Jacob Dalton Walsh (born July 20, 1995) is an American
professional baseball pitcher for the
St. Louis Cardinals of
Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
Amateur career
Walsh attended
Melbourne High School,
Jacksonville State University,
Eastern Florida State College, and
Florida Southern College. In 2017, as a junior at Florida Southern, Walsh started 16 games and went 12–1 with a 2.80 ERA over innings. Following the season's end, he was selected by the
St. Louis Cardinals in the 23rd round of the
2017 Major League Baseball draft
The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player 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 J ...
.
Professional career
Walsh signed with St. Louis and made his professional debut with the
Johnson City Cardinals of the
Rookie-level Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...
, going 5–0 with a 0.95 ERA over innings. He spent the 2018 season with the
Peoria Chiefs of the
Class A Midwest League and the
Palm Beach Cardinals of the
Class A-Advanced Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...
, appearing in 25 games (24 starts) with both clubs in which he went 9–5 with a 2.51 ERA and 116 strikeouts. Walsh appeared in only two games in 2019 due to injury, and did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Walsh missed time due to injury, but still appeared in 17 games with the
Springfield Cardinals of the
Double-A Central and the
Memphis Redbirds of the
Triple-A East, going 2–2 with a 2.86 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 22 relief innings.
He was selected to play in the
Arizona Fall League for the
Glendale Desert Dogs
The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White Sox ...
after the season.
On November 19, 2021, the Cardinals selected Walsh's contract and added him to their 40-man roster.
He returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season. On May 11, the Cardinals promoted Walsh to the major leagues.
Walsh was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to begin the 2023 season.
References
External links
Florida Southern bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Jake
1995 births
Living people
People from Indialantic, Florida
Baseball players from Florida
Major League Baseball pitchers
St. Louis Cardinals players
Jacksonville State Gamecocks baseball players
Florida Southern Moccasins baseball players
Johnson City Cardinals players
Peoria Chiefs players
Palm Beach Cardinals players
Gulf Coast Cardinals players
Springfield Cardinals players
Memphis Redbirds players
Glendale Desert Dogs players