Jack Kruger
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Timothy John Kruger (born October 26, 1994) 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 ...
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
. He played in one game 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
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
in 2021.


Amateur career

Kruger attended
Oaks Christian School Oaks Christian School (OCS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational Christian school serving grades 4–12. Oaks Christian School is located on in Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California. The school was established ...
in
Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...
. In 2013, as a senior, he batted .343 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs. Undrafted out of high school in the
2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of t ...
, he enrolled at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
to play
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
Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...
. In 2014, as a freshman at Oregon, Kruger appeared in 28 games in which he hit .208 with one home runs and six RBIs. After the year, he transferred to
Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...
where he spent his sophomore season in which he batted .310 with 23 RBIs in 46 games. Following his breakout sophomore season, he enrolled at
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
. At Mississippi State, Kruger slashed .344/.435/.550 with eight home runs and forty RBIs in 56 games and was named to the All-SEC First Team.


Professional career


Los Angeles Angels

After Kruger's junior year, he was selected by the
Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
in the 20th round 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 signed for $395,000 and was assigned to the
Arizona League Angels The Arizona Complex League Angels are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Te ...
. After playing three games for the AZL Angels, he was promoted to the
Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home o ...
, where he finished the year. In thirty games between the two clubs, he hit .310/.354/.388 with 14 RBIs. In 2017, he began the season with the
Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...
before being promoted to the
Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchi ...
, batting a combined .240 with five home runs and 39 RBIs in 104 games. Kruger returned to the 66ers to begin 2018, with whom he was named a
California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...
All-Star. He was promoted to the
Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...
in June and finished the year there. In 97 games between the two teams, he slashed .299/.357/.413 with seven home runs, forty RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. He returned to Mobile to begin 2019, hitting .240 with three home runs and 34 RBIs over 92 games. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by 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 ...
. To begin the 2021 season, Kruger was assigned to the
Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...
. On May 6, 2021, Kruger was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that day as a defensive replacement for
Kurt Suzuki Kurtis Kiyoshi Suzuki (, born October 4, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Angels ...
but did not register a plate appearance. On May 7, Kruger was designated for assignment following the acquisition of
Drew Butera Andrew Edward Butera (; born August 9, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently on the coaching staff of the Chicago White Sox. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodger ...
.


Texas Rangers

On May 9, 2021, Kruger was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers. On May 15, Kruger was designated for assignment without having made an appearance for the team. On May 17, Kruger was outrighted to the
Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...
. Over 46 games with Round Rock, he batted .267 with three home runs and 16 RBI. Kruger played in 20 games for Triple-A Round Rock in 2022, slashing .175/.242/.175 with no home runs and three RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 10, 2022.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Jack 1994 births Living people Arizona League Angels players Baseball players from Los Angeles Burlington Bees players Inland Empire 66ers players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball catchers Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players Mobile BayBears players Oregon Ducks baseball players Orem Owlz players Round Rock Express players Oaks Christian School alumni