Cal Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferies, Daulton 1995 births Living people Arizona League Athletics players Baseball players from Merced, California California Golden Bears baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Las Vegas Aviators players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland RockHounds players Oakland Athletics players Pittsburgh Pirates players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Stockton Ports players Wareham Gatemen players