Jackson Christian Rutledge (born April 1, 1999) 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

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

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 made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Rutledge attended Rockwood Summit High School in

Fenton, Missouri Fenton is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, and a suburb of St. Louis County. The population was 3,989 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Due to its proximity to fertile land and the Meramec River, the Fen ...

. In 2017, as a senior, he went 7-1 with a 1.19 ERA. He went undrafted in the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

and enrolled at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

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

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

. As a freshman at Arkansas in 2018, Rutledge appeared in 12 games in which he went 3-0 with a 3.45 ERA. He began the year as a key pitcher out of the bullpen, but struggled in

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

play, compiling a 27.00 ERA in three games, and did not pitch at all during the month of May. He announced that month that he would transfer and spend the 2019 season at

San Jacinto College San Jacinto College () is a public community college in the Greater Houston area, with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Chan ...

. During the 2018 offseason, he committed to play his 2020 junior season at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. Rutledge broke out as a sophomore for the San Jacinto Central Ravens in 2019, pitching to a 9-2 record with a 0.87 ERA in 13 games, striking out 134 in innings.

Professional career

Rutledge was considered one of the top prospects for the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. He was selected by the

with the 17th overall pick. He agreed to terms with the Nationals on June 17 for $3.45 million. He made his professional debut with the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast League Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The t ...

before being promoted to the

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

of the Low–A

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

after one game. He was promoted to the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A (baseball), Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They pl ...

of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

in July, with whom he finished the year. Over ten starts between the three clubs, he went 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA, striking out 39 over innings. Rutledge did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of 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, he was assigned to the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...

of the

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its hi ...

. After pitching innings, in which he gave up 15

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s and 17 hits, he was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a shoulder injury. He was activated in July, and reassigned to the

Fredericksburg Nationals The Fredericksburg Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team that is the Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and play their home games at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, with a capacity of ...

of the

Low-A East The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He was placed back on the injured list in early August, and returned later that month. Over 22 innings pitched with Fredericksburg, Rutledge went 1-2 with a 5.32 ERA and 26 strikeouts. He was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

for the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Roya ...

after the season. Rutledge pitched 3⅓ innings in relief for the Saguaros in the championship game on November 20, 2021, versus the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

, giving up two runs but striking out seven. '' MLB Pipeline'' rated him as Surprise's top performer in the game, a 6–0 Mesa win. He returned to Fredericksburg to open the 2022 season. In 20 starts for Fredericksburg, he recorded a 8–6 record and 4.90 ERA with 99 strikeouts in innings pitched. On November 15, 2022, the Nationals added Rutledge 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 ...

. He was optioned to the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

to begin the 2023 season. In 23 starts split between Harrisburg and 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 ...

, he accumulated an 8–4 record and 3.71 ERA with 106 strikeouts in 119.0 innings of work. On September 13, 2023, Rutledge was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He faced the

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 ...

in his major league debut that same day, and took the loss. Rutledge recorded his first career win against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

on September 24. In 4 starts during his rookie campaign, he posted a 6.75 ERA with 12 strikeouts across 20 innings. Rutledge was optioned to Triple–A Rochester to begin the 2024 season. He made 3 appearances (1 start) for Washington in 2024, logging a 3.24 ERA with 9 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rutledge was again optioned to Triple-A Rochester to begin the 2025 season.

Pitching style

Rutledge stands , taller than the average pitcher, although his arm action is relatively short and compact. He throws a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...

that has been clocked as fast as , complementing it with a slider, a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

, and a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

. Rutledge introduced the slider during his 2019 season with San Jacinto after tweaking his grip to differentiate it from his curveball. He has credited

Ross Detwiler Ross Emery Detwiler (born March 6, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, 2007 MLB draft and made his MLB debut late that ...

, also a first-round selection of the

in the

2007 MLB draft The 2007 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the first 25 rounds and was scheduled to be broadcast "l ...

, for helping him develop his changeup.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutledge, Jackson 1999 births Living people Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Auburn Doubledays players Baseball players from Missouri Florida Complex League Nationals players Fredericksburg Nationals players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball pitchers Rochester Red Wings players San Jacinto Central Ravens baseball players Surprise Saguaros players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Wilmington Blue Rocks players