James Jordan Vermilyea (born February 10, 1982) is an

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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 ...

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, ...

, and is currently the pitching coach for the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

. He played part of the 2007 season 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 ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

, and most recently played for the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...

of the American Association. He is 6'4" tall and in weight.

Amateur career

Vermilyea 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

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. In 2002, he 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 ...

in 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 ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, where he went a stretch of 13 games without allowing an earned run, and was named a league

all-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

Professional career

Vermilyea was drafted by the

in the 9th round, 260th overall of the 2003 amateur draft. In three seasons for the Blue Jays minor league system, Vermilyea posted a 19–9 record with eight saves and a 3.05

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in 99 games, 22 as a starter. Most impressively, he threw a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New Yo ...

against the

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League (1938–2020), Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado ...

on June 28, 2004. Vermilyea was acquired by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in 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 ...

from Toronto, but was returned to Toronto on March 14, 2006. He split the 2006 season with Toronto's minor-league affiliates

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League, is the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Ja ...

(Double-A/Eastern League) and

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(Triple A/International League). In April 2007, Vermilyea's contract was purchased from Syracuse by the Blue Jays after B. J. Ryan went on the 15-day

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and

Davis Romero Davis Javier Romero (born March 30, 1983) is a Panamanian former professional baseball pitcher who is currently free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays. Career Davis made his Major League debut on Augus ...

went on the 60-day disabled list. He made his major league debut on April 22 against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, pitching 3 scoreless innings as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. Vermilyea began the 2008 season back with the Fisher Cats, but was released by the Blue Jays on June 27. He played in Serie A1 in 2009 for Bbc Grosseto. In 2010, he signed with the

Na Koa Ikaika Maui (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian for ''The Maui Strong Warriors'') were an independent professional baseball team based out of Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii and 2013 champions of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, Pacific Association. Th ...

of the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

. As their

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he posted a 1–2 record with 20 saves (just one short of the league record) with an ERA of 1.64 in 31 games with 28

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. He led his team to the first half championship, but on August 28, 2010, his contract was purchased by the Blue Jays, preventing him from participating in the postseason or setting the GBL saves record. He was assigned to Triple-A

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the following day. He appeared in four games for Las Vegas, then became a minor league free agent at the end of the season. On April 29, 2011, Vermilyea signed with the

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He served as the Goldeyes'

, appeared in 45 games with a record of 3–3, an ERA of 1.81, and 17 saves.

Scouting report

Vermilyea can throw his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

in the lower 90 miles per hour speed range. His fastball has good command, and good movement. Vermilyea also utilized his ability to throw a low 80's mph breaking slider, a splitter, 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 ...

, a

change-up 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 speed ...

, and a

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. Vermilyea struggles with consistency in his pitches.

Coaching career

On February 16, 2012, Na Koa Ikaika Maui hired Vermilyea as manager.Na Koa Name Vermilyea New Skipper
After a stint as pitching coach of the

, he was hired by the

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

to be a minor league coach for the 2019 season.

References

External links