Jensen Daniel Lewis (born May 16, 1984) is an American former

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 ...

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, ...

who played for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

from 2007 to 2010 and is currently a baseball analyst with

Bally Sports FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports) is a group of regional sports networks in the United States owned by Main Street Sports Group (formerly Diamond Sports Group). The networks carry regional broadcasts of sporting events from variou ...

Career

Amateur

Lewis was originally drafted out of high school by the

in the 33rd round (994th overall) of the

2002 Major League Baseball draft The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis (author), Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first r ...

, but chose not to sign in order to play college baseball at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. In 2003 and 2004, 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 ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of 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 ...

, where he was named a league all-star in 2004.

Cleveland Indians

In the

2005 MLB draft The 2005 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best drafts in recent memory. ''SourceMajor L ...

, Lewis was again selected by Cleveland in the third round (102nd overall). He made his professional debut that year for the Single-A

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

, going 4–2 with a 3.20 ERA in 13 games (11 starts). Lewis then moved up to the Single-A Kinston Indians in 2006, and had continued success, posting a 7–6 record, a 3.99 ERA, and 94 strikeouts in innings pitched across 21 games (20 starts). He earned a promotion to the Double-A

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,63 ...

to close the season, where he was 1–2 with a 3.89 ERA in seven starts. After spending the first half of the season with Akron and the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, Lewis was called up to the Indians on July 13, . He made his Major League Baseball debut against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

on July 16, tossing scoreless innings while allowing three walks and striking out two. Lewis would earn his first big league

victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

throwing three scoreless innings of relief against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

on September 18. He finished the season 1–1 with a 2.15 ERA in 26 relief appearances. In the 2007 postseason, Lewis recorded a 4.70 ERA in seven appearances. Lewis started the season with an 0–2 record and a 3.82 ERA through June 3. He was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo the next day, with the goal of building up his velocity. Lewis returned on July 4, and served as the Indians' closer in August and September, converting all 13 of his save opportunities. In 51 relief appearances with Cleveland, he was 0–4 with 13 saves and a 3.82 ERA. The 2009 season was difficult for Lewis, as he finished 2–4 with one save and a 4.61 ERA in 47 relief appearances. He also spent time with the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

, going 1–0 in 12 scoreless appearances. On July 20, 2010, Lewis was designated for assignment to make room for

Asdrúbal Cabrera Asdrúbal José Cabrera (; born November 13, 1985) is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Phila ...

on the active roster. On July 21, Lewis was placed back on the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Columbus. After making two appearances in August, Lewis returned to Cleveland for the rest of the season in September. Overall, he went 4–2 with a 2.97 ERA in 37 appearances at the major league level in 2010. After a difficult 2011 spring training in which he allowed 10 runs (nine earned) on 13 hits in 5 2/3 innings, Lewis was outrighted to Columbus on March 22. He was released on June 24, after recording a 5.14 ERA in 28 innings while with Columbus.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 21, 2011, Lewis signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. He spent the 2012 season with the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

, the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate. In 52 relief appearances, Lewis was 7–2 with four saves and a 3.65 ERA. He became a free agent following the season on November 2.

Chicago Cubs

On December 7, 2012, Lewis signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. He was released on April 19, 2013, after struggling in five games with the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

Sports analyst

From 2015 to 2024, Lewis served as the pregame/postgame analyst for Cleveland Guardians games on SportsTime Ohio (now Bally Sports Great Lakes). He has three Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards to his credit as part of the ''Guardians Live'' pregame/postgame show. In 2025, Lewis became a co-host and analyst for sports betting network Vegas Stats & Information Network.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Jensen 1984 births Living people Akron Aeros players Baseball players from Cincinnati Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Guardians announcers Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Falmouth Commodores players Iowa Cubs players Kinston Indians players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Reno Aces players