Justin Ray Huisman (born April 16, 1979) 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 ...

relief pitcher 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 ...

who played for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in 2004.

Amateur career

A native of Harvey, Illinois, Huisman attended Thornwood High School and the University of Mississippi. In 1999 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 Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Huisman had a 3.50 ERA at Mississippi in .

Professional career

Huisman was drafted by the

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

in the 15th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft. He was assigned to the Low-A Portland Rockies where he had a 1.86 ERA in 43 innings. In , he began the season with the Single-A Asheville Tourists where he spent the entire year. In 55 games, he had a 1.70 ERA and a .84 WHIP. Huisman began with High-A Salem and had a 1.57 ERA in 41 games, earning a promotion to Double-A Carolina. In , he went 7-2 with a 1.75 ERA and was named a Double-A All-Star with the Rockies new Double-A affiliate in Tulsa. On April 8, , Huisman was traded to the

for Zach McClellan and minor leaguer Chris Fallon. He split the season between Triple-A

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

and the Royals, making his major league debut on April 25. In his only major league season, Huisman posted a 6.84 ERA over 25 innings in 14 appearances on the mound for Kansas City. Huisman spent all of 2005 with Triple-A Omaha and was released on April 14, . On April 19, he signed a minor league contract with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and played 6 games with Triple-A

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city stra ...

before being sent to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

on May 12 as part of a conditional deal. He had a 7.67 ERA with Triple-A

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

before his release. In , he played for the independent

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

of the

Atlantic League The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are loc ...

and had a 1.75 ERA in 25 games.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huisman, Justin 1979 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Kansas City Royals players Asheville Tourists players Carolina Mudcats players Tulsa Drillers players Omaha Royals players Round Rock Express players Arizona League Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Newark Bears players Cotuit Kettleers players Sportspeople from Harvey, Illinois Baseball players from Cook County, Illinois Ole Miss Rebels baseball players St. Cloud River Bats players