Drew Thomas Rasmussen (born July 27, 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, ...

for the

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 ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

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

, for whom he made his MLB debut in 2020.

Amateur career

Rasmussen attended Mt. Spokane High School in Mead, Washington, and later attended the

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

where he 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

Beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

. Prior to his freshman season Rasmussen was drafted 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 39th round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

. On March 21, 2015, as a freshman, he pitched the only perfect game in the team's history, in a 3–0 victory over Washington State. He was drafted 31st overall in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft by the

but did not sign. Rasmussen underwent his second

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, ...

in September 2017 which forced him to miss all of the 2018 season.

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

Despite missing the 2018 season, Rasmussen was still drafted by the

in the sixth round, with the 185th overall selection, of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. Rasmussen spent his first professional season in 2019 with the Single–A

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are nam ...

, High–A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

, and Double–A

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in ref ...

. In 27 games (23 starts) split between the three affiliates, he compiled a 1–3 record and 3.15 ERA with 96 strikeouts across innings pitched. On August 13, 2020, Rasmussen was selected to the

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 ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his major league debut on August 19 against 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 ...

and threw two scoreless innings. In 12 games during his debut campaign, Rasmussen posted a 5.87 ERA with 21 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rasmussen began the 2021 season in the Milwaukee

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

. He recorded a 4.24 ERA with 25 strikeouts and one save in 15 games for the Brewers.

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 21, 2021, the Brewers traded Rasmussen and J. P. Feyereisen to the

in exchange for Willy Adames and Trevor Richards. In 20 appearances (10 starts) down the stretch, he logged a 4–0 record and 2.44 ERA with 48 strikeouts. Rasmussen pitched eight perfect innings before losing the perfect game in the ninth inning on August 14, 2022. In 2022, Rasmussen was named American League Pitcher of the Month for August, when he registered a 3–1 record in six starts to go along with a 1.57 ERA and 33 strikeouts against only four walks. He finished the 2022 season making 28 starts for the Rays, and pitched to a 11–7 record and 2.84 ERA with 125 strikeouts in 146.0 innings pitched. Rasmussen began the 2023 season out of the Rays' rotation, making 8 starts and registering a 4–2 record and 2.62 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched. On May 12, 2023, Rasmussen was placed on the 60-day injured list after being diagnosed with a flexor strain in his forearm. On July 8, Rays manager

Kevin Cash Kevin Forrest Cash (born December 6, 1977) is an American professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former player who is the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Cash played catcher in MLB for th ...

stated that Rasmussen would undergo an internal brace procedure on his elbow and miss the remainder of the season. Rasmussen began the 2024 season on the Rays' 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from surgery. He was activated from the injured list on August 7, 2024. In 16 games (4 starts) for the Rays, Rasmussen compiled an 0-2 record and 2.83 ERA with 35 strikeouts across innings pitched. On January 6, 2025, Rasmussen and the Rays avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal worth $8.5 million.

Personal life

Rasmussen and his wife, Stevie, married in 2020. They had a son on September 6, 2022.

References

External links

Oregon State Beavers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Drew 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Spokane County, Washington People from Puyallup, Washington Baseball players from Washington (state) Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Tampa Bay Rays players Oregon State Beavers baseball players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Carolina Mudcats players Biloxi Shuckers players 21st-century American sportsmen Durham Bulls players